AAPI Women Who Made History | Bernice Bing

Instructions

[] AAPI Women Who Made History, pt. 1 [] [] Bernice Bing [] [ Part 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/570212031/ ] [Part 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/564936060/ ] [Disclaimer: contains music; switching between "slides" will cause color changes, perhaps especially stark from the first slide (the thumbnail with the title "AAPI Women [...]") to the second "slide" or vice versa and from the second-to-last "slide" (which is the slide on the painting "Cosmic Gap #2") to the final "slide" or vice versa.] [Content warning for the project: being orphaned, d34th caused by cancer.] Though I am not personally AAPI (specifically, I am a white person), I felt it important to highlight the role inspiring AAPI women have had in history (and to also do so beyond AAPI Heritage Month). Unfortunately, white-centric and male-centric narratives often erase women of color who have made immense contributions to various fields, such as, in this case, Art, Art History, and activism. Bernice Bing was a Chinese American Abstract Expressionist painter, lesbian activist, and member of the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), which is still active today. Learn more about her in the project by using arrow keys or by clicking / tapping to proceed through the slides. :) <3 [Alt Text (more in Notes & Credits)] AAPI Women Who Made History: Bernice Bing, Abstract Expressionist painter, lesbian activist, AAWAA member. Bernice Lee Bing, or "Bingo" (1936 - 1998), was a Chinese American Abstract Expressionist painter, lesbian activist, and member of the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), which is still operating today. Born in San Francisco's Chinatown, she struggled at school, but had great artistic talent from a young age. Her grandmother noticed this ability, as Bing sometimes stayed with her after being orphaned early in life, and her praise encouraged Bing's artistic career. Her work, inspired by elements such as Zen Buddhism and calligraphy, was in the Abstract Expressionist style. She was part of the San Francisco / Bay Area art scene. Over the course of her life, Bing explored spirituality and identity through her work. Bernice Bing was also a lesbian and Asian American activist who was active in her community. She founded the first Asian American art festival and created an art workshop for Chinatown youth. In the mid 1980s, she traveled to China, as well as Korea and Japan, and studied calligraphy and painting. This helped newly spur her creativity. In 1989, she joined the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), which made her more interested in art and identity. Today, the AAWAA is still active, their website stating, "[their] mission is to advance the visibility and recognition of Asian American women in the Arts." She supported the Lesbian Visual Artists (later renamed "Lesbians in the Visual Arts") organization in the 1990s, and some of her work was influenced by her homosexuality and may be seen as an example of the female gaze. Bernice Bing died of cancer in 1998. Though she is fondly remembered by many and made significant contributions to her community and to the art world at large, she is unfortunately still underrecognized. Gallery: A Selection of Works by Bernice Bing "Mayacamas No. 6" (1963) [Abstract painting of a landscape with "blocks" of yellow-brown and brown paint at the bottom and red and green paint at the top.] During her tranquil stay in the Mayacamas Vineyard, Bing painted the beautiful landscape of the area, in work that was influenced by her emerging spirituality (she did not yet practice Zen Buddhism at the time). "Big Sur" (1967) [Painting of the sea with a red-ish coast on the other side and a human figure in the water; in the foreground there is a mass that looks like a rock, with blue and yellow circular brushstrokes towards the bottom, on a deep red background.] Influenced by Zen thought, this painting, as Bing herself put it, "was about the intensity of breaking through the rock to the core of the inner self." "Raging Wind" (1986) [An abstract painting with black and yellow brushstrokes on a yellow background that turns more white-ish towards the center.] The "harmonious composition" of this painting and the "spontaneity" of the brush strokes have been linked to the influence of Zen Buddhism. Here, Bing uses Abstract Expressionist techniques and "calligraphic strokes." "Cosmic Gap " (1992) [Abstract painting on a green-ish background with black brush strokes on the sides and a black rectangle (which should be the "gap") in the center; in the area of the rectangle, some brushstrokes are accompanied by red tinges.] Part of the "Cosmic Gap" series, this painting is part of Bing's exploration of spirituality. She herself stated that the gaps in her work symbolize spiritual energy. Bernice Bing: Artist and Activist.