Rather than investigating activism-as-subject, I took Activist Imagination as an opportunity to consider how participation in activism is shaped by fundamental views of how one sees the world and ones’ reflection in the world. Whether one’s views or actions can have an impact on the world—indeed, on the future of activism—is essentially a negotiation between optimism and pessimism. I decided to pursue works that offer opportunities for viewers to either enact or consider their own agency.

My contributions share the theme of perception—highlighting the lens through which one sees the world—as well as my assumptions that optimism is happy, bright, vulnerable, rare, clear, and pessimism is unhappy, dark, powerful, abundant and distorted.

The curatorial project is intended to acknowledge KSW’s graphic legacy as well as my sense of chronological distance from the conditions in which KSW emerged. I sought to inject some original style and funk, underscored with informal exhibition strategies.

The Best Person I Can Be is a two-part interactive installation offering opportunities for reflection that are vulnerably optimistic (What does the best person I can be look like?) and safely pessimistic (an anti-social space for scrutiny). The installation attempts to make physical the act of seeing oneself reflected in other people.

Anyone can shape the future of activism. Participation will be informed by one’s view of the world at large. An untitled window intervention literally illustrates views of the world.

Seeing Red is an edition of screen-printed glasses with of Rubylith, a screen-printing film. Anger can be motivating, but emotional extremes can be counterproductive. Seeing Red is a proposal for lenses to be worn and removed.

 

Activist Imagination is made possible by to the support of the Creative Work Fund, the San Francisco Foundation and generous individual donors. The artist would also like to thank the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, Sam Chanse, Zand Gee, Nancy Hom and Leland Wong.

 
The exhibition was held at Kearny Street Workshop in the spring of 2008.
 

A catalog is available at the Store.

Images

1. The Best Person I Can Be (exterior view), 2008, installation: security mirrors, frame, lights, fixtures, wall, 8 x 8 x 8 feet / 2.4 x 2.4 x 2.4 m. photo: Bob Hsiang
2. The Best Person I Can Be (interior view). photo: Bob Hsiang
   
3. Untitled, 2008, site-specific window intervention: window film, gels, acetate, 9 x 7 feet / 2.7 x 2.1 m.
4. Untitled (detail)
5. Kearny Street Workshop artists, including Zand Gee, Nancy Hom, Jack Loo, Mitsui Murai, Leland Wong and others
   An exhibition of reproductions of Kearny Street Workshop Posters, curated by Christine Wong Yap
   1974–1983, digital prints, 10 x 10 x 10 feet / 3 x 3 x 3 m (installation).
   
6. Detail. Angel Island Immigration Station woodcut and Coming Together screenprint by Leland Wong. Remaining works: artists unknown.
7. Guide to An exhibition of reproductions (PDF, 356 kb)
8. Seeing Red (flat), 2008, screenprint, rubylith, 20 x 3 inches / 508 x 76 mm.
9. Seeing Red (glasses cut out by viewers), 2008, screenprint, rubylith, 6 x 3 x 6 inches / 152 x 76 x 156 mm.