Ruth Asawa and Jeremy Lin at SF museum

 A funny thing happened to me on the way to an exhibit of the late Ruth Asawa's work.

Taking time off before  going through San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art's (SFMOMA) exhibit of the Asian American artists work, I stumbled upon this art work featuring basketball star Jeremy Lin.

It was part of a huge panel under a large art piece SFMOMA had commissioned for cartoonist and writer Gene Luen Yang,. 

Titled Bay Area Wall series, features a mural inspired by three  basketball legends with a tie to the Bay Area: Fran Belibi, Stephen Curry and Jeremy Lin.

The baskeball mural can be found on the second floor next to the snack bar and will be on exhibit through the month of August.

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SFMOMA is home for the first posthumous retrospective of Ruth Asawa’s work and its inspirations over six decades of her career. As an artist, Asawa forged a groundbreaking practice through her ceaseless exploration of materials and forms. As an educator and civic leader, Asawa’s impact on San Francisco can still be felt today.

The late Ruth Asawa ,literally, in one of her creations.

The Ruth Asawa exhibit features many of the scullptor's signature suspended looped- and tied-wire sculptures alongside lesser-known works, including a selection of her sculptural “miniatures” — the smallest measuring just over one inch in diameter. From vibrant drawings and paintings to clay masks and cast bronze sculptures, more than 300 works give insight into Asawa’s relentlessly experimental vision.

        RELATED: Ruth Asawa inducted into California's Hall of Fame

The Japanesse American artist had a deep connection to San Francisco, her adopted home. One of the galleries evokes the living room of Asawa’s longtime Noe Valley home opens with the artist’s hand-carved redwood doors, and features cases of her sketchbooks, art by friends that she kept on display, and a rich array of the sculptures that once hung from her ceiling. 

Archival materials show how Asawa shaped her adopted hometown through numerous public commissions and her dedication to arts education.

The exhibit included photos of her numerous works of art scattered throughout the SF Bay Area, from her famous mermaid fountain at Ghiradelli Square to her Wall of Internment at San Jose's Japantown.

If you want to view the exhibit, you better hurry. It lasts until August 31, 2025.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.

Biden hosts largest gathering of AANHPI at the White House to screen "American Born Chinese"

SCREEN CAPTURE

Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan introduced President Joe Biden May 8.

President Biden hosted the largest AANHPI event ever held at the White House with Hollywood celebrities in attendance alongside community leaders and Washington politicians to attend a screening of "American Born Chinese," a new television series based on the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang.

The May 8 screening doubled as a celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month. "Across America we see the community give life to our cities, our small towns, our rural communities in every part of America," said Biden.

"You know, together you embody the truth that our diversity is our strength as a nation. And that’s not hyperbole. That’s a fact."

“American Born Chinese” chronicles the trials and tribulations of a regular American teenager whose life is forever changed when he befriends the son of a mythological god. This is the coming-of-age tale of a young Chinese American's battle for his own identity, told through family, comedy and action-packed kung fu.

Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan, who is part of the American Born Chinese cast, introduced the President. "It is with profound humility and gratitude that I stand before you tonight. I do not take this moment lightly, because I know this building is a monument to a country that opened its arms to me once upon a time," Quan said.

Also in attendance were stars of the Disney series, including: Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Daniel Wu, Jimmy Liu and Sydney Taylor, as well as the series’ creative team, including executive producer and author of the graphic novel Gene Luen Yang, executive producer and director Destin Daniel Cretton, series creator and showrunner Kelvin Yu, and executive producers Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan and Erin O’Malley. Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Alex Aiono, stars of the Disney+ Original series “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.”  were also in attendance.

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The cast and producers of "American Born Chinese" were at the White House screening.

Biden reminded the audience acts his administration has taken to combat anti-Asian hate and gun control, two subjects atop AANHPI concerns, according to recent polls.

Speaking about representation and a Hollywood producing more series and movies about AANHPI, Biden continued: "We see groundbreaking works that capture courage, character, and the imagination and spirit of this remarkable community — diverse, remarkable community.

"When I think about this story, (of 'American Born Chinese') I think about the courage it took for so many of you and your ancestors to start the journey in America and continue the traditions of Native Hawaiians who have been engaged in that process for centuries; to adopt the old traditions anew and tell the ongoing story of America, stories of possibilities."

FYI: "American Born Chinese," will premiere with all episodes on May 24 on Disney+.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

DC coming out with special issue of AAPI heroes for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

This May, grab your favorite boba, pull a chair up to the dim sum table and celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with "DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration," DC’s newest comic book anthology debuting May 11, 2021.

