Corky Lee
Title Unknown, New York 1994
Corky Lee reinstates the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans in American History.
About
Young Kwok "Corky" Lee (1947 – 2021) was a Chinese American activist, community organizer, photographer, and journalist. Lee was affectionately known as the unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate, an undisputed title he gave himself. Documenting both important events throughout history and everyday life, Lee recalls the Civil Rights Movement as a tip-off point for his photographic journey.1 He described the act pulling a camera out of his bag as, “drawing a sword to combat indifference, injustice, and discrimination.” Through his work, Corky Lee met history right where it was happening— on the street. By turning his lens onto his community, Lee’s work reinstates the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans in American history.
Note from the editor
As we enter AAPI month, I am reminded of why I charted off on my own journey last year in search of Latinx photographers in the U.S. while studying history in undergrad. Firstly, images made by Latinx photographers presented a loud counter-history to the silences in the archives. Once I felt their reverberations, I knew I had to find more. Secondly, and most importantly, images presented new ways of seeing and understanding. They deepened my engagement with history as I became a more active listener while I studied the images I collected.
The work of identifying counter histories or counter archives is not easy, especially when it comes to the history of American photography. Who is considered American greatly affects the identity of artists with hyphenated identities. When I began searching for AAPI photographers who grew up in the U.S. I encountered all of the challenges I faced when searching for Latinx artists but as I have learned, finding one thread is all it takes.
This month, I will highlight AAPI photographers on Mira. Mira was created in the spirit of moving readers of Latinx imagery past looking towards seeing. I invite you to sit with either of these photographs made by Lee and think about statues and symbols or style and place, what do you see?
Read more:
Corkey Lee’s Photographs helped generations of Asian Americans see themselves via The New Yorker
Corkey Lee, Who Photographed Asian American life dies at 73 via NYT
Corkey Lee Artist Statement for the exhibition “Life, Liberty, & Justice: Asian American Style,” Asian American Arts Centre, 2015.
Beautifully written ❤️