Tracing Cultures: Albert Chong, Lewis Desoto, I.T.O., Young Kim, Komar & Melamid, Dinh Q. Lee, Gavin Lee, Maria Martinez-Canas, Ruben Ortiz Torres, Carrie Mae Weems

by Lewis DeSoto

Photographic images by artists of diverse cultural backgrounds further the understanding of contemporary immigration and the changing face of America in Tracing Cultures. Themes central to the emerging definitions of multiculturalism are explored by recent photography and photo-related installation art that deals with issues of origin, acculturation, adjustment, displacement, and loss within the context of contemporary American life. Participating artists acknowledge that the melting pot ideal no longer suffices to describe their personal experience of cultural dislocation. Their art directly addresses the history and politics of American immigration in a country now obsessed with and, often fearful of, the notion of multiculturalism. Artists represented include Albert Chong, Lewis deSoto, Shigeki Ito, Young Kim, Komar and Melamid, Dinh Q. Le, Gavin Lee, María Martnez-Cañas, Ruben Ortíz-Torres, Carrie Mae Weems, and Kim Yasuda.

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Lewis DeSoto is a writer and artist. His new novel The Restoration Artist, is available now. His previous novel A Blade of Grass, published by HarperCollins, was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2004. He is also the author of the short biography, Emily Carr, published by Penguin Books Canada.