As someone who grew up with DC comics and then began reading Marvel in my college years (yes -- college!) this is exciting. So excuse me as I geek out.

I spent years looking for a superhero who looked like me. Finding none, I think it kind of set boundaries to my dreams of what I can be. I can only imagine what its like to be an Asian American kid today and find something like this. It is long overdue.

Despite it being Black History Month, DC made this announcement today (Feb. 12) because it is the start of Lunar New Year. 恭喜發財 (Happy Lunar New Year!)

The Comic Book Anthology features an All-Star cast of writers and artists Including: Jim Lee, Gene Luen Yang, Bernard Chang, Ram V, Mariko Tamaki, Minh Lê, Trung Le Nguyen, Jim Cheung, Dustin Nguyen, Gurihiru and many more.

The One-Shot issue hits stores May 11, 2021

The 96-page one-shot issue will commemorate DC’s rich roster of Asian and Asian American characters, presenting new tales by some of the most lauded storytellers in comics. 

Ram V— the current "Catwoman" series writer—will at last unveil the long-seeded mystery behind Shoes in an action-packed tale that follows the character as she becomes Catwoman’s protégé, revealing her real name, secret origin, and who her mother is. 

Eisner Award-winning author Mariko Tamaki will continue her work on the "Batman" mythos and present an original Cassandra Cain story, marking the author’s first time taking on DC’s iconic Asian Batgirl. 

Joining these stories, Minh Lê—the acclaimed writer behind the smash-hit middle grade graphic novel "Green Lantern: Legacy" — will team with artist Trung Le Nguyen (author and artist of "The Magic Fish") for an all-new story featuring Vietnamese American Tai Pham, DC’s newest "Green Lantern" co-created by Lê and "Green Lantern: Legacy" artist Andie Tong. This anthology marks Nguyen’s first work with DC.

For the main event, New York Times bestselling author Gene Luen Yang ("Superman Smashes the Klan") and artist Bernard Chang will collaborate on a very special story fit for this celebratory month. More details coming up soon!

Additional stories and portraits will star iconic DC characters Katana, Lady Shiva, the Atom, and New Super-Man, among others, and will be written and drawn by fan-favorite writers and artists such as Francis Manapul, Greg Pak, Alyssa Wong, Marcio Takara, Sumit Kumar, Amy Chu, Dustin Nguyen, Cliff Chiang, Jen Bartel, Gurihiru and many more.

See below for the official description and full list of collaborators announced today and above for cover art by Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair. DC FESTIVAL OF HEROES: The Asian Superhero Celebration hits stores and online retailers everywhere comics are sold on May 11, 2021.

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration

• Written by Gene Luen Yang, Mariko Tamaki, Minh Lê, Ram V, Greg Pak, Dustin Nguyen, Amy Chu, Alyssa Wong and friends!
• Drawn by Bernard Chang, Marcio Takara, Dustin Nguyen, Trung Le Nguyen, Francis Manapul, Marcus To, Sean Chen, Sumit Kumar and others!
• Portraits by Chiff Chiang, Jim Cheung, Jae Lee, Jen Bartel, Kevin Wada, Philip Tan, Gurihiru and more!
• Cover by Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair
• Variant Cover by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau

Grab your favorite boba and pull a chair up to the dim sum table as we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with all your favorite Asian DC characters, old and new! 

It has been a. long time since my comic book phase. I'll admit I'm unfamiliar with some of the heroes and the mythology surrounding them.  But during this time, with the AAPI communities facing a long list of  serious issues, perhaps there's time for a respite -- a mental health break. In these trying times, the one thing comics with AAPI characters does -- is that it offers hope. Good, ultimately triumphs over evil.

EDITOR'S NOTE; A word of caution. This post is news laced with opinion. Readers should consult several  reliable news sources to form their own opinion.

DC Comics releases "Superman Smashes the Klan"

Gene Luen Yang writes for DC Comics.

Comics don't get the respect that is often given to other forms of literature. However, contemporary comics are more than just cartoons. They have evolved into illustrated novels with complex characters confronting moral dilemmas and storylines that are relevant to today's readers.

The rise of today's white supremacists, for example.

Today, Wednesday, Feb. 19, DC Comics is releasing another important book by Gene Luen Yang, Superman Smashes the Klan, which is a book inspired by the 1946 radio serial storyline “Clan of the Fiery Cross”.

