The artists of ‘Round the Clock and the Los Angeles Arts Community
June 9, 2012
I knew that the ‘Round the Clock exhibit project presented me with a unique opportunity to examine the work of George Chann, John Kwok, Jake Lee, Milton Quon, and Tyrus Wong through several new lenses, not just their significance within Los Angeles’ Chinese American community.
My Curatorial Assistant extraordinaire, Nicole Saint, and I began pulling together all the whos, whats, and hows from all our research in order to build this very map. Nicole also had to quickly figure out how to work a very complex mapping program (primarily used by scientists) that would accommodate the various levels of detail that we wanted to include. Nicole and I hope you enjoy exploring the map, and I welcome your comments and questions.
As the relationship map illustrates, Chann, Lee, Kwok, Quon, and Wong did not live and create in isolation. During their time as students at the most prominent art schools in Los Angeles, as active members of prestigious artistic societies, and as esteemed artists at professional workplaces, they were active participants in a variety of overlapping communities. Each artist’s circle of influence expands well beyond family and friends to include influential figures in the Chinese American community and the greater Los Angeles art-making community as a whole. While it is important to acknowledge and celebrate the unique merits of each artist, it is also important to explore the lives and works of these five artists in relation to one another and the broader arts community in this city they called home.
LEGEND
Colored Nodes
Magenta: place
Dark purple: person
Light blue: artistic society
Dark blue: art school
Colored Lines connect nodes to indicate the nature of relationships/interactions:
Blue: member/participant
Orange: employee
Purple: friend/relative
Green: teacher/student