Race Traitors Strike Back Exhibit

Race is not a biological but rather a social construct that evolves and changes with time. That said, there has been massive endeavors, campaigns, and policies in US history to define peoples from various origins who develop intimate relationships and create new groups of peoples. Critical mixed race frameworks can resist against institutional oppression against marginalized ethnic groups through alternative, grassroot cultural productions.

We chose the theme of “race traitors,” because this exhibit explores how the concept of race affects multiracial groups, the US society’s concept of “Race” through the origins of the Eugenics Movement, its shifts over time, and the current community ideals towards multiracial/mixed race groups. Although the majority of our artists are monoracial, we share the same goal of questioning and examining the use racial categories in the US; through our research, we found the racial categories in the US have irrational, historical logics that misallocate resources, denies equitable and fair treatment to marginalized groups, and sustains the elites’ power through the use of ethnic minority collaborators in institutions, industries, and government.  Therefore, pertaining to critical mixed race studies and its new frontiers in 2016, our exhibit aims to answer these questions:

1. How can we use critical mixed race frameworks to achieve and to restore systemic, social equality for mixed race peoples in any fields within society including health fields, economic attainment, and public policies?
2. What happens when people who are actually in interracial relationships and who have critical mixed race awareness/are mixed race voice their own mixed race experiences through their own cultural productions?
3. Why should we use racial categories if these categories have a history of being used to divide, conquer, and control the masses and withhold economic resources from marginalized ethnic groups in the US?
4. What happens when we base ethnic studies on uncritical racial pride without examining the historical legacies of these racial categories?

Here's a virtue catalogue of the amazing artworks that will be on display:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ6WaNVv7U2utP4QaREaGFDBQkGNEOaMTM8PpGjNe0s/edit?usp=sharing

Portrait: Myura Trawick

I’m African-American and Cambodian.

Technically a lot of other things too, but those two ethnicities are what my parents mainly identify with, so it’s what I grew up calling myself. There’s a sort of innocence when you’re a child, not really knowing why everyone gives you such odd looks at family reunions when your friends at the playground couldn’t care less what you looked like.

It was a cultivation of micro-aggressions that lead to an identity crisis as I got older, as I experienced more of the world and learned what race meant. What it mean to be black. What it mean to be Asian. These sort of experiences that my friends, my parents, my peers would project onto me and then get upset when I didn’t know how to react.

Perhaps the most poignant memory of mine is when I went to a wedding for one of my mother’s relatives. It was at an extravagant Cambodian restaurant, with the floor opened up to allow for dancing while people could watch over plates of expensive duck and curry and baked goods. People who wanted to dance were doing a very traditional dance – I can’t recall the name of it, but it involved moving your hands as you moved around in a circle to the music.

I remember my father being the only non-Cambodian person there and when we went to go dance with my mother, I could feel a shift in the tone of the restaurant. It was still jovial, but I can still remember overhearing some drunken men loudly talking in Khmer and asking why a black man was on the dance floor. Even as a child, hearing this was particularly jarring to me.

For my self-portrait, I decided to celebrate my own identity. Celebrate this coming of worlds that made me. I depicted myself in a traditional Cambodian aspara headdress, with minor artistic liberties taken. But instead of the long, sleek black hair many are used to seeing, I have drawn myself with my usual, brown, kinky curls. My afro hair.

Perhaps I could be called a race traitor, in the same way those men wanted to know why my mother was with my father. But this is who I am. And nothing is changing that.

Self-Portrait: Vy Nguyen

To me, being an artist means putting my best foot forward not just to illustrate, but also to create something that can reach the audience in ways nothing else can and transcend them beyond the essentials of life. This is a self-portrait inspired by the concept of duality, evident in Nella Larson's Passing and Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer.

I am an international student that was born and raised in Vietnam and is currently studying abroad at UC Davis. But because of the way I dress and sound, I often get mistaken as being Vietnamese-American. Although this can be an advantage since I do not have to explain why I do not have a Vietnamese accent or discuss my family's financial background. However, I have a language barrier when it comes to Vietnamese, which is ironic considering I am Vietnamese and grew up in Vietnam. Therefore, I often feel detached from my roots because at my international school, they do not teach Vietnamese or celebrate all Vietnamese traditions. And like Irene, from Passing, she was able to pass as white and was able to marry a white man but then finds herself stuck between her marriage and getting in touch with her roots. Moreover, having a Western-influenced background, I often can sympathize with many situations; much like the narrator in The Sympathizer and his Anti-Communist and Communist perspective, I can understand both viewpoints because I grew up in a Communist/Socialist country and is studying abroad, which has allowed me to be in touch with Vietnamese immigrants and their narratives.

