Cowboy Photo Exhibit Opens September 9
Local Photographer Drawn to ‘Symbol of American Spirit’
As a naturalized American citizen of Chinese ancestry, who immigrated to the United States at age nine, Lisa Tang Liu says, “I have spent most of my life pondering what it means to be American.”
“The cowboy has long been a symbol of the American spirit, and I find myself drawn to it,” she says. “To me, it stands for freedom, self-reliance, adventure, new frontiers, and optimism – values that I love about our country.”
A series of her photographs, Cowboys, is featured at The Griffin Museum at the Aberjona River Gallery in Winchester, MA, September 9 through November 7. An opening reception is October 5, 6-7:30 p.m.
Liu’s first opportunity to photograph a cowboy was at a 2004 workshop held by her mentors, internationally known photographers Joe DiMaggio and JoAnne Kalish. This body of work developed from her various trips across the United States.
“People are often surprised to see that the photographer of these images is a person of Chinese descent,” Liu says. “As a teenager growing up in white, suburban New Jersey, I had been very self-conscious of being different. But as I age, I have come to realize that labels people impose on me do not matter. It is the identity I chose that ultimately counts. I am proud of my Chinese heritage, and I am proud of being American. This body of work is an expression of this liberating realization.”
Liu, a former Medford resident who currently lives in Quincy, is a graduate of Wellesley College and studied at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan, and the New England School of Photography in Boston. Her work has been shown in many exhibitions and is the corporate collection of Bank of America in Providence and Lincoln, Rhode Island.
Lisa Tang Liu will give a talk on Cowboys at the Griffin’s Senior Sunday on October 17th at 3 PM. Free and open to the public.
The Griffin Museum at the Aberjona River Gallery is at the Aberjona Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, 184 Swanton St., Winchester, MA. It is open seven days a week, 11 AM – 5 PM. Visitors should enter at the parking lot entrance and see the receptionist.
The Griffin Museum of Photography is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm; Friday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 – 4:00 pm. The Museum is closed on Monday. General admission is $7; $3 for seniors. Members and children under 12 are admitted free. Admission is free to all every Thursday. For more information, call 781-729-1158, or visit www.griffinmuseum.org.
– Information from Griffin Museum