In the summer of 1973, Jang, freshly graduated from art school, stayed with his relatives in California’s Bay Area. His camera was his constant companion at gatherings of his extended Chinese American family. “When I look back at the work, you see that they are not guarded,” Jang observed. “You have to live with people to get those kinds of shots.” These pictures, like so many family photos, ended up in a cardboard box in Jang’s home along with the work he made during his school years. Intimate documents of the artist’s community and culture, the photos would not be publicly exhibited until three decades later.

Gallery label from

2022

Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions 11 15/16 × 18" (30.3 × 45.7 cm)
Credit Vital Projects Fund, Robert B. Menschel
Object number 418.2021
Department Photography

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Michael Jang

Michael Jang

American, born 1951 10 works online

It’s the way you can interact.” In the summer of 1973, Jang, freshly graduated from art school, was staying with relatives in the Bay Area while taking a summer course with photographer Lisette Model .

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