I chose to draw myself with curly hair to look more “American” and displayed my internal flesh to highlight the notion that there is more to me than how I look. I specifically chose black and white as the color scheme and drew my mind being suffocated to counter the idea that mixed-race individuals do not follow one way or another; they are just as normal as anyone. We all have complex thoughts and identities and it is tiring to have others identity who we are and not who we identity ourselves as.

Week 8: Self Portrait - The Phoenix

by: Angela nguyen

While I am not mixed race, being Vietnamese American has its struggles that are quite similar to those that are biracial. There are instances where I appear as too American due to the way I dress, talk, and eat around those that are full Vietnamese. While I may appear as a traitor to them, I am actually very acculturated and knowledgeable about my Vietnamese identity. Therefore, for my artwork, I wanted to portray myself wearing the traditional Vietnamese American dress - Ao Dai, to essentially reciprocate the stereotype. Inspired by “Doing the Mixed-Race Dance” by Kieu Linh Caroline Valverde, I wanted to use the Ao Dai as a cultural badge to show that I have understood the strategies to mold myself within the different categories made by various Vietnamese communities. 

For my artwork, I chose to do a graphite sketch of myself because the indefinite lines symbolize my confusion at times regarding my identity. I chose to imprint a phoenix on the Ao Dai to symbolize my understanding of an aspect of the Vietnamese culture, modesty and nobility. Modest in a sense that I while I am aware of my culture at times, I choose not to show it and noble in a sense that regardless of what people think of me, I know my own goodness. Moreover, because the phoenix is a creature that possess the best features of other creatures, including the rooster’s head, jaw of a swallow, the snake’s neck, the tortoise’s back, and a fish’s tail, I wanted to show that while the bird is ‘mixed,’ it is a sacred bird.

Week 7 Portrait: Christine Lee

Artist: Christine Lee

This self-portrait was primarily inspired by my childhood and growing up as an American-Born Chinese girl and how I identity myself currently. Despite being raised with English, not being able to understand my native language of Cantonese and having no immediate relationship or feelings of dedication, pride, or cultural awareness with China, I accept my upbringing and who I am today. Because of this detached association with China, I could easily be labeled as a “Hanjian” as seen in the bottom banner of my portrait. The term Hanjian is a derogatory word used to describe race traitors to the Han Chinese, which constitute approximately 90% of China. Historically, this word was used upon Chinese espionage spies working for the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930’s and 40’s. But I took this hurtful word and embraced it, twisting it into an defining accent of who I am and presented it an eye-pleasing, endearing way with cursive font and hearts.


Using photo reference, I sketched, inked, and then colored the image with a variety of mediums including colored pencil, oil pastels, and markers. I also wanted to illustrate femininity in this piece by including a warmer color scheme and soft, pink background to emphasize my identity as not only Chinese but female as well. If anything, I also identity as Californian, as I have been born and raised here all my life, hence the inclusion of a flower crown of the state’s flower, golden poppies.


With my art, I create works that emphasize the importance of accepting your faults and being able to grow and find genuine value within yourself. It is imperative to love who you are, what you do, and all you have accomplished in order to achieve a happy and successful life.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15XYwL7Re9eBgKgys5U37qLvo5Bod0zOacgBxOvl1YLo/edit

   

