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Because of the circumstances of turn-of-the-century Chinese immigrants to America, many of them had few alternatives to mining, working in restaurants or laundries. Operating a laundry required relatively little capital, education or English fluency. Often times, entire families lived crammed together in the back of their laundry storefronts. While the parents worked, the children helped however they could.
It was hot, 14-hour-per-day work and after lunch the young man ironing struggles to stay alert while the mother does the mending. Chinese culture, food and clothing may have been replicated in Chinatowns on the West Coast, yet everything around the tight-knit communities was different. “I posed the daughter curiously trying on the calico dress brought in by their American customer,” says the artist. Is she wondering what it feels like to be an American girl or is it only a strange costume?
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Born in Southern China, Mian Situ received his formal art training in his
native homeland of Guangdong, formerly Canton. He graduated with a Bachelor of
Fine Arts from the prestigious Guangzhou Institute of Fine Art. After
instructing for six years, he earned a Masters in Fine Art.
Immigrating to Canada, then later moving to the United States, Mian’s
paintings clearly reflect his upbringing in the rural countryside of his
native China. His artistic diversification of subject matter, from the people
of the small villages and farming communities going about their daily lives to
the exquisite portraitures as well as his most recent works inspired by
western historical themes and American landscapes, all reflect the sensitive
dedication of this Master Artist.
Mian has been recognized with many national art awards. During the 2002
Masters of the American West exhibition and sale at the Autry National Center
in Los Angeles California, Mian Situ received the Masters of the American West
Museum Purchase Award, the Thomas Moran Memorial Award for Artistic Merit and
the Patron’s Choice Award. In 2003, Mian was honored with the Thomas Moran
Memorial Award, Artist’s Choice Award and Patron’s Choice Award. Most
recently, in 2005, Mian was presented with the Artist’s Choice Award for his
painting, The Word of God. Mian Situ is represented by Trailside Galleries in
Scottsdale, Arizona and Jackson, Wyoming. He lives with his wife, Helen and
daughter, Lisa in Southern California.
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