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James Leong (November 27, 1929 – April 15, 2011) was an influential Chinese American artist from San Francisco, California who used his paintings to convey his struggles and revelations with racial identity. ==Early life== Leong was born on November 27, 1929 in San Francisco's Chinatown, an ethnic enclave of recent Chinese immigrants to the United States. Leong grew up in this area during pre- and post-World War II, where he battled constant prejudice as an Asian American. Leong suffered from a discriminatory attack as a child that left the artist partially blind in one eye.〔Asian American Art, A History, 1850–1970. Gordon H. Chang, Mark Dean Johnson, Paul J. Karlstrom, Sharon Spain. Stanford, California. Stanford University Press, 2008. pp. 275–376.〕 Asian Americans who were not Japanese during World War 2 wore special badges to indicate and identify their ethnicity, because they did not want to be mistaken for being an enemy during a time when the United States was at war with Japan. Because of this, Leong wore a button that indicated his Chinese descent. Each badge cost $5 and Leong would often lose them. The artist has stated, "I really felt there was a lot of misunderstanding on the part of the whites in San Francisco as to what being Chinese meant." Leong's first encounter with art was when he was introduced by his father to a co-worker named Alan Cole.〔Poon, Irene. Leading the Way- Asian American Artists of the Older Generation. Gordon College, Wenham, MA, 2001. Distributed by University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, pp. 26–27. ISBN 0-9707487-0-1.〕 Cole was a painter and photographer of the 1939 World's Fair. Leong studied oil painting under Cole for six years. Growing up, Leong and his family had differing opinions on his future career, as Leong desired to become an artist while his family preferred he begin a career in medicine. At age 23, Leong worked for the Chinese press. Business leaders from Chinatown commissioned Leong to create a mural of Chinese American history. This painting was named ''One Hundred Years: History of the Chinese in America'' and was commissioned to be placed in Ping Yuen, the first federally funded public housing in Chinatown. Leong was awarded a scholarship and received a Masters degree in Fine Arts at California College of Arts and Crafts in 1952. He also went on to receive his Master of Arts in Arts Education at San Francisco State University in 1955. He was inspired by the work of artists like Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Dong Kingman. During this time, Leong grew strong friendships with fellow artists like Nathan Oliveira and Clayton Pinkerton. He and other artists would spend their time in the famous bohemian hot spots of San Francisco, such as the Iron Pot Restaurant, Vesuvios Bar and City Lights Bookstore. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Leong」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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