For this art piece I was inspired by guest lecturer, Professor Wei Ming Dariotis. The talk about her book War Baby/Love Child: Mixed Race Asian American Art. Some of her pieces really inspired this self portrait. I am at the root of my family history. I have a voice in letting people know who I am. I feel that I can be seen as being a race traitor. Viewed from an outsider’s perspective where they assume they know. I was born in the United States but my roots are Mexican. I have struggled with my self-identity, feeling as though I am “ni de aqui, ni de aya” which means that I am not from here, or from there. I consider myself to be both, which means that if I am to identify as just Mexican I leave my American identity aside, and if I embrace my American identity I set aside my Mexican roots. That is one of the reasons why I showcased my two flags in the background of my picture. The two flags are fused in the center showcasing that I am a fusion of both worlds and in the bottom I have the self-identifying title of Mexican American. The title, Mexican is first because I was born with cultural practices, language, food, music of Mexico and my American identity comes afterwards because it is where I have lived all of my life. Combining them makes me my whole. Also, I contrasted the picture to highlight my bright red curly hair. It was important for me to point out my curly hair since it is another major part of my identity. In one of my Chicano classes I learned that the curlier the hair from people of Mexican descent the closer their ancestral lineage is to that of the Spanish. This has stuck with me for many years, and makes me want to question my roots. Furthering the complexity of my self identity.

Week 7: Self Portrait "Beneath the Mask" - Andrea Cruz

By: Andrea Cruz

To the Mexican-American community, I looked mixed. To all other races, I look Mexican. Yet, I was raised in a Chinese household. When I am with my family, I have the same life experiences as a Chinese American. But am I Chinese? Not really, because, in public, due to my Latina features, I have faced the same discrimination as my fellow Mexican Americans have. I have the life experiences of two different races and cultures. Naturally, thinking about my identity has only brought on headaches and confusion. I constantly feel like a victim of mistaken identity.

This self-portrait reflects my confusion over my identity. I wear a mask in public because people will see what they want to see, no matter how much I argue or justify myself. Yet, at the end of the day, when I finally get a chance to do some soul-searching, I don’t have an answer. I am still on a journey of self-discovery. For now, I’ve settled on mixed race, an ambiguous label in itself already.

As an artist, I wanted to be honest. Many of my mixed race peers struggle with this question of how to identify. Everyone answers differently and everyone has their own reasons. 

Alaina's Self Portrait

Although I am not composed of multiple races as I am full Filipino, I sometimes resonate to how mixed race people are blamed for the loss of culture of one’s race. I grew up in the Philippines until I was 16 years old when my family immigrated in the United States. Through the years, I have gained new relationships, friendships, and acquired knowledge through the eyes of the American people. I have gradually assimilated into the culture because of this and have paved a new integrated one that is distinct from everyone else’s. Indeed, I may be entirely Filipino biologically, but my experiences and lifestyle integrate that of other cultures as well, thus showing my mixed identity. Some may consider this an eradication of one’s culture, but I see this as an evolution of cultures.

As an artist, I want to showcase my identity as a Filipino-American. Behind my portrait are two familiar flags of the United States (left) and the Philippines (right). This represents the integrated lifestyles I have today. The solid colors of red and blue in the Philippine and US flags reflect the changing dynamics of my values and identity. When I grew up in the Philippines, my identity as a Filipino is one dimensional. However today, because of my experiences here in the United States, it has become multidimensional, which is shown by the layered shades of red and blue. The American culture is becoming a huge part of me as well. In the US flag, I integrated my Filipino culture within the American vibe and culture by drawing some Filipino mangos and bamboo leaves between the stripes.

Week 7: Japanese Gattaca/Genetically Modified Race Traitors (Leslie Do)

Leslie Do
ASA 115, Dr. Valverde
14th May 2016

Between the US and Japan as Two Post-Humanist Empires: Gattaca (1997) Merges with Tokyo Ghoul (2011) 

Cindy Nakashima's inquiry on the intersection of mixed race issues (such as the problemization of interracial couples as the catalyst towards cultural genocide) and the rise of mixed race characters in current science fiction series inspired my self-portrait of being a race traitor. My "mug shot" documents my incarceration for merging with non-human species and becoming a post-humanist servitor of US empire. As I was drawing my portrait with a fine, black sharpie, black ball-point pen, and red pen, I theorized that the current trend of post-humanist anime and American, science fiction movies with mixed race characters are preparing American and Japanese consumers to accept the new post-humanist power structures where genetically modified humans will comprise of the elite, ruling class. Using racism as the foundation and template for the imagination of new American societies, films such as Gattaca (1997) imagine these post-humanist socities where parents can design their babies with advanced medical technology and remove any congenial illnesses before they are born.

