A revelatory compendium of writings, art and ephemera on the '90s New
York collective that fostered a social space for diasporic Asian
artists
A New York Times critics' pick Best Art Books 2021
This anthology gathers writings, documentation and ephemera from
Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network, a collective based in New York
from 1990 to 2001, which was formed to provide a support structure for
Asian American artists, writers and curators to stimulate visibility and
critical discourse for their work. Edited by curator Howie Chen, the
book gathers archival material from the group's wide-ranging activities,
which included producing exhibitions and forums to social change
advocacy surrounding institutional racism, the politics of
representation, Western imperialism, the AIDS crisis and violence
against Asian Americans. Godzilla created a social space for diasporic
Asian artists and art professionals, including members Tomie Arai, Karin
Higa, Byron Kim, Paul Pfeiffer, Eugenie Tsai, Lynne Yamamoto and Alice
Yang, among others.
Founded by artists Ken Chu, Bing Lee and Margo Machida in New York and
eventually expanding into a national network, Godzilla's aim was to
"function as a support group interested in social change through art,
bringing together art and advocacy" and "to contribute to changing the
limited ways Asian Pacific Americans participate and are represented in
broad social context--in the artworld and beyond." This comprehensive
chronicle of Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network assembles art
projects, critical writing, correspondences, exhibition and meeting
documentation, media clippings and other archival ephemera to convey the
political and cultural stakes of the time.
