Martin Wong Papers ca. 1982-1999

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Martin Wong Papers, ca. 1982-1999

Martin Wong Papers ca. 1982-1999

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/fales/wong/wong.html

Born Martin Victor Wong in Portland, Oregon on July 11, 1946, Wong was raised by his Chinese-American parents in San Francisco. Wong was involved in performance art in the 1970's, but focused almost exclusively on painting after moving to New York in the early 1980's. The self-taught Wong, whose work showed a distinct gay sensibility, became a respected, renowned and prolific painter in New York's downtown art scene. He also cultivated both working and personal relationships with graffiti artists and enthusiasts in that scene. His compositions combine gritty social documents, cosmic witticisms, and symbolic languages that chronicle survival in his drug-and-crime-besieged Lower East Side neighborhood. In addition to his painting, Wong also experimented with poetry and prose, much of which he recorded on long paper scrolls. Wong died of AIDS in 1999.

29.5 linear feet; (33 boxes)

Fales Library & Special Collections