Subsequently, these designer children will be seen as the superior race over children conceived without genetic screening and genetic intervention. Yet, I realized that Sui Ishida's post-humanist manga Tokyo Ghoul (2011) evolves this idea by arguing that this power structure, privileged class, ruling elite will also include modified humans who can regenerate their body parts through stem cells will comprise of the superior class. This class can emerge from stem cell experiments and the merging of non-human organs that will create a new class of designer, regenerative humans in the future. All in all, Japanese post-humanist, science fiction anime such as Tokyo Ghoul (2011) and even American movies that explore techniques genome modification and gene splicing such as Jurassic World (2015) and Splice (2009) are desensitizing and normalizing the American masses to a power hierarchy based on genetic modification and species that can regenerate their bodies. Therefore, combinations of Japanese popular culture and American popular culture warns us of the US and Japan becoming joint, post-humanist empires that normalizes the genetic modification of human beings.

Since Kaneki (the main character from Tokyo Ghoul) wears a mask to hide his identity as an artificially created post-humanist super soldier as who escaped from his power handlers and scientists, I decided to portray myself as Kaneki with a mask with the main character's face from Viet Thanh Nguyen's book the Sympathizer. (I drew myself with Kaneki's retractable weaponized claws on my back as well.) My mask and the weaponized limbs extending from my back symbolize the dominant power structure transition from racism to a social system that values genetically modified humans at the dehumanization of humans made from natural reproduction. In a fictional world, my mug shot records my escape from the science labs of genetic modification in Viet Nam as I subvert scientific, post-humanist studies institutes that use involuntary Vietnamese, test subjects. Yet, since the mission of my artwork is to resist against the use of countries as social laboratories for unethical experimentation of humans, I will use my own portraits and paintings as a cautionary, dystopic tale against post-humanist futures.

Self-Portrait: Thuy Trinh Nguyen

I was inspired by Professor Valverde’s “Doing the Mixed-Race Dance: Negotiating Social Spaces Within the Mutiracial Vietnamese American Class Typology” and came up with how I identify myself in the Vietnamese American community. I was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and moved to the Bay area at a young age. Both places are complete opposite to one another but I always remind myself to not loose my culture. The Vietnamese culture here is very different from Vietnam and I learn to embrace what I have come to known. From a far, I see many differences but when I look closely they both have a similarity, which I call both places home. Despite societal and familial expectations, I have a differential identification with the new traditions, customs, and cultural values.

For my self-portrait, I drew the head shape to represent myself in the picture. Instead of the traditional facial features, I chose to draw the outline of the U.S. and Vietnam maps in order to illustrate both of my cultural identities. I connected my birthplace to where I currently reside to reflect my race traitor identity.  Although I attempted to hold on to my native cultural values, retain my native language, I had to change certain viewpoints in order to fit into my new home.

Week 7: Self-Portrait by Jingyi Dong

The inspiration of creating this piece is from the article “Doing the Mixed Race Dance: A Multiracial Vietnamese American Class Typology.” by Kieu Linh Valverde, and Cindy Nakashima’s talk about the allowance of mixing in Japan. Although I am not mixed race, I understand how there is a typology among every culture upon mixing of culture, and how I can identify different part of myself as different part of a certain culture.

First I wanted to use a mirror to hide myself in order to show how the real me is covered while the mirror reflects who the people around me want me to pass as. The crack in the mirror represents that it is starting to break down by my strong will of showing my true self.  I wanted to show all the different cultures that shaped me, thus I used traditional clothing and masks to represent each of them. They represent all the different stereotypes applied to each culture. The mask, or no face is holding the mirror to show that I do not belong to any of the specific ones, or no one in any of the culture. The red color represents the part of the culture that is still within me when I represent myself to the public, and how each culture includes myself as well. Thus I belong everywhere, and I am a traitor to all of them.

To create the piece, first I looked for examples online to see tutorials on how to draw different structures. Then I used pencils to sketched out all the characters and clothing. In the end, I colored some parts with red color pencils with different strengths to create different levels of red.

For me, being an artist means to express myself and my thoughts through nonverbal methods. I believe that it needs to be authentic and easy to understand at the same time, yet retain a deeper meaning beneath. It is a way for myself to express and scream without sound.

