On Oct. 1, The Mary and Leigh Block Museum at Northwestern University presented "Five Takes on Tseng Kwong Chi" in celebration of the opening for the gallery exhibition "Tseng Kwong Chi; Performing for the Camera." The event looked at the late artist's work from the viewpoint of five young noted scholars with an academic approach, as historical comment, knowing satire and political observation as well as for its aesthetic value.
Tseng hit upon the idea for his work as a result of an innocent prank. He was supposed to meet his parents for dinner in a restaurant at the top of The World Trade Center when he discovered that formal dress was required. Since he didn't have any, he substituted a Mao-style suit that he had bought in a thrift store.
He was surprised when, rather then being treated like a communist, he was welcomed like a Chinese dignitary. A year later, in 1980, Tseng made his breakthrough when he wore the uniform and photographed himself outside The Metropolitan Museum of Art during the opening gala for an exhibit of ornate robes worn by Chinese Royalty. He charmed everyone in attendance ( including Nancy Kissinger, Andy Warhol and William F. Buckley ), although they assumed he was a dignitary and not a struggling gay artist.
From there, Tseng created a series of photographs with him wearing the suit while placing himself in front of U.S. and Europeon landmarks ( such as Mount Rushmore, The World Trade Center, Niagara Falls, the Eiffel Tower and The Berlin Wall ), gently mocking or commenting through his imagery the notion of democracy and white supremacy.
The curator of Five Takes on Tseng Kwong Chi, Associate Director of Engagement Susy Bielak commented that Tseng's work allowed him to document his era and simultaneously comment on it. The first speaker of the presentation, Janet Dees ( curator at The Block Museum and former curator of SITE Sante Fe ), viewed Tseng as an "inquisitive traveler," creating a project between East and West. Jessica Winegar ( associate professor of anthropology at Northwestern and author of Creative Reckonings: The Politics of Art and Culture in Contemporary Egypt ) made the point that Tseng's work commented on the Reagan era and how it disrupted the American identity by adding Tseng's visage into the frame.
Northwestern University Assistant Professor and author ( A Race So Different: Law and Performance in Asian America ) Joshua Chambers-Letson drew a direct line of targets for Tseng's critical voice through J. Edgar Hoover, the civil-rights movement of the 1960s, the white supremacy movement, the Moral Majority and President Reagan's lack of action during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Chambers-Letson also spoke on Tseng's Moral Majority Project in which, instead of wearing the Mao uniform he wore a seersucker suit for portraits with Daniel Fore, Jerry Falwell and William F. Buckley, who were unaware of his true identity .
The remaining two presenters spoke on how Tseng's work affected them on a personal level. Leonard Suryajaya spoke about how Tseng's depiction of himself as an outsider affected his work as a gay Indonesian in his homeland and in the United States. As a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute with an MFA in photography, he has gone on to create work that is as expressive, though visually the opposite, of Tseng's work.
The presentation came to a close with Rashayla Marie Brown's discussion on the importance of archiving and maintaining her work after she has passed away. With her mother, Ann Marie Hammond, on stage with her, she made the point that it was especially important to preserve the history of queer women of color.
On Wed., Oct. 26, at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum, Muna Tsengdancer/choreographer and sister of the artistwill lead a guided tour of her brother's life and art at 6-8 p.m. "Performing for the Camera" runs until Sunday, Dec. 11. The Mary and Leigh Block Museum is located on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University at 40 Arts Circle Dr.