“Passages” gallery installation (2012)

On view April 12, 2012 – January 31, 2013 at the Chinese Historical Society of America

Click here to see the CBS News Coverage of CHSA, the saving of the “A” files, and the “Passages” installation.

This installation by Lenora Lee and Olivia Ting is inspired by an evening length interdisciplinary performance piece entitled “Passages: For Lee Ping To” (2010), by Lenora Lee Dance, featuring media & set design by Olivia Ting, music by Francis Wong, and poetry by Genny Lim.  It shares stories of immigration to the U.S. through the Angel Island Immigration Station and includes multimedia video projected on the glass doors/windows, walls, tabletop, and feeding into a large screen monitor.  Listening stations with interrogation questions, poetry, and music accompany the videos and installation.  A 23 ft x 5 ft wall mural comprised of 160 sheets of paper tiles contain immigration and interrogation documents, imagery of Angel Island barracks, maps of Angel Island, of Toisan, China, of handprints, fingerprints, and of topological maps of the face.

The “Passages” gallery installation is on view April 12, 2012 – January 31, 2013 as part of CHSA Museum’s new “Remnants” gallery exhibition, which also features work by Gordon Chun, Nancy Hom, Michael Jang, Cynthia Tom, & Flo Oy Wong.

Chinese Historical Society of America Museum
965 Clay Street, SF, CA  94108 (between Powell & Stockton)
For more info: www.chsa.org, (415) 391-1188

The interdisciplinary performance piece “Passages: For Lee Ping To” (2010) was commissioned as a part of the community Centennial commemoration of the opening of the Angel Island Immigration Station. It is an homage to Lenora’s maternal grandparents Lee Ping To and Yee Ock Kee.  Recently nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design. www.LenoraLeeDance.com

Click here for more photos of the installation.

As part of the Remnants exhibition, installation artist Lenora Lee will perform short excerpts from her interdisciplinary piece “Passages: For Lee Ping To,” inspired by stories of immigration to the US through the Angel Island Immigration Station. By Lenora Lee Dance, media design by Olivia Ting, sound score by Francis Wong, text by Genny Lim. Please visit www.LenoraLeeDance.com for more information.

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CHSA Museum
965 Clay Street
San Francisco CA 94108
(415) 391-1188
www.chsa.org
Museum admission $5 adults, $3 seniors/students, $2 children ages 6-17
Program free with museum admission

Opening April 12, 2012

Join us to celebrate the opening of the new exhibition Remnants: Artists Respond to the Chinese American Experience, which explores artists’ interpretation of and response to the Chinese American experience. View the work, speak with the artists, enjoy refreshments, and see the CHSA Museum’s revitalized galleries.

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In the Year of the Dragon, 2012, the Chinese Historical Society of America will revitalize its museum, giving its history exhibits an infusion of art. CHSA has reached out to its artistic community to create works that interpret and respond to the themes of its history galleries. The first art installations will appear in the museum in April, marked by an opening reception on Thursday, April 12.

Five artists are participating in the spring installation: Nancy Hom, Michael Jang, Lenora Lee, Cynthia Tom and Flo Oy Wong. Another group of artists’ works will be installed in September. With this creative approach to its exhibition program, CHSA hopes to invent a new experience for its visitors, bringing a deeper understanding of the Chinese American experience. The selected work for the spring installation focuses on personal narrative, memory and family – concepts that characterize Chinese America.

Among this group of artwork, the centerpiece will be a site-specific installation of the set from the performance “Passages” by Lenora Lee Dance. A powerful portrayal of the journey endured by Lee’s grandmother through Angel Island and into American life, “Passages” presents a memorable narrative through stunning visuals. Works by the other artists will further explore themes of family and remembrance using a range of artistic expression, bearing unique witness to Chinese American history.

FEATURING:
Nancy Hom
Michael Jang
Lenora Lee
Cynthia Tom
Flo Oy Wong