Slippery Slope - Nicholas

For my self-portrait, I wanted to use food as a example of being a race traitor. I am inspired to use food because food is a very important part of people's cultures, including my own. I identify as Mexican, so I wanted to use a food that would show me betraying Mexican food and culture. Thus, I decided to use taco from Taco Bell. I wanted to use a inauthentic taco to show that although it has Mexican roots, it is Americanized which means it is inauthentic and a betrayal of my Mexican race.

I titled my piece slippery slope because I wanted to imply that once you begin to betray your race, you open a can of worms that has no end. One day it might be eating a taco from Taco Bell instead of a Taqueria, next it might be refusing to speak Spanish to my grandpa or not identifying as Mexican but American. Maybe even go as far as denying my roots and forgetting about my comunidad. Although a small act against your race could be meaningless, it could lead to something deeper and being a full blown race traitor.

Self-Portrait: Alexis Quach

The first source that got my idea running for this piece were the lines “I have the right not to keep the races separate within me” and “I have the right to not justify my ethnic legitimacy” from the “Bill of Rights for People of Mixed Heritage”. I am half Chinese and half Laotian. For as long as I can remember, I never felt as though I expressed both sides equally; I would always be more prideful of one over the other. For example, because I’d learn how to speak Cantonese when living with my Chinese grandparents as a kid, it made it difficult to grasp Laotian vocabulary at a older age with my Laotian grandparents. Some years I would dress up in colorful traditional Laotian clothing for Lao New Years, and wonder why I’d be in typical casual wear for Chinese New Year. Fortunately, as time went on, I learned that it was perfectly all right to express both sides as much as I pleased and to feel a mix of both cultures inside of me, because that is who I am.

The flags I’ve painted upon my long sleeve shirt are the Laotian and Chinese flag. The reason for this being that when coming up with the idea, I was inspired by the idiom “to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve” meaning to make one’s feelings apparent. Because I hold both cultures dearly within my heart, I wanted to play with the words of the original idiom to show who I am and that I’m proud to be so. In the photo, I also chose to cross my arms to symbolize the interlocking connection, as opposed to a clear-cut line, between the two nationalities within in me. I wanted to keep my piece as a typical looking photo because I recalled when Dr. Weiming Dariotis was a guest speaker, she thought it was interesting how most of the art pieces presented had the own artists’ faces. I wanted to use this element because I liked how it allowed me to put a face to the artist and their words, making it seem all the more relatable. 

This piece allowed me, as an artist, to express my current feelings as a race traitor through simple symbols. Personally, I tend to gravitate towards producing simple pieces with symbols that can tell a story or convey a bigger meaning than what the piece first seems to be from a quick glance. 

Week 7: Ia's self-portrait

My self portrait is inspired by Cindy's lecture last Wednesday about the critique of the eradication of the Japanese culture due to mixing. Interracial marriages between Japanese and non-Japanese have occurred long before American miscegenation laws that targeted Asians. In contrary, Japan recognized many interracial couples that are successful in the U.S which Americans are not aware of. The counter-critique is that the Japanese culture is not diluted through mixing.

The story behind my portrait is that my grandpa, many generations ago, married a Chinese woman. My Chinese grandmother enforced many Chinese rituals and customs into the paternal rituals. Now my clan members practice certain rituals that are different from other clans in respect to the Chinese culture of my Chinese grandmother. 
 The red cloth covering my head is used in traditional Chinese wedding and the black blouse with pink and green stripes is a Hmong blouse indicative of my clan and region. The wedding wears are used to portray the union of my grandmother's culture and my grandfather's culture. The mixing of the heritages did not deteriorate the Hmong culture or the Chinese culture. I used "make-up" products as the medium to imply the making up of an evolving hybrid culture. 

