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Contemporary Asian American artists––with a strong sense of being American and an acute critical consciousness of world matters––grapple with issues of identity in a way that sets them apart from their predecessors. Whereas many Asian American artists of a previous generation directly referred to an Asian sense of self in their works, it can be argued that younger Asian American artists only sometimes make reference to it or omit it entirely.

This creatively designed book focuses on recent works by seventeen Asian American artists born in the late 1960s and 1970s––including Patty Chang, Kaz Oshiro, and Jean Shin––to explore this pivotal generation of artists, the prevalent themes in their art, and the different ways they configure identity in their work. One Way or Another features examples of painting, sculpture, and video and installation art––many previously unpublished––and includes essays that discuss the shifting meaning of Asian America over the last decade and address the issues of mixed heritage and the emergence of an evolving Asian American identity in an increasingly globalized society.

Melissa Chiu is Director and Curator of Contemporary Asian Art at the Asia Society Museum. Karin Higa is Senior Curator of Art at the Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles. Susette S. Min is Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies and Art History at the University of California, Davis. Margo Machida is Assistant Professor of Art History and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut at Storrs, and Visiting Scholar in New York University’s Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program. Helen Zia is an award-winning journalist whose focus has been social and political issues in Asian American communities.