Anna May Wong Takes Center Stage at Chelsea Market
spotlighting six artists whose work honors the film star
May has already been jam packed with events celebrating AAPI Heritage Month 2024 and we still have two weeks to go! That means there are also two more weeks to catch Not Your China Doll: Art Inspired by Anna May Wong, a free exhibition that I’ve curated in the atrium of Chelsea Market, hosted by Pearl River Mart. In honor of the show, this week’s newsletter spotlights each of the artists—six AAPI and POC women—and some of their pieces in the show (which are for sale here). Now without further ado, meet the artists!
Mina Chacko
Tell us a little about your art practice.
I’m an animation student at CalArts and my focus is in character design. I love character design because it’s part of what makes a character likable and relatable to an audience. I love taking observations from people in real life and finding ways to include them in my designs. To me, a good character design tells a great story and represents the character’s personality in a way that resonates with people.
What inspires you about Anna May Wong? And why did you decide to make art that pays homage to her?
As an Asian American artist who loves film and considers representation in film really important, I greatly admire Anna May Wong for the mark she made on American history at a time when it was extremely difficult for Asian people to appear in film, let alone become a star the way she did. Her determination and outspokenness about proper representation for Asian people, rather than the stereotypes perpetuated at the time, showed just how passionate she was about being a film actor. She paved the way for Asian representation in film and I’m so grateful that we can now tell our own stories and make our own art.
I made these pieces for a school assignment. For my character design class, we were asked to pick a historical figure and make a design for them that could work in animation. I chose Anna May Wong in part because of her importance as the first Asian American woman to gain stardom in America, but also because I consider her to be an under-appreciated fashion icon and I really wanted to have a chance to show that off. I had such a fun time drawing her various outfits over the course of her career. She also had such a strong, determined, and theatrical personality. She really was a character in a sense and I couldn’t think of a better person to represent through character design.
You can check out Mina’s portfolio here and follow her on Instagram where she posts designs and various fan art regularly.
Helen Chang
What inspires you about AMW? And why did you decide to make art that pays homage to her?
Collage artists (not unlike Andy Warhol or street & graffiti artists) love to take iconic faces and blast new meaning into them… that is why you see so many reimaginings of say, Frida Kahlo and Marilyn Monroe. During the pandemic, I was searching around for copyright-free black and white film stills and publicity photos that I could reprint and cut up for my work. Among the digitized photos of flappers and silent film stars, I discovered Anna May Wong and instinctively made her my muse. I wanted to insert something different into my collage art beyond the saccharine Victorians and picturesque geisha girls I was seeing in commercial reproductions. I scoured various digital archives for photos of Anna May Wong and printed them up at my local pharmacy.
For me, AMW’s expressive and iconic still photos are endlessly inspiring. I have also repurposed images of AMW contemporaries such as Louise Brooks, Josephine Baker, and Bette Davis. However, AMW allowed me to differentiate my work and contemplate a rare Asian face in the early 20th century culture.
In the 1930s—perhaps during the time that AMW traveled to China to visit her family’s ancestral home—my father was forced to flee his village in Shaoxing due to the Sino-Japanese conflict. My dad was about nine years old when invading soldiers forcibly separated him from his family. He subsequently relocated multiple times—to Shanghai and then to Formosa (Taiwan). By the time he arrived in NYC, undocumented and all but penniless, any surviving family in China were already scattered into the wind. Without letters, documents, or photos I never had the chance to meet or know anyone related to my father.
Using AMW in my art allows me to reimagine people I will never personally meet, yet who remain a visceral part of me. Although AMW had a different sort of background to mine, she too sought to make sense of her hybrid roots, missing stories, complex emotions, and most of all her unconventional persona.
Helen’s work is currently on view at Collage-O-Rama (Slip Gallery, Seattle), Yukata Inspired 2024 (Danaca Design Gallery, Seattle), and Pearl River Mart at Chelsea Market. You can also follow her on Instagram.
Felicia Liang
Tell us a little about your art practice.
My art practice started as a way to create work that reflected my lived experiences and to make the art that I wanted to see more of in the world. It is a constant exploration of my identity and emotions, and how the communities and cultures I’m around uniquely shape them. I started using colored pencils at the beginning of my career and it’s still my favorite medium. However, I added digital illustration to my repertoire for both my freelance work and making art prints to sell, and I have been having fun experimenting with color and making risograph prints as well.
What inspires you about Anna May Wong? And why did you decide to make art that pays homage to her?
Anna May Wong was a trailblazer and advocate for Asian Americans while living and working during a time of intense discrimination. She was an artist who knew who she was and relentlessly pursued her dream to be in Hollywood despite the obstacles and blatant racism she experienced along the way. Wong was quite a singular talent during her time and her legacy has continued on to this day.
This piece was actually done for OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates to celebrate the release of Anna May Wong’s quarter release. It’s a compilation of elements from many of her major film roles and put together into a movie poster with Wong herself depicted as the lead. The background includes dragon scales and butterfly wings to reclaim the “Dragon Lady” and demure “butterfly” tropes she was often given with her roles. And flanking her Hollywood Star is a yellow willow tree as a nod to her Chinese name, and Sam Kee Laundry as an homage to her family’s laundry business in Los Angeles Chinatown.
You can see more of Felicia’s work on her website and on Instagram.
Tiffany Liang
Tell us a little about your art practice.
I work primarily with oil paints to create large-scale portraitures. The size of the pieces are to reflect the reclamation of space for figures who may be forgotten over time. The process typically takes 1-2 months, starting with a very rough underpainting that hardly resembles the finished product. Several layers are then slowly applied to render the facial attributes of the person of study.
