Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network (1990–2001)

Cover of Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network, edited by Howie Chen, published by Primary Information, 2021. Image courtesy of Primary Information. [A large black G over a green background. On the left, “Asian American Arts Network” appears in white vertical text over a black background.]
Cover of Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network, edited by Howie Chen, published by Primary Information, 2021. Image courtesy of Primary Information. [A large black G over a green background. On the left, “Asian American Arts Network” appears in white vertical text over a black background.]

Sunday, October 24
1-4pm
Book Launch and Reception
Artists Space
11 Cortlandt Alley,
New York, NY 10013

Artists Space will host a book launch and reception for Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network 1990–2001, published by Primary Information, and edited by former ACT lecturer Howie Chen. A comprehensive anthology, the book includes writings, art projects, publications, correspondence, organizational documents, and other archival ephemera from the trailblazing Asian artist collective.

The collective known as Godzilla: Asian American Art Network was formed in 1990 to support the production of critical discourse around Asian American art and increase the visibility of Asian American artists, curators, and writers, who were negotiating a historically exclusionary society and art world. Founded by Ken Chu, Bing Lee, and Margo Machida, Godzilla produced exhibitions, publications, and community collaborations that sought to stimulate social change through art and advocacy. Critical to Artists Space’s history, Godzilla staged the exhibition A New World Order III: The Curio Shop in 1993, which employed the motif of a Chinatown curio shop in order to deconstruct the mythology surrounding the Asian American community and expose commonly held stereotypes.

Edited by curator Howie Chen, this publication includes full essays and writings by Karin Higa, Byron Kim, Pamela M. Lee, Margo Machida, Paul Pfeiffer, Kerri Sakamoto, and Alice Yang. It also includes contextual material detailing the critical genealogies embodied by the group as well as its wide-ranging activities. The publication may be purchased online through Primary Information.

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