PORTRAITS
PORTRAITS
National Portrait Gallery
Hyphenated
23 minutes Posted May 4, 2021 at 7:00 am.
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Show notes

Choreographer-in-Residence Dana Tai Soon Burgess traces his ‘hyphenated’ background— a journey that begins on a boat from Korea, disembarks at a Hawaiian pineapple plantation, meanders through Latino culture, and then arrives at a martial arts class in New Mexico… organized by Tibetan monks.

Dana also discusses the hyphenated artists featured in two of his favorite portraits at the Gallery. Both were pioneers, both were outsiders, and both had their ‘American-ness’ challenged.

See the portraits:

Michio Ito

Isamu Noguchi

(“Tracings” duet music courtesy of Aaron Leitko.)