I’ve been wanting to post something about Tseng Kwong Chi, the Chinese photographer (actually from Hong Kong), who dressed up as a Chinese diplomat in the 80’s and got invited to all the cool parties by people who didn’t know otherwise.
TOP TO BOTTOM, East Meets West
© Tseng Kwong Chi
Horses Think has posted about the complete self portrait series by Tseng currently on at Paul Kasmin in Chelsea.
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery:
In 1979 Tseng Kwong Chi put on a thrift store Mao-era suit to enter a “coat-and-tie” restaurant in New York and was mistaken by the maître d’ for a Chinese dignitary. The next year he successfully crashed the opening of the Ch’ing dynasty exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—posing with the rich and famous as a Chinese Communist official.
I read about Tseng’s life a while back and was impressed by his ingenuity, courage and determination for his work. His most famous series, “East Meets West”, not only created a stir in the US but also inspired his counterparts in China. Sadly, Tseng passed away in 1999 due to Aids.
Read more about his life and work here.
2 Comments
I am wondering if he did play the part in China itself, or at least at chinese embassies. Thanks for the link, definitely interesting character I knew not about.
You’re welcome. I believe he traveled to several countries like France but not in China itself. My guess is that given the political situation then, going back to China dressed in a fake official costume could get you into trouble. But I’m not too 100% sure about that.