Walt Disney Family Museum: New Tyrus Wong artwork discovered in a Chinatown church

New Tyrus Wong artwork discovered in a Chinatown church

Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong

December 12, 2013, San Francisco, CA — Midway through an exhibition showcasing ones life-retrospective, it is rare to uncover artwork done by the celebrated artist. The Walt Disney Family Museum is excited to announce the discovery of a larger-than-life-sized painting, formally titled Jesus, hidden away—and assumed forgotten—in a church in San Francisco’s Chinatown until now.

After reducing the surface dirt, supporting the frame, and preparing it for exhibition, The Walt Disney Family Museum has decided to add Wong’s Jesus to our current special exhibition—Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong—a life-retrospective of the art of 103 year old artist and Disney Legend Tyrus Wong.

Prior to its discovery, Wong had painted Jesus on request from Reverend T. T. Taam for the Chinese Congregational Church in Los Angeles, circa 1935. According to Wong, the church’s caretaker did not like the painting and asked for it to be removed as he felt Jesus should be depicted in a more traditional manner; in Wong’s Jesus, the subject’s hair and beard are painted red, with archetypical Asian facial features. The painting shows some of the influences of Stanton MacDonald-Wright, whose paintings and color styles were beginning to influence Wong and other Los Angeles artists at that time.

How the painting made its way to San Francisco is still a bit of a mystery, but it is believed to have traveled with the Reverend when he moved to the city around 1939. It is at the Chinese United Methodist Church in San Francisco where Jesus stayed for 75 years, collecting dust and miraculously avoiding further damage by the constant movement of patrons and choir children running to and fro.

Wong’s Jesus will be on view in time for this holiday season, starting Saturday, December 21 until the exhibition closes on February 3, 2014.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Now through February 3, 2014, The Walt Disney Family Museum presents the exhibition Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong. Organized byMichal Labrie, the museum’s director of collections, the exhibition focuses on the life and work of Chinese-American artist Tyrus Wong—a celebrated painter, muralist, kite maker, lithographer, Hollywood sketch artist, calligrapher, ceramicist, and Disney Legend. At age 103, Wong is still a practicing artist today.

                  This retrospective features more than 150 works including paintings, sculptures, works on paper, painted scarves, kites, and more. Although he never met Walt Disney, it was the ethereal beauty of Wong’s Eastern influenced paintings that caught Walt’s eye and became the inspiration for the animated feature Bambi, which changed the way animation art was presented, and continues to be an inspiration to contemporary artists.

              The exhibition also includes paintings, hand painted ceramics and silk scarves, original greeting cards, works on paper, and his latest work including handmade and hand-painted kites, which range in size from six inches to 150 feet.

Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong is organized by The Walt Disney Family Museum.

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ABOUT THE MUSEUM

The Walt Disney Family Museum presents the fascinating story and achievements of Walt Disney, the man who raised animation to an art, transformed the film industry, tirelessly pursued innovation, and created a global and distinctively American legacy. Opened in October 2009, the 40,000 square foot facility features the newest technology and historic materials and artifacts to bring Disney’s achievements to life, with interactive galleries that include early drawings and animation, movies, music, listening stations, a spectacular model of Disneyland and much more.

Hours:                       10am to 6pm, Wednesdays through Monday; closed on Tuesdays and the following public holidays: New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Tickets:                     $20 adults, $15 seniors and students, and $12 children ages 6 to 17.

Admission is free for members.

Where:                     The Presidio of San Francisco, 104 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94129

                                   

Contact:                    415.345.6800 | www.waltdisney.org | www.waltdisney.org/wong                            

Facebook: facebook.com/WDFMuseum

Twitter | Instagram: @WDFMuseum

Jack Lee Jue

June 10, 1928 - January 2, 2013
Jack Lee Jue, 84, of Pasadena, died peacefully on January 2, 2013 surrounded by his loving family. Jack attended UCLA and UC Davis. Jack and his father specialized in asparagus farming. Later, Jack worked for the County of Los Angeles and was a licensed real estate broker and appraiser. He became President and co-owner of National Appraisal Corporation and President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Appraisal Institute. Among one of Jack's greatest career accomplishments, was being one of the founders of Standard Savings Bank. His greatest personal accomplishment was his family, his faith in God and his work with his church family. Jack is survived by his wife of 62 years, Alice, their 5 children; Jack Jr (Elizabeth), Arlene (Steve), Richard (Terri), Adrienne (William) and Leslie (Brian), 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren; Robert (Kelly, Jackson, Riley), Leah, Jordan, Nicklaus, Kelle, Brian, Kevin, Jacqueline, Matthew, Emily, 3 sisters; Soo-Jan (Mel), Pingeleen, Soo-Yin (Ed), sister-in-law Estelle (Miles), his brother Guy deceased and his sister Joan (Richard) who preceded his passing by just days.
Memorial Service: 12:00 pm, Tuesday, January 15, 2013 Visitation: 7-8 pm, Monday, January 14, 2013 The Old North Church, Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068 Donations may be made in memory of Jack Jue to the San Gabriel Presbyterian Church 200 West Las Tunas Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776.

