Artist Tyrus Wong holds a kite of his own design on Santa Monica Beach, California. Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images Tyrus Wong arrived in San Francisco from China in 1920 as a 10-year-old boy with a love of calligraphy. By the end of the next decade, he was working for Disney, on his way to becoming one of America's greatest immigrant success stories. Over the course of his long and colorful career, Wong developed a pioneering style and distinguished himself as a painter, film illustrator, muralist, ceramist, lithographer and even a kite maker (above). But it is his design work for the 1942 film Bambi that remains the foundation of his legendary status. Inspired by the simplicity of Song Dynasty landscape painting, Wong's influence on Bambi showed, perhaps for the first time, that a feature-length animated film could rise to the heights of high art.
Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, “he couldn't even become a citizen at the time,” marvels Karen Fung, author of Background Artist: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong, a definitive biography due for release in October. Fung has been developing the book since Wong's death in 2016 at age 106. “I thought there was an incredible story to be told about this Chinese American artist who played a central role in this iconic American film.”
As Fang vividly recounts in the book, Wong “had this distinguished fine art career before going into commercial art.” Wong didn't seem to make much of a distinction between the two, at least in terms of the artistry he brought to every project. “I don't think he ever saw it as inferior,” says Fang, an English professor at the University of Houston. He thought, “Let's take this opportunity to make something great.” Indeed, he focused all his energy on his distinctive Christmas cards, which combined Western tradition with Eastern aesthetic minimalism. These cards, more than Bambi, brought him his first real national fame, and sold by the millions. “Americans flocked to these distinctly Chinese-inspired Christmas cards signed by Chinese artists,” Fang says. “They wanted this distinctly bicultural product!” Wong had his own signature line in the Hallmark catalog, and in the 1960s became known as “America's most popular Christmas card designer.”
Wong's genius blended the simplicity of Chinese brushwork with the hot-rod roar of California modernity, and his optimism and talent have quietly made him one of the greatest unsung American artists of the 20th century.
Get the latest travel and culture articles delivered to your inbox.
Dear Readers,
Smithsonian Magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs, which means we may earn a commission if you purchase something through these links.
Categories: Art, Artists, Asian American History, Asian Americans, Books, Comics, Designers, Film
Source link
