#asiansdrawingthings

[johnleedraws]

You were asking Asian diaspora students if they have encountered any racists? What a funny and unfortunate question! As a "white" person whose friends are almost all Asian, I can tell you you about the racist "asian' students who pick white students as targets, operate as closed cliques and are flat out rude to people like myself. And of course many are so wonderful and so I find your question tactless, baiting and ridiculous. Racism? Blame yourself and check your own prejudices at the door.

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. 

[johnleedraws]

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?

[johnleedraws]

Hey! So I'm an Asian American (Okinawan/White) illustrator. So no one really minds or cares about my passion for art pretty much because it's more of an intense hobby rather than my main career path (I'm studying biology currently). I honestly feel bad for having little to no Asian influences in my drawings, so I wish I had a more "anime" style or a more "traditional Asian" style.

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. 

[johnleedraws]

“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

[johnleedraws]

Hi John, love what you're doing right now and I'm going to go a bit off topic (do forgive me). I'm Chinese but I was born in Canada so my whole life, I've always felt disconnected from my culture. Reading your posts, I'm interested in knowing where did you gain such in depth knowledge on Chinese history? Do you have some links or books you wouldn't mind sharing? Stay strong, man!

Hi! I actually don’t know a lot about China and Chinese history, and I am really just getting into the thick of things research-wise. For one, I don’t speak Cantonese or Mandarin, and can read very, very little. I understand a bit more Tagalog on my Filipino side, and can generally understand the gist of conversations, but still, very lacking. My interest in China, but more specifically my interest in Chinese American immigration and Asian Americans in general, came from my interest in my own family background. My brother and I have put a lot of effort to try and piece together all the bits and pieces of family history throughout the years, and we take a lot of pride on knowing how we fit into not only Chinese American history, but American history as well. 

For example: My grandfather served in the 407th Air Service Squadron, attached to the “Flying Tigers” 14th Air Force. The 407th was one of the first all Chinese-American military units, and serviced combat operations in the China-Burma-India campaign. WW2 was one of, if not THE, defining watershed moment for Chinese Americans’ overall acceptance into American society. Up to that point, they were considered an underclass in every meaning of the word, and barely citizens. WW2 changed that, and my grandfather was a part of it.My point is, my interest in this history comes, at first, from a very personal departure point. That’s where you should start: talk to all of your family members! Talk about what they’ve been through, who they knew, what life was like. Document everything. There actually aren’t a ton of books that document Chinese American life compared to other racial groups (I’m sure it’s similar with Chinese Canadians), which means that YOU have to write them. You’re not disconnected from your culture, you are currently your culture! Once you learn a bit more about your family, then you can begin to track backwards to the “old country” in general. Like, my family came from the sticks around Guangzhou, so I have a particular interest in the history of that city, etc.

That being said, here’s some books that I liked recently: ANYTHING AT ALL by Iris Chang, but specifically The Chinese in America, Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, by Frank Wu, Boxers & Saints by Gene Yang. 

Here is a massive list of reading that I want to pick through compiled by the Center for Educational Telecommunications, but focuses primarily on the American diaspora.

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.

[johnleedraws]

Hi, John! I don't have a ton to add, but the published asks have reminded me how lucky I was to have family who supported aristocratic talent. My dad's a retired graphic designer and illustrator (came to the US at age 10), and his parents were from a very rural part of southern China. When he said he wanted to go to art school, his theory is that they didn't object because they didn't know what it meant. My dad and uncle worked together in a small firm for about 30 years as designers. 1/2

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

[johnleedraws]

hey john, im a vietnamese-chinese american whos going to an art college. i really love anime and manga, ive grown up with it my whole life. i sometimes feel weird about it having such an obvious influence in my life because im not japanese. in school im constantly worried that my teachers will tell me 'dont draw anime' to the point where ill avoid drawing figures or change the style for the assignment.

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.

[johnleedraws]

Hello! I am second generation Asian American (my parents lived in China), and I am the first artist in my family. My family mostly does not approve (it's more complicated than that, though). I haven't received backlash, but I have intentionally included Asian features/people in my work. I am not very active in racial politics, but I try to have some diversity.

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.”