James Leong
James Chan Leong | |
---|---|
Born | San Francisco, California | November 27, 1929
Died | April 15, 2011 Seattle, Washington | (aged 81)
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Artist |
Chinese name | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Liáng Hànqiáng |
James Chan Leong (November 27, 1929 – April 15, 2011) was an influential
Early life
Leong was born on November 27, 1929, in San Francisco's
He stated, "I really felt there was a lot of misunderstanding on the part of the whites in San Francisco as to what being Chinese meant."[6]
Leong's first encounter with art was when he was introduced by his father to a co-worker named
At age 23, Leong worked for the Chinese press. Business leaders from Chinatown commissioned Leong to create a mural of Chinese American history. This painting was named One Hundred Years: History of the Chinese in America and was commissioned to be placed in Ping Yuen, the first federally funded public housing in Chinatown.[8]
Leong was awarded a scholarship and received a master's degree in Fine Arts at
Career
In 1956, when Leong was 27, he traveled to Norway with his then wife Karen and son Kim for two years on a
I think more than anything else, it gave me a sense of self and assurance that you don't have here. [...] People in America are constantly questioning who you are, what you are. There's always a stratum here that you have to belong to.
This acceptance sparked Leong's own exploration of his Chinese American roots in his artwork. Along with a trip to China with his wife and son, Leong was soon expressing this new rediscovery of identity in his paintings.
That opened up all kinds of things. [...] I realized I was always Chinese, but there's the duality of taking the next step. As an American, you can never really be Chinese, even if you speak it and know the culture. There's a part of you that's American that's so different. And those are the things that came out of my paintings.
Later years
Leong's art is best characterized as abstract expressionism, with the subjects and interests of his paintings constantly changing over time. He shifted from painting the relationships of nature and humans to painting the historic relationships of East and West.
After living for three decades in Italy, Leong settled in
Death
Leong died from congestive heart failure on April 15, 2011, at the
References
- ISBN 9789570528336.
- ^ "James Leong – Biography, vital info and auction records for James Chan Leong". Askart.com. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- OCLC 8433858.
- ^ Asian American Art, A History, 1850–1970. Gordon H. Chang, Mark Dean Johnson, Paul J. Karlstrom, Sharon Spain. Stanford, California. Stanford University Press, 2008. pp. 275–376.
- ^ "Life Magazine – How to Tell Japs from the Chinese". Modern American Poetry. 1941-12-22. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- ^ "The International Examiner – James Leong: San Francisco's forgotten son returns home". Iexaminer.org. 2006-08-03. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- ISBN 0-9707487-0-1.
- ^ Wong, Brittney (2011-04-19). "Renowned artist James Leong dies". Seattle Times Newspaper. Seattletimes.nwsource.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- ^ "The International Examiner – In Remembrance: Passions of a Man – The Art of James Leong". Iexaminer.org. 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- ^ Rosemary Ponnekanti (2011-04-21). "Chinese-American painter James Leong dies at 81 in Seattle". Tacoma Arts – The News Tribune. Blog.thenewstribune.com. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- ^ Wong, Brittney (2011-04-19). "Renowned artist James Leong dies". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ "Artist and father James Leong dies of heart complications at the age of 81". Northwest Asian Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-14.