In the original radio story, Superman steps in to help an Asian-American family deal with a group of racists. You can find a summary of the story here, and listen to the audio here

Here are excerpts of recent interview of Yang by Ron Seoul-Oh, founder and editor of POC Culture.

POC Culture: Switching gears to Superman Smashes the Klan, a really unique and timely project. You mentioned that you were reluctant in terms of taking it on, where did that come from and why did you ultimately decide to do it?

GLY: For this project I put in a proposal for it with DC Comics, but shortly after I did, I did feel kind of freaked out about it. It deals with a lot of subjects that are touchy in modern day America. It’s about racism – the fundamental question behind it is whether or not a multicultural country can work. It was a question that was around after World War II ended, which was when the original story came out, and I think that question has reared its head again in very intense way. And it’s not just in America, the question of multiculturalism has reared its head all over the globe right now. As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s, it’s really unexpected.

Q: The book is inspired by the Superman radio story Clan of the Fiery Cross, which itself is credited with subverting some of the KKK’s efforts in the 40s. What is the message that you’re hoping to get across?

GLY: I went into the project wanting to learn myself. I wanted to learn about the 40s and what America was like after the end of the war. After doing my research, this is what I came away thinking – before World War II there had always been two streams in America: One stream that was “All human beings are created equal” and then there was another stream that was “These particular people are worth 3/5ths.” And these two streams were competing. Then in World War II, America went across the ocean to fight these Nazis. but really a big core of the Nazi philosophy was centered around Madison Grant, who was an American. He was an advisor to President Theodore Roosevelt. He was a conservationist but also a pretty intense eugenicist and deeply racist. He wrote this book called The Passing of the Great Race and Hitler called this American book his Bible. So in some ways, as an American, you can see World War II as our country going across the ocean to face ourselves, or the worst version of ourselves. And when the war ends and the American troops come back, I think they saw what one of the streams of American history led to – it leads to concentration camps, it leads to genocide – so there was this embrace of the other side, at least in these really big and influential corners of America. It wasn’t 100%. It was an imperfect embrace, it was incomplete, but there was this sense that we saw what that other way of thinking leads to and we don’t want that. I think we’ve forgotten that. Whatever we learned by fighting the worst version of ourselves in Europe, we’ve forgotten.

I think that Superman radio show, it came out a year after the end of the war, in some ways you can see a crystallization of what America learned in World War II.

Q: I’ve heard you say that Superman is a symbol of American tolerance and his story is, at its core, an immigrant story. How much of that do you get to tackle in this book?

GLY: When I first signed on to do Superman, I did 10 issues beginning in 2015, that was my connection point with the character. I had always thought of Superman as this dweeb and kind of a square. That flipped for me when I realized the reason he’s a square is the same reason my parents are square – it’s because they’re immigrants. They know they’re foreigners and they know that there’s a part of them that’s deeply threatening to the people around them. So they gotta hide it under this perfect facade. They have to be the perfect citizens because if they’re not, people will start questioning their citizenship. That same dynamic is there for Superman. So that was my connection point and that’s kind of what I wanted to talk about. Writing mostly superhero comics is really crazy! I had a great time doing it, but at the same time, I felt like I never got to explore that core of the character and that’s what this is. This is me being able to talk about that.

I actually think that’s one of the big differences between Batman and Superman. Batman dresses up to be scary. Batman’s a WASP! [laughing] He fits right in! There’s nothing scary about him. If things had gone the way they were supposed to go, if his parents were never killed, he’d probably be like some kind of politician or something. You know? Everybody would love him. He’d go to these fund raising galas. He’d become the mayor of Gotham. But Superman, deep down inside, is legitimately scary. He’s this foreigner, he’s an immigrant, he’s from this completely different culture. So I think he wears these bright colors so people don’t freak out about him as much.

Q: We’re in a time where Asian representation in media is growing quickly. How have you experienced that and where would you like to see that representation go in the next couple of years?

GLY: It’s been really cool to see. It’s fun to turn on Netflix and have Netflix recommend shows and movies with Asian characters in in. I never would have imagined that when I was in high school – to have mainstream American media feature predominantly Asian casts. I think it’s been great. It’s not prefect of course. Asian-America is diverse. Asian-America is also a diversity fractal, and there are definitely corners of Asian-America that are not well represented now. But the changes that we’re seeing in media now is one of the most hopeful parts of American society to me.

Read the entire interview at POC Culture.

Be sure to go to your favorite comics store to pick up Superman Smashes the Klan today!