Leland Wong papers, 1976-2003

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Summary

Abstract:
Leland Wong is a San Francisco-based illustrator, photographer, and screen printer renowned for his documentation of the Asian American experience. This collection consists of 37 of his posters.
Extent:
3.0 linear feet (37 posters)
Language:
and The collection is predominantly in English, with some Chinese material.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Leland Wong papers, CEMA 128. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection documents the life and artwork of illustrator, photographer, and screen printer Leland Wong. It contains posters created between 1976 and 2003 for the annual Nihonmachi Street Fair in San Francisco, as well as an array of various artwork.

Biographical / historical:

Leland Wong is a San Francisco-based illustrator, photographer, and screen printer renowned for his documentation of the Asian American experience. Early on he became involved with Kearny Street Workshop, teaching photography classes and organizing exhibits at the Jackson Street Gallery. Since 1974, he has designed posters and t-shirts for the Nihonmachi Street Fair, a pan-Asian celebration of heritage held annually in August in San Francisco's Japantown. These posters have progressed from having two colors in the first year, to over ten different colors.

Wong's artwork is inspired by his background as a Chinese American raised in San Francisco's Chinatown. He studied old Asian prints and drawings and has included elements such as waves, the sun, the moon, clouds, dragons and other animals in his Street Fair posters. The iconography used in his work is a testament to the influence of Asian art combined with his own unique experiences of being American-born Chinese.

His work has been shown in many galleries, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Wong has said of his work, "I want people to appreciate their heritage. People can look at the poster and identify with it. It's kind of a community feeling for me."

Wong was the primary illustrator for the children's book Exploring Chinatown: A Children's Guide to Chinese Culture, published in 2002 by Pacific View Press. He also provided illustrations for I- Hotel, a novel by Karen Tei Yamashita, which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2010.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Leland Wong, April 2013.
Processing information:

Processed by Suzanne Im, 2013. Additional posters processed by Mari Khasmanyan and Husna Sayedi, 2015.

Arrangement:

This collection contains one series with contains 37 lithograph and silkscreen posters that are in alphabetical order.

Physical location:
Del Norte map cases
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Leland Wong papers, CEMA 128. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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