Week 7: Self Portrait by Llesenia Villalobos

Mixed raced discussion: Inspired by the various discussions around mixed raced people and mixed race identity, I decided to create a simple self portrait of my identity. Although I am not mixed raced, I often times struggle with my self-identity. My parents are both Mexican and I am American. I consider myself to be Mexican-American. The reasoning behind the gray image of myself is because I consider my identity to be in a gray area. Since my identity is hyphenated, I don't feel like I belong to one race. In order to represent both races, I decided to draw an American flag without the stars and a Mexican flag without the eagle. This represents the fact that I am not completely American or Mexican, rather a mixture of both.
The identity of a mixed raced individual might be compared to a gray space because it is difficult to identify with one race over the other. The gray image also describes the internal conflict of being a race traitor or not. Lastly, being mixed race and identifying as mixed race is something that is not very common in our society thus, the gray portrait represents a unique identity that doesn't necessarily fit into another.

Week 7 - Chloe Shiau

For my self portrait, I wanted to surround myself with my identity. Even though I am not mixed race, my family came to America when they were very young, and I grew up learning more American values than Chinese. I am fully Chinese, but I see myself as a race traitor when I see my other Chinese friends follow these traditions that I never had to follow because my family did not practice Chinese culture. The Chinese have a lot of values and superstitions that the Americans do not, and sometimes I feel isolated in a Chinese community because I am lost in identity there. I asked my mother to teach me how to cook Chinese food, but even she doesn't remember how because they were absorbed into the American society way before I was born.

As an artist, I wanted to create a portrait where I am surrounded by both the culture I identify with (American), and the identity I was born with (Chinese). In the portrait, even though I do not follow the traditions and culture of the Chinese, I am content in life and don't mind that I am more American than I am Chinese - thus I am smiling in my portrait. My Chinese race will always be with me, which is why the circle shows the Chinese stars on the flag as half of the circle, and not just on a little part of the circle. I am proud to be Chinese, and that my family struggled heavily to be able to live a good life in America, so I can only say that I enjoy being a part of two cultures.

Project 7: Self-Portrait

 

By Miggy Cruz

ASA 115 Mixed Race Experiences: Race Traitors re-opened the discussion on the experiences of mixed race individuals. They had a history that gave them advantage and privilege (Smallwood). However, that history has been distorted due to a shift in power and mindset of the dominant group, the White European-Anglo. Non-whites, began to be idealized as minorities, and those who did not follow the laws of society were deviants. Minorities were labeled as such, what more are mixed race individuals. From the Eugenics Movement, to the black and white binary, to the One-drop Rule, these made-up scientific, or seemingly intelligent jargon placed a group of people into a cell to which they think they can never escape. Dividing mixed race into two, or more depending on if they were multiracial (Valverde).

In an attempt to begin seeing myself as the subject of my own work, I first decided to take a photo of myself. This photo was later polished and enhanced to reveal the details of my features. Next, I used various applications on my phone in order to change the gradient of the image by changing the effects into a type of sketch. The sketches then had different levels of light and dark shading. These levels of black and white shading is supposed to represent the previously mentioned black-white binary and One-drop Rule that has so driven society in the past by dividing a group of people, or simply Colorism. No matter the amount of black, white, brown, yellow, red, an individual has in the blood the image of that individual remains the same and equal to all other mixed persons or non-mixed persons.  Moreover, to tackle the Eugenics Movement I decided to sketch half of my face, but tear the skin off the other half to show the muscular and skeletal structure. Using science to divide a people only propelled them to break down such a claim that the mixing of race will bring about the fall of the human race (Teo). Guest speaker Cindy Nakashima pointed out that the majority of the Japanese population will be comprised of mixed race individuals; otherwise, the Japanese population will become endangered. The mixing of races has now become a necessity.

Sources:

Nakashima, Cindy. “Eugenics and Curating.” ASA 115 Mixed Race Experiences: Race Traitors. University of California, Davis, 11 May 2016. Lecture. 

Smallwood, Arwin D. “Race Mixing: A Brief History with Maps.” Mixed Race is a Black Box: Asian American Literary Review. 4.2 : 2013. Print

Teo, Thomas. “The Historical Problematization of “Mixed Race” in Psychological and Human-scientific Discourses.” (2004). PDF.

Valverde, Kieu Linh. “Doing Mixed Race Dance: A Multicultural Vietnamese American Class Typology.” (2001). PDF.

