SF Chronicle features 'Asian/American/Modern' exhibit

In the SF State-sponsored de Young Museum exhibition "Asian/American/Modern Art," Professor Mark Dean Johnson has unearthed rare and seldom seen works by Asian American artists.

"We're pulling things out to see again and appreciate anew," Johnson said, in a San Francisco Chronicle story by Jesse Hamlin, published Nov. 12 on the front page of the Datebook section.

Irene Poon Andersen, visual resource curator in the Art Department and a photographer, is among the 70-plus artists in the exhibition. In the Chronicle article, she said she was wowed by the exhibit and its accompanying book, edited primarily by Johnson.

"I suppose World War II had a lot to do with some of these artists being shelved," she said. "I suppose World War II had a lot to do with some of these artists being shelved. The war years were not a good time for a lot of Asian Americans, especially Japanese Americans."

The exhibition is on display at the de Young through Jan. 18, 2009. On the evening of Friday, Nov. 14, the museum presents its College Night. For this night only, admission is free with valid SF State ID.

Image: Yun Gee (b. 1906, Kaiping, Guangdong, China–d. 1963, New York, N.Y.) Where is My Mother; 1926–1927. Oil on canvas. 20 1/8 x 16 in. Estate of Yun Gee, Courtesy of Li-Ian