an unlikely photojournalist: Emile Bocian in Chinatown
Co-Curator; Lead Researcher
Embedded Files
Origin
Origin
The Muhammad Ali photo in question , Museum of Chinese in America, Emile Bocian Collection
In 2012, I began interning in the collections department at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in NYC. I was working on sorting photographs when I came across a photo of Muhammad Ali shaking hands with an Asian man. I was a big boxing fan and never read about Ali interacting with the New York Chinatown community so this photograph stuck with me and I wanted to learn more about the context.
The photograph was just one image in a collection consisting of thousands of curled up black and white photographs of mostly Asian Americans hastily throw into cardboard and cigar boxes. On my free time I would catch myself flipping through the photographs and looking at the various faces that I didn't recognize. But on the backs of all the photographs was stamped the named "Emile Bocian." Who was he and why did he take all of these photographs?
The collection always intrigued me even after I became a full time staff member at the museum. Luckily, in 2015 we were able to get a grant that allowed us to rehouse the collection and this is where I was able to begin combing through the materials and digging into the life of this curiosity of a man.
The photograph was just one image in a collection consisting of thousands of curled up black and white photographs of mostly Asian Americans hastily throw into cardboard and cigar boxes. On my free time I would catch myself flipping through the photographs and looking at the various faces that I didn't recognize. But on the backs of all the photographs was stamped the named "Emile Bocian." Who was he and why did he take all of these photographs?
The collection always intrigued me even after I became a full time staff member at the museum. Luckily, in 2015 we were able to get a grant that allowed us to rehouse the collection and this is where I was able to begin combing through the materials and digging into the life of this curiosity of a man.
Initial Research
Initial Research
Throughout 2015 and 2016 I went through every paper document in the Bocian Collection and looked for relevant names, addresses, and contacts; anything that would help me learn more about this man.
I began cold calling people with the same name and mailing letters to potential acquaintances and/or relatives. I was luckily able to find Bocian's niece Adeline Kaplan and grand niece Jocelyn Kaplan, who lived in Delaware as well as his nephew Franklin Bocian, who still lived in New York. Along with his personal belongings and interviews with his relatives I was able to piece together the life of photojournalist Emile Bocian.
I wrote a piece for the academic journal CUNY Forum, which was published in their Fall-Winter 2016-2017 edition. The Asian American / Asian Research Institute at CUNY would invite me to speak about Bocian and his Chinatown photographs in 2017.
AAARI CUNY talk: Emile Bocian: Photojournalist for The China Post, NYC Feb. 24, 2017
AAARI CUNY talk: Emile Bocian: Photojournalist for The China Post, NYC Feb. 24, 2017
Pitch and CJH Partnership
Pitch and CJH Partnership
Initially I pitched the idea to the the curatorial team at MOCA however due to prior commitments there was no room for a show about Bocian at the time. However I was given permission to shop the show around and try to build a partnership to expand MOCA's audience.
I immediately thought of the Center for Jewish History (CJH) since Bocian was of Polish-Jewish ancestry. We had also previously collaborated with them on other projects but never for an exhibition. This would be a perfect opportunity to build a more visible partnership and draw a new audience for each of the institutions. I brought the show to them and was introduced to their Director of Public Services, Lauren Gilbert. After some conversations, we decided that the show would be a benefit to both organizations and went ahead with planning.
Gilbert would become my co-curator for the show that would untimately focus on Bocian's life and specifically his photographs and relationship with the New York Chinatown community. The show was set to open in April of 2020 at CJH but then the pandemic happened.
I immediately thought of the Center for Jewish History (CJH) since Bocian was of Polish-Jewish ancestry. We had also previously collaborated with them on other projects but never for an exhibition. This would be a perfect opportunity to build a more visible partnership and draw a new audience for each of the institutions. I brought the show to them and was introduced to their Director of Public Services, Lauren Gilbert. After some conversations, we decided that the show would be a benefit to both organizations and went ahead with planning.
Gilbert would become my co-curator for the show that would untimately focus on Bocian's life and specifically his photographs and relationship with the New York Chinatown community. The show was set to open in April of 2020 at CJH but then the pandemic happened.
Mock up for the exhibition scheduled to open at the Center for Jewish History prior to the pandemic.
Virtual Exhibition
Virtual Exhibition
Virtual Opening event, January 28, 2021
Rather than delay the show indefinitely Gilbert and I pivoted and began working with the design team at CJH to turn it into a virtual exhibition. This forced us to rethink much of our layout, item selection, and most importantly presentation.
The virtual exhibition opened in December 2020 with a virtual opening talk on January 28, 2021. Without the constraints of a physical space we were able to expand the number of photographs displayed as well as utilizing worldwide crowd sourcing to help identify photographs. The online format also allows the show to be on view for far longer than it would have been in a physical space. The virtual exhibition can be viewed here.
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