Project 7 - Self Portrait

Artist: Samantha Soleta

Artist Statement:

Inspired by Kahit Ano, UC Davis Mga Kapatid's Pilipino Culture Night this year, I decided to portray myself in the style of a banga dancer. In the dance Banga, the women performing represent the women in the Philippine mountains who make the long trip to go fetch water. I performed this piece for PCN, and although I have no experience living in the Philippines, traveling to get water, or living on a mountain, it really stuck with me. For me, being a race traitor was inherent within my identity as an Filipinx-American. Growing up, I never learned Tagalog, I shied away from food that was "too weird." It wasn't until I started searching for my cultural identity that I realized my whole life I was ignoring a lot of my culture.

I decided on a yellow background in honor of the late Pilipina president Corazon Aquino and the strides she made in the Philippines. Additionally, I splattered red and blue paint across my painting to represent the specks of my Filipinx heritage. Although I am American and I've never left the US, those specks are certainly there and are a reminder of where my family comes from. As an aspiring artist, I hope to show a representation of me and the culture I dearly love and strive to be in touch with.

Project 7: Self Portrait - Kurt Romero

For my self portrait, I wanted to create a simple drawing that has a lot of meaning behind who I am as a person. I am not mixed race, however I do consider myself a race traitor. I am full Filipino, but was born and raised in America. I honestly am not fully knowledgeable about my culture of being Filipino because my parents wanted me to grow up as an “American” child. I do not speak or fully understand my parent’s native language and unmotivated to learn about my culture growing up because I did not care much about it. The headband I am wearing in the picture is from an anime called Naruto. The reason behind the headband was to show how much I care for the Japanese culture a lot more. I loved watching anime and learning more of the Japanese culture when I was growing up. This is how I see myself as a race traitor. I am a Filipino American boy that sometimes wishes he was Japanese instead. This class has inspired me in making this simple self portrait. Even though I am not mixed race, I sometimes wish I could be a different race than the one I am now. It is similar to Rachel Dolezal and how she strongly believes in being a black woman. However, I would not go through changing my physical appearance because I do not have that strong beliefs as she does.

The process of making this self portrait was simple. I sketched an outline of the picture which took long because it is hard for me to draw. Once I have the outline, I went over the sketch with a black sharpie then erased the excessive amount of pencil markings. For the finishing touches, I used color pencils to color in the portrait. What it means to be an artist is to be able to express your feelings and I do strongly believe that when creating art.

Kou Xiong Self-Portrait

Artist: Kou Xiong

Artist Statement:

This self-portrait is inspired by Professor Caroline Kieu Linh Valverde and her unique vision of art. While brainstorming for this piece, I was struck with the idea of anger and rage. I wanted to display a self-portrait that encompasses the image of a Race Traitor and a Monster Child. An image that can conveys the tragedy and confusion of what other sees in mix race individuals. My background portrait is a bombing scene of the Vietnam War. It is there to show the fear that was born within my parents’ hearts living through the war… and that War Babies and Love Child aren’t the only thing that is born during war. I then Photoshop the stone carving texture into the art piece to show that this art piece has an element of history… and that true history is not written in textbook but is carved in stone.

I want this art piece to break down the social stigma placed upon mix race individuals. To show that it doesn’t matter what race we are or what kind of life we live… we as human beings will experience happiness and joy as well as sorrow and confusion. That is why I base my art piece on the image of myself, a 100% Hmong person, reflecting a Race Traitor.

Darrell Hamamoto - Eugenics and New World Order

Cindy Nakishima - Eugenics and Curating

Cindy Nakashima
Mixed Race Scholar and Curator
By the end of this year, the Japanese American community will likely be 'majority mixed'. Telling this story in a way that avoids images of 'rainbow children' on the one hand and 'cultural suicide' on the other is tricky business. Join us to discuss the process of choosing (and then, telling) the narrative(s) that takes you where you want to go.

Week 6: Flag Design "Blue and Red All Over" - Estefanie H., Andrea C., Nicholas S., and Myura T.

By: Estefanie H., Andrea C., Nicholas S., and Myura T.

