MOCA

First of all I apologize for my long absence with this blog.  I was in an opera - it was in Italian.  Learning the libretto took up every bit of extra brain power that I had!

But now I'm back!

And I'm gong to write about the Museum of Chinese America!

I discovered "MOCA" by accident.  I was looking for a fun Saturday activity and stumbled upon MOCA's "Dragon Boat Festival."   I took some friends and we were HOPING for some crazy drumming  The event however was geared towards children 5 and under.  My friends and I did not fit that profile, but we had already paid our $10 to get in so we decided to enjoy the museum.

It is a really interesting museum that opened in 1980 and celebrates Chinese contributions to modern American society, Chinese cultural history, and diverse experiences of Chinese in America while not glossing over the dirtier less pleasant parts of their history.  I really appreciated this.  People often ask for tours of Chinatown and I always worry that what I will tell them will not fit their happy go lucky idea of Chinatown - haggling for bargain on knock-off designer purses, chop suey, and kitchy Chinese dragon souvenirs.  The truth is the history of Chinatown, and Chinese in America, is very dark.  I remember in college reading a book about minorities in America.  "The black man was the anvil on which racism in America was formed" it said. It then went on to explain how after the Civil War, that "anvil" became the Chinese and propaganda did all it could to emasculate the Chinaman.  When I did my research on New York's Chinatown, there was this very dark history of racism in the US, gangs, and the Cultural Revolution back in China.  None of it seemed happy go lucky.  MOCA does not gloss over ANY of this.  

MOCA states its mission as: Central to its mission is its goal to make Chinese American history accessible to the general public, ranging from scholars to young children, from community members to international tourists.  Through its thought-provoking work, the Museum not only encourages the understanding and appreciation of Chinese American arts, culture and history, but also informs, educates and engages visitors about Chinese American history that is in the making.  - See more at: http://www.mocanyc.org/about/#sthash.O6GstXwG.dpuf

I believe MOCA achieves this 100%.  There were Chinese children and teenagers gawking at the exhibits.  One said - "I never knew that my ancestors had to go through all of this" as he stared in wonder at pictures of turn of the century Chinatown.  My friend who went to the museum with me and I had a really interesting conversation provoked by the "Yellow Face" exhibition.  The Yellow Face Exhibition depicted how Chinese were depicted on t.v., film, and stage and how similar it was to blackface.  We wondered why, even in today's society, yellow face seems o.k.  We are both opera singers, so we used the Mikado and Madame Butterly as examples.  No one seems to bat an eyelash at the "yellow face" used in virtually every one of these productions, and we wondered if perceptions would still be the same in 100 years.

Don't get me wrong, MOCA also celebrates the triumphs of Chinese Americans.  There was also a fabulous Chinese fashion exhibit (Front Row: Chinese American Designers) showing how Chinese designers have contributed to American fashion.  It was extremely dazzling.  There was also a delightful "Shanghai Glamour" exhibition 

Overall the museum was inexpensive, educational, and fun.  Perhaps in the future I will be able to include it in my Chinatown tours.  I think it would be marvelous experience for any student group. It is also great for families or simply two adult friends looking for an interesting way to spend an afternoon in NYC.  

Don't mind me - I have a strange fascination with Nixon's visit to China thanks to a certain opera by John Adams called "Nixon in China."  MOCA has a fabulous in depth exhibition of the visit complete with lots of video footage.  You can see Chairman Mao on the video screen underneath the poster.

The entrance to MOCA.