Published in the Los Angeles Times on January 13, 2013 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=162245004#fbLoggedOut

Jack L. Jue- Remembering my Father

 I had the great honor to spend the last 10 days of my father Jack's life constantly at his bedside. In those 10 days my father continued to teach me how to live life, how to care for others, and how to face adversity as he has throughout my life. One evening at the hospital when we were alone, it was my task to tell him that his doctors had determined that there was nothing more they could do to treat his invasive bladder cancer and that his life was most likely to be numbered in days rather then weeks, months or years. He calmly asked me the particulars about what was most likely to come and then fell asleep. He slept straight through the night like a baby. It was the first night in the hospital that he had a good nights sleep. When he awoke he told me that he thought that it was pretty bad and scary story that I had told him the night before but that he was very comfortable that I was sleeping by his side in the recliner chair and joked with me that if I wanted I was welcome to sleep by his side every night, although he was quite concerned about how uncomfortable I looked in that chair!

 After that evening, we spent very little time talking about that bad and scary story and instead shared other stories of my Dad's full and eventful and exciting life and of the many people he had known. My Dad had a gift for what the Hawaiians call “talking story” and he did that for the next 10 days when we were together. I will share just a little bit of that story. Dad was born to a Chinese immigrant family that had a successful asparagus farming business in the San Fernando Valley. He went to UCLA and then finished his education at UC Davis. He met and married the love of his life, my mother, Alice starting a family that would ultimately grow to 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. After college he joined his father in Asparagus farming for a number of years. . Later due to forces beyond their control, my father and his father lost their Asparagus farming business and were forced to remake themselves completely from scratch. My father tried a number of jobs including gardening running a toy store (I liked that one), selling Christmas trees and other odd jobs. Eventually he settled on Real Estate as a career, taking classes and becoming a salesmen and broker. Later he began working for the County of Los Angeles and was trained as a Real Estate Appraiser by the county. He worked for many years in the Capital Projects department. After retiring from the County he started his own successful Real Estate appraisal business which he operated until his retirement. In 1982 he and others formed Standard Savings Bank which became very successful serving the Chinese community. Later in life my Father discovered Christ and the Church and the Church community became a large part of his life.

Those are the bare outlines of my Dad's story. But the bigger story is the story of how he lived his life. He was always a humble, and unassuming man, who cared deeply about his family , and friends . He was a good listener and always wanted to hear your story and what you were doing. He was funny, and was endearing to all who knew him making you feel comfortable in his true warmth. But the secret was that he was not just this way with family and friends but with everyone. The nursing assistants who cared for him in the hospital during the last days of his life would come out of his room laughing and amazed at how my Dad had joked with them in Spanish. Woken up at 430 in the morning by a nursing assistant to bathe him and change his bedding, he complimented her profusely on her skill at getting the job done all by herself without him even getting out of bed. Although in dire straits and very ill, he did not dwell on his condition but instead wanted to know all the details about how she had learned how to do her job so well! That is the way Dad was ... He was every one's good friend. even strangers, waitresses at restaurants, car mechanics... nurses and nursing assistants who cared for him, new parishioners in his church ... It didn't matter who you were or what your station was in life , he wanted to connect with you and hear your story.  In the last 10 days of his life although very weak he pulled himself together to share time and stories with his large extended family and many friends who came to visit , holding forth from his hospital bed in the living room of his home.

 . ... He is gone now and we all , family and friends, miss him terribly. But I will speak for my father .. He would say, please go on with those family celebrations to come, the small group Church meetings to come, the cruises to foreign lands, the parties with friends, and those noodle lunches he so loved to share with you . He is very sorry he will not be there but will be there with you in spirit, sharing together with you the good times. But he would also say , that he will be with you as well through the difficult and not so good times, his spirit will be with you always comforting you when you are in need.

Jack Jue Jr. 
From http://juejoeclan.blogspot.com/

A Land of Shadows

 jason francisco                                 photoworks    writings    about    contact

A Land of Shadows (2005-ongoing) is an inquiry into immigrant Chinese life in rural 19th century California—a communal life that was itinerant, vulnerable, preyed upon, resilient, and centrally important in the state’s and the nation’s history.  Taking its title from a traditional Chinese metaphor for the domain of the ancestors, the project integrates my own photographs of the remnants of Chinese settlement in the Sierra Nevada foothills and the Sacramento Delta areas into a forgotten compendium of government mug shots of Chinese immigrants, made by D.D. Beatty in Downieville, circa 1890.  The result is a remade book, part document, part poetic archaeology.  By asking historic and contemporary pictures alternately to intervene on and slip away from one another, the new book addresses disjunctions and silences within the historical experience of the Chinese American community, and the difficulty of their formation as memory.  

  

    Click this Link to see the slide Show