#asiansdrawingthings

You must have missed the link to the month-long conversation on this blog with Asian diaspora artists, that discussed at length their experiences with racism, immigration, assimilation, cultural spaces, appropriation, and more. You must have missed the part where that conversation isn’t about you. 

Hey friends! It’s been a minute. How are you? Illustration students: how is the new semester going? Are you excited about making new work? How is your school? How are your instructors? Is there anything about illustration that’s really bothering you? Asian diaspora students and artists: how are YOU all doing? Had to school any racists lately? Have any breakthroughs or ringing successes that we can signal boost? Illustrators, new and established: how is work going? Have any new plans or strategies for 2016? Any different doors opening up? Any techniques you’re excited about? How are you doing?

Hey! So, this is a little late but thanks for writing! I think the pressure is off if you’re not studying it in school or trying to make a go of making your art a career. Also, I honestly don’t think most Asian American families dislike art per se. It’s just as a predominately immigrant population, most Asian American families want to make sure that the sacrifices they make are worth it to the next generation (this is ignoring immigration trends that were specifically geared towards tech fields, such as Taiwanese parachute kids in the 70s and 80s). Upward mobility is seemingly more assured in STEM fields as opposed to the arts/liberal arts. I don’t disagree with that idea inherently, but I feel like the arts are one of the integral pieces to creating a distinct Asian American culture that is both visible and acknowledged by the mainstream. We know that this is important; if we are excluded culturally, then we are perpetually perceived as foreigners. If we aren’t perceived as belonging, then we are easily cast aside socially and politically. There is actually a thing that can be called Asian American culture. However, it’s not the result of any mainstream media tradition like comics, or film, etc. From enclave gangs, DJ crews, and import racing, to Internet Cafes and cosplay–all of these movements started by having to carve out a unique space, underground, away from more established forms. If we had all of that, AND Asian American actors/actresses in leading roles in films, AND musicians, AND writers, etc. then we wouldn’t have this pressure to feel a certain way about having to present ourselves. At the end of the day though, you get to define what your work is about and decide what it pulls from. You don’t have to draw, or write, or perform in a certain way to be Asian American– you’re already living it. 

“When it comes to fighting racism, no easy solutions exist. Perhaps the best hope for change lies in education, coupled with greater participation in the American democratic process. The future of Chinese Americans will depend on their ability to reclaim their voices -- their ability to speak out, make their presence felt, and break out of the model-minority mold that has permitted others to define and dictate the form and extent of their success. Their obligations are no different from those of all Americans. We must exercise both our rights and responsibilities as patriotic citizens: voting and running for office, engaging in dialogue with lawmakers, airing our political opinions in the broader media, exposing systemic abuse and injustice within the government and other institutions. It is not enough to make a speech or just wave a flag, though -- we need to make firm challenges to our government and ourselves to honor the civil liberties of all Americans. It is our right as Americans, our privilege, and our responsibility.” - Iris Chang, The Chinese in America

I go to the Museum of Chinese in America here in NYC fairly often, and they have an amazing permanent exhibition about Chinese American history. Additionally, the New York Historical Society recently had an exhibit called Exclusion/Inclusion that spoke to this history in more generalized way. It recently traveled to Portland, but I’m unsure if it is still traveling. I’m unfamiliar with Chinese Canadian history books, but a quick search yields several Chinese Canadian Historical Society sites that you would be able to pick through.In this previous ask, I posted a bunch of sites/blogs that I follow as well.Hope this helps.

Hi! What an awesome, supportive family! You are really lucky. I would love to know more about the reasons on why your dad and his family emigrated.My grandpa on my dad’s side wanted to go to art school, using his GI Bill from WW2. His dad shut that down pretty quickly though. It’s funny, but in a lot of ways I feel like my attending art school is actually a way of atoning for that opportunity that got closed to him.note--OP prob meant artistic talent

That’s an interesting point. I think what we think of as “anime/manga” stylization is a short hand for contemporary Asian comics/animation that has its stylistic roots in Japanese manga and anime. This is an extremely simplistic view of the comics world in East Asia specifically. For example, manhua is the term for Chinese comics (manhwa for Korean comics), but I think it can have several different meanings (correct me if I’m wrong). It can be used as a blanket umbrella term for comics in general, including contemporary Japanese-influenced comics, but can also refer to historical Chinese comics dating all the way back to the Qing-era (1600s to early 1900s). It can even refer to even older historical imagery that is sequential in nature, but not generally considered comics in the contemporary sense. My point is, there is a LOT of history to look at, from all over Asia, when it comes to comics.

Art is a really, really hard sell. It’s hard to even rationalize to yourself sometimes. Just know that it is important, as important as anything, and that you should keep doing it, even if it’s just “on the side.”