China

Photographer

b. September 6, 1950, Hong Kong

d. March 10, 1990, New York, New York

“My photographs are social studies and social comments on Western society and its relationship with the East.”

Tseng Kwong Chi, also known as Joseph Tseng, was the preeminent photographer of the 1980s New York pop scene. His work engages a wide variety of traditions, from landscape photography to portraiture. His best-known photographs examine perceptions of “foreign-ness,” as he experimented artistically with his Asian-American identity.

Tseng immigrated as a teen with his family to Canada. After studying Fine Arts in Paris, he moved to New York City. Tseng compiled portraits of the period’s most celebrated artists. He produced the largest Keith Haring archive, taking more than 40,000 photographs of the renowned graffiti artist and his drawings and murals.

Tseng’s most famous body of work is his collection of self-portraits, titled “Expeditionary Self-Portrait Series” or alternatively “East Meets West.” In the series, Tseng adopted the identity of a stereotypical Chinese dignitary, donning a Mao suit, mirrored sunglasses and an ID badge that read “SlutforArt.” He situated himself in front of well-known Western monuments and tourist sites, including the World Trade Center, the Eiffel Tower and Mount Rushmore.

Tseng’s photographs exploit the juxtaposition of perceived and self-assigned identities. Reductive stereotypes were particularly relevant for LGBT Americans of his generation.

At age 39, Tseng died of AIDS-related illness. The stunning portfolio he amassed in his brief career secured his legacy as one of the best photographers of his era. His work has been displayed in museums worldwide, including the Guggenheim and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Chinese Gay Pioneer

b. January 19, 1974

"Law and policy always involve compromise and sometimes being a progressive means taking things one step at a time."
    
One generation removed from the persecution of gays under the People's Republic of China, Chinese gays encounter different obstacles than their American counterparts. Many Chinese believe that homosexuality exists only in the western world. The absence of legal protection and the threat of social isolation keep most Chinese LGBT individuals in the closet.

LGBT activist and attorney Zhou Dan came out to his friends in 1998 and the media in 2003. A champion of LGBT rights in China, Zhou writes articles on Chinese gay and lesbian Web sites. Although many LGBT Chinese use pseudonyms, Zhou uses his real name.

After revealing his sexuality to a Shanghai newspaper in 2003, Zhou appeared across China in newspapers and magazines and on television. Earlier that year, he established the Shanghai Hotline for Sexual Minorities.

In 2004 Zhou attended Yale Law School's China Law Center as a visiting scholar. In 2006 he taught China's first graduate class on homosexuality at Fudan University in Shanghai.

As a lawyer, Zhou fights for the LGBT community and people living with HIV/AIDS. He successfully lobbied the Ministry of Health not to bar HIV-positive people from government jobs. Zhou founded and currently serves as Executive Director of Yu Dan, the first Chinese organization promoting the recognition and acceptance of gay rights throughout mainland China.

In 2005 Zhou was featured in Tetu, a French gay and lesbian magazine. He was also profiled in TIME magazine as China's gay pioneer. In 2006 Equality Forum presented Zhou with its 11th Annual International Role Model Award.