We Were All Yellow

Spring 2007

We Were All Yellow was my creative project for my honors thesis. The original idea was to comment on the ideas and perceptions of Asians in America by Caucasians. I surveyed 25 Caucasians about Asian imagery, stereotypes, and concepts. The portraits that resulted are Caucasian individuals depicting both traditional and stereotypical Asian settings.

These were the first large-scale paintings I attempted and it took and extraordinary amount of time and effort. It was also a venture into oil paints. Looking back, I probably would have done things differently, but it was a great learning experience. And hey, I passed!

Paintings in this series include:

• I Met a Chinese Person Once (Many Americans not only can’t tell different Asian groups apart, but often clump them all together into an all-purpose “Chinese” ethnicity)
• Kim, Oh No! (Geisha culture has become glamorous in America in books, movies, and fashion)
• They All Look the Same Anyway (Addresses the stereotype that all Asians look like)
• Still Trying to Back Out of the Driveway (Addresses the stereotype that Asians are bad drivers)
• Don’t Drink and Derive (I Know My Calculus) (Address the stereotpye that Asians are good at math)
• Herro, Kitty (Hello, Kitty is a celebrity in Japan and is often associated with Asian culture. The title pokes fun at the stereotype that Asians mix up their R’s and L’s)