American Knees
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Butterfly (a Role Study)
Memphis, TN 2011
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Butterfly (a Role Study)
Memphis, TN 2011
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Triumphant Return (as a Mr. Moto)
Memphis, TN 2011
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Dragon Marsh (as a Fu Manchu)
Memphis, TN 2011
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Little Polite
West Hurley, NY 2011
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Construction (as a Charlie Chan)
Memphis, TN 2011
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Two Ways
Woodstock, NY 2011
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Reunification
Woodstock, NY 2011
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The Croft
New Haven, CT 2011
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Pioneer (a Film Still)
Memphis, TN 2011
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Friendship Store (as a Mr. Yunioshi)
Woodstock, NY 2011
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Goldfish
Fairfield, CT 2011
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Saint Judas
Fairfield, CT 2011
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Mao Mausoleum (a Film Still)
Memphis, TN 2011
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The California
Catskill, NY 2011
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District of Embassies (as a Mandarin)
Hyde Park, NY 2011
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The California (a Film Still)
Catskill, NY 2011
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Oriental (as a Ito Takimura)
Woodstock, NY 2011
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Shanghai Circus World (as a Dr. Lao)
Hyde Park, NY 2011
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Good View (as a Billy Kwan)
Catskill, NY 2011
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New Haven
New Haven, CT 2011
2011
“Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees…” – Unattributed
American Knees examines the notion of Yellowface, a pre-Hollywood-centric practice of casting Caucasian actors to play Asians and physically altering their appearances to give them stereotypical Asian facial characteristics. This practice gives Caucasian actors the “right” to represent Asian roles and mannerisms, thus allowing them control over Asian portrayal in Western media.
The English translated Chinese play, The Orphan in China (1767), gave birth to the act of Yelllowface in the United States, pre-dating Blackface origins in the United States by two years. This convention still dominates in Western cinema to this day becoming more prevalent than Blackface. The most recent examples are The Last Airbender and Dragonball Evolution. Both have lead actors of non-Asian descent playing Asian characters. The director M. Night Shyamalan defended his approach in The Last Airbender as “multicultural casting”.
My intention with American Knees is to attempt to take back control of Yellowface by altering my already inherited Asian face and accentuating its traits with make-up, props, costumes and expressions. This act undermines the Caucasian-owned tradition of Yellowface by giving this “mask” to an Asian person. However, this act intends to solicit questions of my own identity as a Chinese American. Wearing Yellowface does not necessarily allow me the right to bear it, nor does it give me authority to edit the history of Asians in passive, mystic, benevolent, supporting, effeminate or weak traditional roles in Western popular culture.
*Special thanks to the Center for Photography at Woodstock for their help in continuing this body of work.