Abstract These interviews were conducted for MOCA's 2013 fashion exhibition, Front Row. The exhibition traced and celebrated the rise of Chinese American designers who have made their mark in the international world of fashion. In the interviews, the designers discuss the diversity of their aesthetics, their individualized approaches to branding, and how their varying personal relationship to cultural identity has shaped what we now understand as not only New York fashion, but an American sense of...

Abstract Edouard Wah Ho is a painter of Haitian and Chinese descent. He talks about how his father came to reside in Haiti after leaving China to avoid fighting during a war and raised a family there. His father owned several business to support Ho and his 7 siblings. But the two were unable to communicate due to the language barrier. His father only spoke Chinese and he did not. Ho goes on to discuss his 32 year marriage to his ex-wife, Micheline Alvarez, how he got started as a painter, and...

Abstract Essud Fungcap, a Haitian born artist and musician of Chinese and Haitian descent, recounts his family history, beginning with his father's arrival in Haiti in 1928 to his eventual decision to marry his wife come to the United States. He recounts his childhood in Haiti, while his father created a successful laundry business and how he was draw to music and the arts rather than sports like the other children his age. He goes on to discuss the difficulties of being from two widely different...

Abstract Husband and wife Daniel Carter and Marilyn Sontag moved together to Chinatown in 1970, where they continue to live and work today—Carter as a musician and writer and Sontag as an abstract artist and part-time gallery coordinator. In their interview, they describe their meeting in Italy and their decision to subsequently relocate to New York City. The couple illustrates Chinatowns community of artists present during the 70s and 80s, and describes the ways in which that atmosphere has changed....

Abstract Howard Pyle talks to MOCA about his experiences moving into the broader Chinatown area during the booming dot-com years of the 1990s and how he has witnessed things change since then. He offers listeners some interesting context for the rise and fall of the dot-com bubble and how 9/11 affected many parts of lower Manhattan and led to shifts in population. Howard also goes into detail about the punk scene in DC where he was from and how he felt when he first moved to NYC and was forced to...

Abstract MOCA sits down with Jenny Lam, an independent artist and curator in Chicago, to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted her work. She discusses how she had to change her plans for a show titled “Slay-sian” which exhibited the works of 39 Asian American artists. Jenny also talks about her perception of the pandemic in the US and in Hong Kong where her family lives. The interview concludes with her thoughts on the importance of the arts during COVID and the responsibility of Asian...

Abstract Juliann Wang sits down with MOCA to discuss her experience as a Chinese artist during the COVID-19 pandemic. She talks about her experience participating in the online art show “Slaysian” as well as her hopes and goals for her art, before explaining how the pandemic has impacted her world and her view of art’s role in one’s daily life. She then goes on to discuss the impact of COVID on US-China relations and the rise of AAPI racism. She also elaborates on her personal journey from Anhui to...

Abstract Kam Mak is an artist who emigrated with his parents from Hong Kong to the United States at age ten in 1971. In this interview, he vividly describes growing up in an old tenement building on Eldridge Street and becoming involved with street kids during the seventies. He mentions the strong presence of street gangs during his childhood as well as the turning point during his youth that redirected him towards art as an escape from getting into trouble. Mak also discusses conceptual ideas that...

Abstract Husband and wife Daniel Carter and Marilyn Sontag sit down with Tomie Arai to discuss their lives living at 218 Centre Street, and all of the changes in the neighborhood that they have watched since they moved in in 1970. They begin by discussing their lives prior to their move to New York City, and how they found their apartment, which was actually designated as an artist’s residence, through word of mouth. Marilyn is a visual artist, and Daniel is a composer and musician. The couple...