By Nicholas Slayton From Los Angeles Downtown News

Chinese American Museum and California African American Museum Join Forces for Unique Two-Part Exhibition

DTLA – Last week saw the launch of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a massive artistic endeavor in which more than 70 museums and arts institutions are exploring Latino and Latin American art in Los Angeles.

Most of the shows in the effort organized by the Getty Foundation focus on one museum or institution. Then there’s Circles and Circuits, which takes place in a pair of museums on opposite ends of Downtown Los Angeles.

Circles and Circuits is a two-part exploration of the Chinese Caribbean art community and its output since the 1920s. It is divided into related exhibits at the Chinese American Museum at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, and the California African American Museum in Exposition Park.

Though Chinese-Caribbean art might seem like an unlikely focus, co-curator Steven Wong said it makes sense. He pointed to a strong arts scene in Cuba and the international migration and cultural interaction between the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.

“The Caribbean has often been marginalized in Latin American studies,” he said. “It occupies this blurry line when we try to create borders. The intention here is to reframe it.”

The exhibits specifically focus on the artistic communities of Cuba, Jamaica, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago. Circles and Circuits features works by 39 artists; they are mostly split between the two museums, although some artists have work in both. Pieces range from traditional painting to video collages to installations. The shows opened last week and run through Feb. 25 at CAAM and March 11 at CAM.

Wong, who stepped down as the curator of the Chinese American Museum this year after developing Circles and Circuits, found a willing partner in the California African American Museum. He pitched the idea to the Getty Foundation.

Circles and Circuits I: History and Art of the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora is at the Exposition Park institution. It looks at the artistic, cultural and stylistic evolution of the community over several decades starting in the 1920s. Co-curator Alexandra Wong said that African American art and Chinese Caribbean art have a lot of overlap, with much of it coming from the mid-20th century during the wave of independence movements that swept the world against imperialism.

“In the ’50s, people and artists were thinking about colonialism and fighting oppression together,” Chang said.

One artist featured is Sybil Atteck, a founder of the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago. Chang called her the “founding mother” of modern art in the country who helped shepherd other artists. Her colorful paintings depicting landscapes and people in angular, stylized forms are on display.

The work of Chinese-Panamanian artist Manuel Chong-Neto is also featured. Chong-Neto created stylized portraits of women, depicting them in slightly surreal, bulky proportions.

The exhibition is laid out in multiple rooms in both museums, with Circles and Circuits I set up roughly chronologically.

The Chinese American Museum is hosting Circles and Circuits II: Contemporary Chinese Caribbean Art. It includes mixed-media work from 18 artists, including multiple pieces by Cuban painter Wifredo Lam.

Many of the pieces in Circles and Circuits II examine popular culture and the post-colonial era of the Caribbean, as well as personal beauty, according to Chang. The works on display include Albert Chong’s “Aunt Winnie,” a painting of a woman overlaid with flower petals on the edges of the frame.

One component of the exhibit is a look at the wider Chinese-Caribbean diaspora. After decades of building a vibrant artistic community, many of the artists spread out across Europe and North America, including Los Angeles, according to Chang. Her co-curator agreed, citing the wider artistic dispersion from the Caribbean as another cultural connection.

“The Chinese have many shared histories with the Afro-Caribbean community,” Wong said. “ There are intersections in migration and artist circles.”

Wong said that many people who hear about the exhibit are surprised to learn about the Chinese-Caribbean artistic community, and even the existence of Chinese Caribbean people. He said that one of his goals forCircles and Circuits is to show the diversity and cultural interactions of the Caribbean.

Circles and Circuits runs through March 11 at the Chinese American Museum, 425 N. Los Angeles St. or camla.org; and through Feb. 25 at the California African American Museum, 600 State Drive or caamuseum.org.

IMAGES:

The Circles and Circuits installation at the California African American Museum holds a self portrait by Sybil Atteck, an artist from Trinidad and Tobago. Altogether 39 artists are showcased in the two museums.
photo courtesy the collection of Helen Atteck

The two-part Circles and Circuits examines Chinese Caribbean art created over the last 100 years. The portion at the Chinese American Museum includes Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons’ “Finding Balance.”
photo courtesy of the Chinese American Museum

For more on this story go to: http://www.ladowntownnews.com/arts_and_entertainment/two-museums-tackle-the-chinese-caribbean-connection/article_4afb7836-9c94-11e7-88df-3b4dbf46591e.html