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The Artwork of Belle Yang |
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July 16, 2007 - December 14, 2007  American Immigration Law Center Exhibit Hall American Immigration Law Foundation’s Curriculum Center 918 F Street N.W., Washington, DC The vivid, Chinese-influenced artwork from "Hannah is My Name" and "Baba: A Return to China Upon My Father's Shoulders" tells two stories of a young girl and her family's transition from China to San Francisco, California and the coming-of-age of the artist's father in northern China in the 1930s and 1940s. Accompanying the collection is the documentary "MY NAME IS BELLE". "MY NAME IS BELLE" is an autobiographical story based on the childhood of Belle Yang and her ability to overcome the struggles of assimilation into American society. Of "MY NAME IS BELLE", author Amy Tan said "Belle's voice is so true and pure it is capable of washing away the grainy layers of cynicism." Born in 1960 in Taiwan, Belle Yang lived part of her childhood years in Japan. At the age of seven, she and her family immigrated to the United States. She studied at Stirling University in Scotland, graduated from University of California-Santa Cruz with honors in biology, but eventually went on to pursue fine art at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design and the Academy of Traditional Chinese Painting in Beijing. She returned to the United States in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square protests. "I returned with gratitude in my heart for the freedom of expression given me in America. I returned convinced that I would firmly grasp that generous gift with both hands - always," Belle Yang said regarding her return to the United States. Check out Belle Yang's website: www.belleyang.com Read the recent article by Marie Arana about Belle Yang in The Washington Post: July 1, 2007 Book World Section. Belle Yang's comic in Washington Post Book World, July 1, 2007, "Against Forgetting" |
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