Asian American ? Project
2007
Business cards with text that respond to comments and questions that strangers ask Asian Americans. Every week since age 12, I am asked one to ten of the same questions. Since these questions and comments are common to other Asian Americans as well, I created a set of business cards to flash or hand out for the appropriate moments. Through the interaction of questions and answers, lasting racial stereotypes and myths of the concept of the “Asian American” are revealed.
MEDIUM AND SIZE: Print media on paper. 36 Cards. 3 ½” x 2” [8.9 x 5.1cm]
Video by WNYC New York Public Radio where co-curator Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. gives a tour and talks about 3 artist books in the exhibition “Racism: An American Family Value” at The Center for Book Arts, 2009.
“This is an exhibit is about racism and what we have done is selected artists around the country whose art reflects in some way racist attitudes or their reaction to racist attitudes in America.
This is Irene Chan. And these are her business cards. And it has all these quirky things about Asians. Kind of a takeoff on ‘if you say it about it, it must be true.
I do not see any one person devoting strictly and solely to the matter of race and racism. What they are doing is they have a voice and they are using their voice at this time to sing this song, so to speak.”