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ARTISTS

Learn. Discover. Explore.

Our partnering artists – domestic and international – create something special. Their works of inspiration encompass both art and culture that connect us to remarkable stories of the human journey portrayed through their experience, talents, and imagination. Funding, such as grants, sponsorships, and donations enable the IMID to host art+culture exhibits. To learn more about our exhibits and exhibition events in collaboration with our partners and partnering artists, visit our Exhibits page for additional information.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

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"Life is a journey – an evolutionary journey; life is an adventure – a singular adventure." 

Yidan Guo | 2024

#LearnDiscoverExplore

Yidan Guo Fine Art

5. Women Who Are Immigrants Series-Her World.jpg
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Memorial Banners (Installation)

Chinese calligraphy on traditional Asian paper

21.3 x 787.4” x 2 | 2024

About Memorial Banners

These two commemorative banners record the history of Chinese’s contributions to the construction of the transcontinental railroad. I wrote this historical fact in Chinese calligraphy on traditional Asian paper. I picked a light brown paper and a brilliant red paper.  Light brown paper is commonly utilized in traditional Chinese art; red is also a shade frequently used in Chinese calligraphy, particularly during the Chinese New Year, when Spring couplets are written on red paper and attached to both sides of doors and above lintels to pray for prosperity, peace and good fortune in the coming year.  It was during the Chinese New Year when I was creating this work.  Out of nostalgia, I chose this red paper to pray for my homeland.  Additionally, I attributed the meanings of "passion" and "blood" to this color, to commemorate those Chinese workers who sacrificed their lives in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.

In 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act chartered the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies, tasking them to build a transcontinental railroad that would link the United States from east to west.  In 1865, when the Central Pacific company had a hard time hiring and retaining enough white railroad laborers, they began hiring Chinese workers. The Chinese provided a vast pool of cheap, plentiful, hardworking, and reliable labor. Eventually, upwards of twenty thousand Chinese workers formed the majority (90 percent) of the Central Pacific Railroad workforce.  The Chinese workers overcame extremely harsh challenges in the Sierra Nevada mountains and in the broiling Utah desert. They blasted rock, opened tunnels, and sacrificed the lives of more than a thousand, to achieve the successful construction of the Central Pacific Railway. 

On May 10, 1869, when the railways from the east and west were finally connected at Promontory, Utah, a crowd of workers and dignitaries watched as the final spike was driven linking the Central Pacific and Union Pacific in the “Golden Spike Ceremony.”  However, not one Chinese worker appeared in the photograph documenting the ceremony. In fact, the Central Pacific Railroad tried to exclude the Chinese out of history altogether. This Golden Spike Ceremony photograph “is a graphic metaphor for the ways that the Chinese were excluded from the United States and the ways that their long-standing presence in this country has been erased.”  

The thin paper is like the East Asian people’s character, soft, understated, adaptable, resilient, although full of unique styles. The way how the banners were created and hung, serve as if the Tibetan prayer flags, carry the story to all corners of the world.

The original texts are from Iras Chang’s The Chinese in America and Gordon H. Chang’s Ghosts of Gold Mountain-The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad.

Yidan Guo Artwork List
1. Women Who Are Asian Immigrants Series-Ching Yu I.jpg

1. Women Who Are Asian Immigrants Series – Ching Yu I

Watercolor 32 x 48” | 2023

“I captured this moment when I was interviewing Ching Yu. She was recounting her displaced childhood and got emotional when mentioning her resilient mother. Ching Yu turned towards the window; her eyes turned red.” ~ Guo

2. Women Who Are Asian Immigrants Series-Pratikshya.jpg

2. Women Who Are Asian Immigrants Series – Pratikshya

Watercolor 32 x 48” | 2024

“Pratikshya was an international student from Nepal. I met her on a winter evening when we passed by each other on the staircases during her cleaning shift in the Fine Arts building. Pratikshya was 19. She allowed me to take photos of her. When her deep eyes looked into the infinite distance, time seemed to disappear. From the calm and deep eyes, I read so many unfolding stories - the stories that I had always wanted to tell.” ~Guo

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3. Women Who Are Asian Immigrants Series – Bride

Watercolor 24 x 48” | 2024

“She was a recent bride from Nepal and worked as a waitress at a local Nepali restaurant, in the process of learning English. After a brief hesitation, she agreed to having her photo taken. It was on Valentine’s Day when I arrived for the photo shoot, she was adorned in a traditional dress.” ~Guo

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4. Women Who Are Immigrants Series – Artist Hung Liu

Watercolor 36 x 48” | 2022

“Hung Liu was a Chinese-born American contemporary artist, one of the first Chinese portrait artists to establish a successful career in the United States. Liu immigrated to the US in 1984 at age 36 to attend the University of California, San Diego, where she received her MFA degree. As an immigrant artist, Liu deeply cared about women, the poor, the vulnerable, the immigrants, the peasants, the ignored, and marginal groups. Her compassionate heart was reflected both in her subject matter and her artistic expressions.

 

On October 3, 2019, I met Liu by chance while attending an event in Kansas City. As both of us were alumni of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, we hit it off straight away. I was moved by and loved her warm and cheerful personality. As a successful immigrant artist, Hung Liu was my role model. When I started the Women Who Are Immigrants series, the first person I thought of was Hung Liu. I contacted Liu and received her encouragement and permission to work from her image. Unfortunately, before I had time to show Liu my paintings of her portraits, Liu passed away suddenly, leaving me with endless regrets.

 

Hung Liu used very diluted oil paint, allowing the paint to flow down freely on the surface of canvas. She named this personal style as “weeping realism.” This technique especially embodies a unique aesthetic appearance to her work. I inherited Liu’s “weeping realism” style in her portrait, to pay homage to Liu. Through the process I noticed that this style added vibrancy to my painting. The marks that the flowing colors left on the surface of paper somehow reveal the inner struggles and complex emotions of the people I depict. I have been using this style in many of my paintings ever since.

 

Liu’s art and her spirit continue to inspire me...” ~Guo

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5. Women Who Are Immigrants Series – My World I

Watercolor 32 x 48” | 2023

“I asked a friend to take some photos of me at work. This led to a series of self-portraits. Through this series I intended to emphasize the shared experience by most first-generation immigrants. The fact that we must accept the fluid identities in order to survive. It doesn't mean that we have to change who we are, as our intrinsic values would not change. The series also asks for understanding and respect, as we never know who we are interacting in our daily lives...” ~Guo

PARTNERING ARTISTS

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