What inspires you about Anna May Wong? And why did you decide to make art that pays homage to her?
Anna remains as one of my "Roman empire" thoughts that continues to circle back through my mind. Growing up in a first-generation immigrant family, I have come to see how Anna's cementation in film history was no easy feat. I first learned of her in a history course that lectured on her experience of racial prejudice in Old Hollywood. She was frequently typecast as a villain, concubine, or exotic figure, but lost the starring role of a Chinese female protagonist to a Caucasian actress. To add further insult to injury, the role went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actress. Anna's perseverance in a time of intense prejudice in becoming one of the first Asian faces in Hollywood to gain international recognition continues to set a precedent for all female minorities who follow.
You can see more of Tiffany’s work on her website and on Instagram.
Linda Sandoval
Tell us a little about your art practice.
I make art mostly for myself. My work space is at my desk, I have several areas in my home for different processes of art. I like to send my work to friends I’ve made on IG. Right now collage is something that I’m enjoying tremendously.
Through social media I’ve become part of the collaging community. A space to display my work, an avenue to uplift one another’s spirits and be inspired by the daily international conversations held online.
What inspires you about Anna May Wong? And why did you decide to make art that pays homage to her?
My father was a very good sketch artist. Here’s where AMW comes into my art. My father was obsessed with Hollywood actors and films. He started a black and white photo stills collection back in the 70s-90s. He has now passed, and I inherited his collection. I had numerous choices to use for collage. AMW just stood out to me because she was gorgeous and different from most of the leading ladies. She had a charismatic and mysterious look to her.
You can see more of Linda’s work by following her on Instagram.
Elizabeth Yoo
Tell us a little about your art practice.
I’ve been drawing since I was four years old and I’ve been creating art inspired by films for the past decade. During the pandemic, studios saw how passionate I was about cinema and they started to commission me for illustrated movie posters and physical media. My most well-known work is probably the poster that I illustrated for Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. It was an honor to create the key art for that film and I was astonished when it was named one of the best movie posters by Posteritati, Letterboxd, and Little White Lies. The film premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2021 along with Drive My Car, another film directed by Hamaguchi. Drive My Car made history by being the first Japanese film nominated for Best Picture by the Academy and it was only the second Japanese film to win Best International Feature Film. What an incredible achievement to witness! It’s always a wonderful feeling when exceptional Asian films get recognition in the industry.
I love working on art for indie and international films but my main love is Old Hollywood. Many years ago, I painted a series of ink portraits inspired by “Hitchcock Blondes.” My favorite materials are Sumi ink and watercolor, although I frequently use pastel, charcoal, and acrylic paint as well.
What inspires you about Anna May Wong? And why did you decide to make art that pays homage to her?
I’ve always been obsessed with the glamour of Old Hollywood. I first saw Anna May Wong in Josef von Sternberg’s film Shanghai Express starring Marlene Dietrich. It really fascinated me how Anna May was the first Asian American star in Hollywood. Throughout the years, every photo that I saw of her captivated me—who can forget the image of her wearing a tuxedo and top hat with a drink to her lips (photographed by Carl Van Vechten)? I also read that one of my favorite songs ever, the achingly romantic “These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You),” sung by everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra and beyond, may have been inspired by Anna May.
In March, I attended a screening of the crime film Daughter of Shanghai in 35mm at the Metrograph. Anna May stars in it alongside Philip Ahn, the first Korean American film actor in Hollywood. Her presence and elegance really blew me away. This is where I met Katie, who introduced the film, and I got a copy of her biography. Not Your China Doll should be required reading for any fan. I love that Anna May is finally getting the respect that she deserves.
You can see more of Elizabeth’s work on Instagram, Substack, and her website. Original art, prints, and apparel are available for purchase in her shop.
Upcoming Events
May 21, 12:30 - 2 pm - Chinese Americans in Classic Hollywood: From Chinatown Movie Extras to Anna May Wong
Stanford University, Old Union, A3C Club House
Learn more
May 22, 5 pm PST / 8 pm EST - Chinese Americans in Hollywood: A Virtual Conversation with Authors William Gow and Katie Gee Salisbury
OCA and 1882 Foundation Virtual Webinar
Register
March 23, 6:30 - 9 pm - Unmasking Anna May Wong Opening Reception
Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles
425 North Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA
Register
May 24, 10 am - Book Talk
Arcadia Public Library
20 West Duarte Road, Arcadia, CA
May 25, 2:00 pm - Anna May Wong and the Golden Age of Asian American Cinema with Jeff Yang and Arthur Dong
Santa Monica Public Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA
Learn more
May 30, 6:45 - 8 pm EST - Anna May Wong: Hollywood’s Unsung Heroine
Smithsonian Associates Virtual Webinar
Register
June 1, 10 - 11:30 am - They Call Us Charlie Chan: Asian American Hollywood Then and Now with Jeff Yang and Phil Yu
National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE)
Hawai’i Convention Center, Honolulu, HI
Learn more
June 14, 7 pm - AFI Silver Classic Film Weekend: Screenings of Pavement Butterfly and Shanghai Express
AFI Silver Theatre
8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD
Buy tickets
The artists you selected are each fantastic. The oil portrait blew me away by her skill. All of the AMW works by these artists would look fabulous in my home!
I love Pearl River and their cultural activism. Great people. Very pleased youre working with them.
Congratulations Katie. You and your work deserve every success.
Again, another well written and highly relevant article celebrating the lasting inspiration that is Anna May Wong — thank you!