Artist Statement:

We drew inspiration for our flag from the book War Baby / Love Child and its attempt to depict mixed heritage through various forms of art. Our flag shows a male figure in a uniform, this side is in red to represent the lives lost due to war, and also the loss of identity. He also has the moon behind him, that not only represents darkness but also as a motherly figure; the mother is watching over him. The right side of the flag, with a blue background, demonstrates a faceless woman holding a child. Blue typically represents peace, which is ironic due to the fact that women that have children with soldiers sometimes do not find peace for appearing to have “betrayed their race” by mixing with a person that is not of their ethnic background. The faceless woman has a visible tear which can represent sadness for her, for her child’s future or also it can be interpreted as her feeling torn between choosing her child or the man next to her. There is also a visible border between them creating the illusion of being united yet separate. The baby is in red to signify that it is the soldier’s child. The Sun behind her should be warming her, but all she feels is blue, literally and metaphorically.

Learning about different laws that “allowed” these war babies/ love children to find their parents. It made us think about how many parents were not able to cross that border (in between our images) to reunite their children with other family members. The one thing for certain is that they both see the same moon and sun just in different parts of the world.

Made by Asians, For Asians Unity Flag by Alaina Cagalingan and Ia Lo

Artists Chau Huynh, Kieu Linh Valverde, and Onjena Yo each took two culturally and politically distinct countries together to form a unity flag, wherein it can act not only as a bold statement to the global world, but also allow for many interpretations using the abstract property of art as their foundation. As artists, we were inspired from their work and the open discussion of stolen economic and cultural production by Dr. Wei Minh Dariotis as we create this project “Made by Asians, For Asians Unity Flag”.

As the project title suggests, “Made by Asians, For Asians Unity Flag,” we hope to inspire Hapa artists and all others alike to promote their cultural products and handicrafts to everyone but most especially to themselves to further enrich the art of mixing. Economically, the flag unites All Asians to buy their own culturally made products. Working together, all Asians can help protect each of ther native design from being mass produced by a non-native. Furthermore, self promoting products of All Asian artists (Hapas and others of mixed race) will not only showcase their identity and talent, but also will inspire the intertwining and braided discourse of their cultures. Overall, the “Made by Asians, For Asians Unity Flag’s” goal is to increase respect and quality of production by All Asian artists (mixed or full) in any form of art such as films, paintings, handicrafts, literature, and many more.

The flag is composed of a variety of Asian flags that are pieced together using familiar Asian accessories. Like any other art, it is open for interpretation. In the upper left corner, the five flowers represents China as it imitates the stars in the Chinese flag. The star in the middle represents all various cultures of Vietnam, Philippines, Pakistan, Turkey and Hong Kong whose flags all consist of the same symbol in theirs. Similarly, the circle of rolled garment in the middle represent the countries of Japan, India, Laos, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, etc. whose flags contain the same symbol as well. Also, the green layer of bamboo represent countries of Jordan, India, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and other. Hmong is represented by the addition of their embroidery at the top and right side of the flag.

Project 6 - Vietnamese Amerasian

By: Chloe Shiau, Kou Xiong, and Thuy Trinh Nguyen

This week’s influence was channeled by ideas of being a half Vietnamese half American child, which they call the “war babies.” These war babies were not accepted in Vietnam because they were not fully Vietnamese. For our flag, we combined a Vietnamese flag used before 1975, which consists of a yellow flag with three red stripes, with an American flag, to show the identity of being Vietnamese Amerasian. On the top of the Vietnamese flag, you will see a Vietnamese woman holding a baby up towards the sky, just like in the Lion King scene - imagine instead of Rafiki is holding Simba, the woman is holding the baby. This shows that many Vietnamese mothers had to give up their children because their mixed racial children were not accepted in Vietnam, just like those in “From Dust to Gold: the Vietnamese Amerasian Experience.” On top of the American flag, you will see the American soldier on the helicopter taking away the baby that does not belong. 

This notion of “war baby” was also mentioned by guest lecturer Dr. Wei Ming Dariotis, who is half White and half Chinese. She spoke with us in lecture about the negative questions and comments that are asked/raised to her and other multiracial individuals. Dr. Wei Ming Dariotis mentioned that someone asked her if her existence or her parents marriage happened because of the war, but she was born in 1967 and the only war the was going on then was the Cold War. They asked if she was a war baby or a love child following the question about the war too. 

As artists, we were inspired and astonished about how being a multiracial individual automatically removes you from society. Even as a child, when you don’t even know your own identity - where you come from, who you are, and especially what your race even is - there are people already there shutting you out.