East Village art scene, and as a close friend of the
artist Keith Haring, he became an important col-
laborator in documenting Haring’s chalk drawings
on empty black advertising panels in the New
York subways. As Haring’s drawings were consid-
ered ‘‘graffiti’’ by the New York police, both
artists had to work quickly to avoid arrest and
Tseng’s photographs continue to stand in many
cases as the only record of Haring’s ephemeral
work. In 1984, Tseng’s photographs of Haring’s
subway drawings were published in a book,Art in
Transit, with an accompanying essay by curator
Henry Geldzhaler. After Haring ceased making
drawings in the subway, Tseng continued to colla-
borate with him to document his work, and tra-
veled with Haring internationally to record his
projects including Haring’s painting on the Berlin
wall in 1986 and his painting on the body of
dancer Bill T. Jones in 1983.
Tseng continued to develop hisEast Meets West
series and in 1985 his work was included in the
Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of
American Art. With the acquisition of a Hassel-
blad camera in 1987 and the employment of an
assistant, Tseng was able to distance himself from
the shutter release and move deeper into the land-
scape. His subject matter turned to the spectacular
Western landscapes that had inspired painters
such as Albert Bierstadt and photographers such
as Timothy O’Sullivan and Ansel Adams. Some-
where during these years the title of his project
becameThe Expeditionary Series, making explicit
the shift away from the confrontational nature of
the earlier photographs. Exploring the American
wilderness, Tseng’s later work is much less
informed by capitalist tourism, and instead con-
siders the quest for a transcendent sublime that
has informed much of our national identity. As
Tseng takes on contemplative postures, standing
in some images with his back to the viewer as in a
Caspar David Friedrich painting, the socio-politi-
cal implications of his uniform diminish greatly.
Grand Canyon, Arizona, 1987 captures an enor-
mous view of the Colorado River winding its
way through the landscape. The viewer must strain
to discover the tiny figure of Tseng standing on
some distant rocks in the foreground. Although
Tseng still clearly wears his Maoist uniform, if
one knows to look for it, its role as a signifier of
the artist’s identity as ‘‘foreigner’’ has clearly been
subsumed by the grandeur of the natural world in
which Tseng now stands simply as one commun-
ing with Nature.
Like so many of his generation in New York that
emerged in the 1980s, Tseng died of AIDS in
March 1990.
RachaelArauz
Seealso:History of Photography: the 1980sBiography
Born Joseph Tseng in Hong Kong, 6 September 1950.
Attended St. Joseph’s Boys Catholic School in Hong
Kong. Moved with family to Vancouver, British Co-
lumbia, Canada in 1966. Attended Prince of Wales
High School, Vancouver; one year at the University of
British Columbia; one year at Sir George Williams Uni-
versity, Montre ́al. Studied painting, then photography
at L’E ́cole Superieure d’Arts Graphiques of L’Academie
Julien in Paris and graduated with honors in 1975.
Moved to New York City in 1978. Takes on Chinese
name, Tseng Kwong Chi, and Maoist costume, and
begins East Meets Westseries in 1979. Documents
East Village arts scene and work by Keith Haring
1979–1989. PublishesArt in Transit, 1984. Received
Yale/Brachman Award for Distinguished Cultural Con-
tribution, Timothy Dwight College, Yale University,- Received Award for Distinguished Work, Asian
American Arts Institute, New York, 1990. Died in New
York, New York, 10 March 1990.
Individual Exhibitions
1981 EastMeetsWest;TheMuddClub,NewYork,NewYork
1983 East Meets West: American Series; Beulah Land, New
York, New York
1984 Art in Transit, collaboration with Keith Haring; Sema-
phore East Gallery, New York, New York
EastMeetsWest:AmericanMonumentsSeries; C.E.P.A.
Gallery, Buffalo, New York
East Meets West: New Photographs; Semaphore Gal-
lery, New York, New York
1987 Tseng Kwong Chi; Ripon College Art Gallery, Ripon,
Wisconsin
Tseng Kwong Chi: Canadian Rockies Series; Gallery
Casas Toledo Oosterom, New York, New York
1997 Tseng Kwong Chi: Citizen of the World; Center for
Creative Photography, Tucson, ArizonaSelected Group Exhibitions
1980 First Invitational; Club 57, New York, New York
1983 Intoxication; Monique Knowlton Gallery, New York,
New York
1984 New Attitudes: Paris/New York; Pittsburgh Center for
the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
5/5 Figuration Libre France/USA; Musee d’Art Mod-
erne de La Ville de Paris, Paris, France
1985 1985 Whitney Biennial; Whitney Museum of American
Art, New York, New York
1986 Television’s Impact on Contemporary Art; The Queens
Museum, Queens, New YorkTSENG KWONG CHI