Essay on Lack of Asian American Representation in the Art Community

Introduction

One question that begs for answers is if diversity in art matter. Representation or lack thereof, or racial and ethnic diversity in art is a growing problem whether in museums or in contemporary arts. Art serves as a valuable educational resource and is a reflection of how the society views people (Lerch, 2). Using arts helps in the construction of power, knowledge, and relevance. It is detrimental to the society when art exhibits or interpretations shows some people being decisively left out or being obscured. When artists from minority groups are not represented in the museums or contemporary art, the message that is being conveyed is that the art industry is promoting a predominantly white culture (Lingering Thoughts). The contribution by this schism is questioning on whose stories, knowledge and history matters and which does not. In the early years of America, the arts from minorities came as individual artists instead of institutions. This is the time diversity was an issue. Over the years, there has been an underrepresentation of minorities in various spheres of the American society (Lingering Thoughts). It is not a surprise that Asian American artists are underrepresented. The paper argues that there has been lack of representation of Asian Americans artists in the art community.

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In American history, there is a trend of leaving out minority traditions when providing information concerning the country's history. Similarly, it is no surprise that when art historian narrates stories of the country's modernism, the immigrant artists are left out for the widely acknowledged white canon. The time of America Modernism overlapped with the era of exclusion (Lerch, 2). There were several Acts such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924 and Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 among others were some of the racist laws that were instituted to describe who counted as "American." Canonical accounts of art that were experienced in the early 20th century focus solely on white majority arts (Snively). The works of Asian-Americans artists were overlooked since the American society considered minorities not "Americans." Such Asian American artists at the time include Hideo Noda, Miki Hayakawa, and Eitaro Ishigaki among others.

Again, Asian American art was not recognized for a long time. Only until recently, there has been a presentation of museum exhibition and books on this area. Over the years, the Eastern and Western artists have worked for the assimilation of varying traditions in the multicultural society of the United States (Brown). In the later years in the nineteenth century, while some artists such as Van Gogh and Whistler were seeking Japanese arts for inspiration, the forefathers of Asian American arts were settling in California in a bit to merge the Asian traditions with the novice Western art methods. The steps that African American art took more than thirty years ago can be considered the steps the Asian American is taking at the moment (Brown). Making a comparison of the African American artists such Henry O. Tanner and Edward Bannister to the rare Asian American artists of the late 19th century. Museums lack the Asian Americans artifacts of the African American artists. The lack of Asian American artists can be owed to the later recognition of their arts as a genre in the American community art.

The works of most Asian Americans are majorly absent in the American community art. However, they participated in the social justice and protest movements that occurred I the 1930s and 1940s. Their artistic work worked as activism in its own time. It provides a critique of the American power structures and reimagined the concept of Americanness. Most of the Asian Americans created the imagery of other by the other (Brown). It is a case were "other" is a position of recognizing the minorities in the American society instead of marginalizing them. For the example, the work of Eitaro Ishigaki, The Bonus March in 1932 features two blacks. In 1932 after the World War I, veterans went to demand their payment for the wartime service (Snively). They were however dispersed with the orders from President Hoover. Most of the accounts of such an event try to feature white veterans leaving out the veterans from the minority groups. However, art provided by Ishigaki features two black men at the center of composition which is a reminder that blacks were participants and also critiquing the military use of excessive force (Snively). It is possible the lack of Asian American representation stems from the fact these artists at the time painted a picture that was not considered American. For instance, paintings by Ishigaki portrayed an image of the black men that were synonymous in the 1930s which depicted how the minorities when treated in dehumanizing ways (Snively). The Asian American artists were working against a culture that promoted black and Asian racism and tried to forge a transcultural alliance. This is a reason they work by these artists were not popular in the majority American society (Ellis).

It is evident that the Asian American artists have been excluded from the American community arts. For instance, after being interned in the 1940s, a majority of the Japanese Americans gave up arts. This means there is a lot of untold history still out there. In the mid-20th century, museums that own Asian-American arts deaccessioned them to feature the more famous Western art. For instance, a story is provided of how New York museum sold two modern Japanese art collection in the 1980s and alternatively purchased a single Picasso sketch (Snively). This shows the majority American culture was being promoted at the time. This explains the lack of Asian American artists in the art community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that Asian American artists have been left out the American community art. However, it is important to note that they played a critical role in the American history and especially in the social movements. It is worth telling a story of the Asian American culture. It is clear that the lack of art and information renders creation of Asian-American modernists hard. However, museums and historians can start by correcting the exclusion that was instituted through the representation of a variety of American artist. This action would be very important in increasing public interest and more attention will be accorded to the Asian American art. The American public deserves to witness more diverse representation in community art and this can be done writing more about the artists from the minority groups and especially those who have been left out. Presenting the essence of the Asian American artists and especially in major historical events would be critical in detailing what it means being part of American community art.

Work Cited

"Lingering Thoughts on the Last as Ian American Exhibition in the Whole Entire World". Nyupress.Org, 2018, https://nyupress.org/webchapters/Min_Unnamable_intro.pdf. Accessed 7 May 2018.

Brown, Michael. "Asian American Art - The Michael D. Brown Collection". Asianamericanart.Com, 2018, http://www.asianamericanart.com/. Accessed 7 May 2018.

Ellis, James. "Fay Chong And Andrew Chinn: Asian Masters of American Art | ASJ Occasional Papers". ASJ Occasional Papers, 2017, http://op.asjournal.org/fay-chong-andrew-chinn-asian-masters-american-art/. Accessed 7 May 2018.

Lerch, Sarah. "Changing the Conversation: Diversity at Living History Museums". Scholarcommons.Sc.Edu, 2016, https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4483&context=etd. Accessed 7 May 2018.

Snively, Samantha. "Painting The Bigger Picture: Activist Art History and Asian-American Representation". Dhi.Ucdavis.Edu, 2018, http://dhi.ucdavis.edu/featured-stories/painting-the-bigger-picture-activist-art-history-and-asian-american-representation. Accessed 7 May 2018.