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Pictures at an Exhibition: Asian America's premier photographer makes American history
For a quarter of a century, photojournalist Corky Lee's life mission has been to document the incredibly diverse Asian Pacific American communities which so often are ignored by the mainstream media. With his lens, Lee has single-mindedly sought to unravel the mystery that surrounds soci-ety's perception of Asian Pacific Americans.
His mission has brought him to places such as a Chinatown bar at dawn, a press conference on rising rates of anti-Asian violence, a Chinese New Year's parade, and a picket line. If there's something historical and Asian American to shoot, he's the man many people first think of to call.
After three solid days of shooting at the 20th Annual Asian American International Film Festival in New York City, Lee agreed to put down his camera and focus on his life and his work. At once intensely personal and socially conscious, Lee's self-styled photojournalism has received more exposure and recognition as the APA community increases its presence in mainstream society.
In fact, his current exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History -- titled "Asian Pacific Americans: Their Cultures, Their Experiences" and originally scheduled for display during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month -- proved to be so popular it has been extended through Aug. 17.
"My images at the American Museum of Natural History are the missing pages of American textbooks," Lee explained. "Each photograph represents a page of information or history, and focuses on the neglected or omitted experiences and struggles of people who come to the United States from Pacific shores."
From Asian Americans fully engaged at protest rallies to Washington state Gov. Gary Locke and his wife Mona Lee, from Filipino pizza makers and Korean kosher-deli owners to a Chinese woman taxi driver, Lee's eclectic collection of more than...