Introduction, Page 2
Before considering these artists and their work, it is important to reflect on the historical circumstances that contributed to the cultural period out of which they emerged. Within the canon of American art history, it is widely recognized that many European intellectuals and artists relocated to the United States as a direct result of the political turmoil beginning in the 1930s in Europe that eventually led to World War II. Among these figures are Josef Albers, Willem de Kooning, and Hans Hofmann,who, together with their contemporaries, are today widely recognized as energizing what would come to be known as the New York School. But wars, revolutions, and political instability were similarly disruptive in Asia during this period, and the unrest precipitated the parallel emigra- tion of many Asia-born artists. Sometimes these artists moved to New York, but often they dispersed to geographical regions throughout the Americas, with a significant number concentrating in the state of California. These artists have been much less recognized than their European peers.
The reasons for this relative invisibility are multiple. American art, like American history, is traditionally mapped from its beginning in European colonialism. Our English language is the strongest marker of this legacy. Connected to this is the centrality afforded to artistic developments centered in New York. But with the ensuing waves of postcolonial immigration, and especially from the current project’s perspective from the American West Coast, America’s art and cultural history looks altogether different. Among the starkest contrasts is the wealth of Asian American culture that is integral in this region.
Of course, many ideas and practices drawn from Asia are acknowledged as common- place in the United States, including the impact of religious philosophies and literature, martial arts and alternative medicine, and cuisines. But visual art is inherently a more esoteric subject. Most people are aware that the great painting traditions of East Asia are often grounded in painting with ink on paper or silk, with a bamboo and soft-hair brush. Especially in the West, however, little is known of ink painting’s iconography, underlying philosophy and history, relationship to calligraphy, and aesthetics.
The reasons for this relative invisibility are multiple. American art, like American history, is traditionally mapped from its beginning in European colonialism. Our English language is the strongest marker of this legacy. Connected to this is the centrality afforded to artistic developments centered in New York. But with the ensuing waves of postcolonial immigration, and especially from the current project’s perspective from the American West Coast, America’s art and cultural history looks altogether different. Among the starkest contrasts is the wealth of Asian American culture that is integral in this region.
Of course, many ideas and practices drawn from Asia are acknowledged as common- place in the United States, including the impact of religious philosophies and literature, martial arts and alternative medicine, and cuisines. But visual art is inherently a more esoteric subject. Most people are aware that the great painting traditions of East Asia are often grounded in painting with ink on paper or silk, with a bamboo and soft-hair brush. Especially in the West, however, little is known of ink painting’s iconography, underlying philosophy and history, relationship to calligraphy, and aesthetics.
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