Beyond the Page with Karen Fang

Join the Chinese American Museum on Thursday, October 17th at 6:30 pm for the latest installment of Beyond the Page, where we celebrate the launch of Background Artist: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong by scholar and author Karen Fang. Fang’s debut biography details the inspiring story of Tyrus Wong’s remarkable 106-year life, starting with his work as a studio sketch artist at Warner Bros. to the creative masterpieces he produced while working at Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration and beyond. 

Explore the life of Tyrus Wong and the iconic images he created during his prosperous career in conversation with author Karen Fang. Joining the conversation with Fang is former Los Angeles Times editor, Elaine Woo. RSVP now at camla.org/karenfang. 

Attendees can purchase a signed copy of Background Artist at the event. 

About the Author:

Karen Fang is a film scholar and visual culture critic who writes and speaks for museums and film festivals around the world. Known for previous books about Hong Kong cinema and nineteenth-century British interest in exotic objects, Karen often writes about the intersection of eastern and western aesthetics. Her work has appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, Hyperallergic, Nikkei Asia, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She is also a prominent contributor to The Engines of Our Ingenuity, a long-running, widely distributed public radio series about science and innovation, where her episodes always focus on the visual arts. An artist herself, Karen’s favorite media is watercolor and pen and ink.  

 About the Moderator:

Elaine Woo is a freelance writer and editor and a former Los Angeles Times reporter and editor. A Los Angeles native, Elaine has written for her hometown paper since 1983, covering public education before joining “the dead beat”—news obituaries—where she produced artful pieces on notable figures including Norman Mailer, Julia Child, Rosa Parks, and Tyrus Wong.   

**CAM’s Beyond the Page series features conversations with AAPI authors and focuses on amplifying Asian American voices and their diverse experiences.