Chinatown, or rather the multitude of Chinatowns across the U.S. and Canada, has been a subject of fascination for Rustic Canyon resident and photographer Sara Jane Boyers for more than a decade. An opening reception for her exhibit of photographs, ‘Finding Chinatown,’ will begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, at Craig Krull Gallery at Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., B-3. The work for ‘Finding Chinatown’ began on a visit Boyers took to San Francisco to visit colleges with her son Morgan in 2000. An early-morning side trip with her camera evolved into a complete body of work, gathered from more than 50 Chinatowns. They range from historic urban settlements with longtime residents (like New York and Vancouver) to new strip malls, like one in Tampa, Florida, where Boyers found only a Chinese market, one small restaurant and a few other businesses to support the growing Chinese population. ‘I have photographed where the Chinatown is presently no more than a flooded cemetery in El Paso, Texas,’ Boyers says, ‘where Chinese immigrants of another century, many with Hispanic names, were segregated from the rest of the population. Or in Evanston, Wyoming, a town with two streets and one old-school Chinese restaurant, but with an active archaeological dig and a beautiful and thoughtful reconstruction of a joss house and museum to honor the many Chinese laborers who worked there on the railroads and the mines.’ Boyers had no agenda going in and let chance encounters inform the images, most of which have a solemn, studied feel to them. They are rarely populated with people and more often focus on the physical details of everyday life through inanimate objects or rooms that feel as if someone just stepped out. One signature photograph titled ‘Mr. Louie’s Kitchen’ shows a dark, smoky kitchen full of simple cookware’the wok-like pans are full of food and a meal seems to be under way, but there is no sign of the chef. Another image reveals a woman sitting on a step inside the doorway of a brick building, but the viewer sees only her pant legs, forearms and a small corner of the woman’s face’the photographer seems reluctant to intrude. ‘I am fascinated by the light, vibrance and history of the Chinatowns,’ Boyers says. ‘The vitality of each living, changing community and the general welcoming nature of those who pass through inspire me always. What intrigues me most are the still moments, even in the oft-frenetic mist.’ Boyers, a Palisades High graduate, lives in Rustic Canyon with her husband Steve. This is her first solo show of the Chinatown work. She’s also written about the project at findingchinatown.blogspot.com. The show will run through September 3. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
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