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Title
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Bernice Bing
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Description
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Bernice Bing, affectionately known as “Bingo,” was born on April 10, 1936 in San Francisco’s Chinatown and died of cancer in August of 1998. Bing’s early life was filled with hardships she was forced to navigate. Her father died in jail and her mother died of a heart ailment when Bing was only five. Bing was sent to the Ming Quong orphanage in California and bounced around Caucasian foster homes. From time to time, she would stay with her grandmother who still practiced Chinese traditions. Bing was torn between her Chinese and American identities. Since the Chinese Exclusion act was still in effect during this time, Bing faced discrimination. Bing began creating art as early as high school, where she won awards for her sculpture, silkscreens, and watercolors. She also received a full scholarship from the Latham Foundation to attend the California College of the Arts in Oakland. This decision put her into contact with the Zen Buddhist painter Saburo Hasegawa whose Buddhist philosophy influenced Bing’s later work. (Landauer 2019, 8). Bing transferred to the San Francisco Art Institute and she worked as a waitress to fund her studies. She became active in San Francisco’s queer community where she was described as “a hard-drinking dancer” and “fiery presence.” (Landauer 2019, 9). Bing uses her sense of sexual and cultural identities as well as her upbringing as inspiration for her paintings. Bing worked mostly in oil and was known for her abstract expressionist style.
In her painting titled, Burney Falls (1980), Bing depicts the Northern California waterfall in a more abstract manner. Bing uses vibrant greens and blues to capture the beauty of nature. Her abstract style helps to catch the movement of the waterfall rather than rendering every rock she sees. This over 8 foot tall painting is confrontational due to the sheer amount of space the viewer is forced to engage with. Her process of creating paintings is important because she had to use her whole body to paint her canvases. Her paintings were embodied works that convey the forces of nature while also allowing her to express her emotions. Bernice Bing incorporates her background of Chinese landscape paintings and merges it with self expression to create paintings that speak to the duality of her identity.
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Alternative Title
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Bernice Bing, Burney Falls, oil on canvas, 1980.
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Source
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Artist Image: Griffin, Jonathan. “The Irresistible Cool of Bernice Bing.” Apollo Magazine, May 13, 2024. https://www.apollo-magazine.com/bernice-bing-san-francisco-painter/.
Art Image: “Bernice Bing, Burney Falls, 1980.” Berry Campbell. https://berrycampbell.com/artists/49-bernice-bing/works/9364-bernice-bing-burney-falls-1980/.
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Name
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Georgia Baer
