Playing Against Type: Frank Matsura’s Photographic Performance
Description:
New Perspectives on Portraiture: “Playing Against Type: Frank Matsura’s Photographic Performance” by ShiPu Wang From the Edgar P. Richardson Symposium: New Perspectives on Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery, Sept. 20, and Sept. 21, 2018 Day 2, Session 4: Theatricality, Performativity, and Play ShiPu Wang Professor of Art History and founding faculty of the Global Arts Studies Program, University of California, Merced “Playing Against Type: Frank Matsura’s Photographic Performance” Dr. Wang presents us with unique work of early 20th century photographer Frank Matsura, who captured a different vision of frontier life than other artists of the time. In “Playing Against Type: Frank Matsura’s Photographic Performance” we see the lives of Native Americans, interracial and same-sex couples, and transgendered people play across the lens with a kind of freedom one would not expect from the era. Dr. Wang demonstrates how Matsura was able to capture shared diasporic experiences and in turn integrate himself into his new community.
