By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (CID) neighborhood will soon showcase two new murals honoring the legendary Bruce Lee, one of the CID’s most celebrated figures. Artist Louie Gong (Nooksack) created the murals, through blending his Native American and Asian heritage. With the help of the Bruce Lee Foundation, Seattle Arts & Culture, and the Wing Luke Museum, Gong’s artworks will go up in the form of two 10 foot by 10 foot murals on Nov. 25— just two days before Bruce Lee’s birthday.
“I’m so excited to see these murals…to see the fruits of so much creativity and labor…that becomes a part of the fabric of our city,” said Seattle Deputy Mayor Greg Wong at the Nov. 19 news conference, hosted by the Wing Luke, wherein the mural designs were revealed. “When we talk about how we build communities, how we build a city…we center arts and culture,” Wong added, speaking specifically of the priorities of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s administration. Behind a curtain, two smaller versions of Gong’s murals-to-be, titled The Journey Begins Here and One with Water, awaited. Each was created with a fusion, or what Gong calls a “confluence,” of his heritage, as well as his conception of Lee as a hero close to his heart and important to his own family.
Gong, who grew up with a poster of Lee in his bedroom through which he believed the star’s spirit would protect him, jumped on the chance to fulfill this commission. As part of his preparation, Gong took “an assessment at what other kinds of representations there were of Bruce Lee in the International District”—and in general—and found that, visually at least, most representations focus on Bruce’s “punching and kicking.” Gong saw this project as an “opportunity to lean into Lee’s personal development—his philosophies; and also, to lean into his connection to place. Gong, whose middle name is Lee, was nicknamed “Bruce” after he won a schoolyard fight as a kid. His family loved Bruce Lee. His father was a martial arts champion who ran a video store, giving young Gong ample opportunity to watch Lee’s films.
“I was a super fan by the time I was 6 or 7 years old,” Gong told the Asian Weekly.
Gong has participated in a lot of projects within the CID, both arts-related and community-related. He had an art studio in the CID for many years and has only recently relocated his studio to his home, where he hopes to focus on his art during his (semi-) retirement. You might know him as the founder of Eighth Generation. Gong was born in British Columbia and moved to Seattle when he was 10. His grandfather was a Pacific Northwestern Chinese man who managed a berry field. His grandmother was a Native American woman working the field. Gong drew from both of these backgrounds to create the two murals. He doesn’t force anything, yet if he can identify an “overlap” within the symbolism, he will use it. Take for instance, the dragon. Not only is Lee known as “The Dragon,” but there is a natural connection of Lee to the iconography of the Chinese dragon. In The Journey Begins Here, Gong takes this further and connects Lee to a Coast Salish dragon, a serpent with a lot of similarities to its Asian cousin.
In this work, Gong wanted to capture the spirit of “a young Bruce Lee” full of “excitement and energy.” Above the dragon, a being of blessing, which rides in on a wave, welcomed by Lee and also welcoming Lee to the city, there is a silhouette of Lee’s hair, instantly recognizable, and imprinted with a map of the city, including the CID. In the background are two moons, or “pearls of wisdom,” and mountains, which represent the Cascades but also obstacles, because according to one of Gong’s beloved philosophical contributions by Lee, one should not “wish for an easy life.” Instead one should “wish for the strength to endure a hard life.”
The second piece, One with Water, again features a dragon. This time, the dragon is full faced front and sipping water, showing that the dragon/Lee has completed the journey and is resting. In the dragon’s mane are many symbols of Lee’s time in Seattle and the CID, such as the names of restaurants (Tai Tung, for instance), and also of iconic moves done by Lee in his films. With the city of Seattle in the background, Lee, the Dragon, is its protector. There are also several Easter Eggs (surprises for those with sharp eyes) for other super fans, relating to Lee’s haunts and habits. The two works together represent the beginning and the closing of Lee’s time in Seattle, especially the CID. They show his path from an exuberant youngster just getting started to a seasoned, mature man full of inner strength and wisdom.
Shannon Lee, Bruce’s daughter and CEO of the Bruce Lee Foundation, attended the preview to welcome the new murals with a moving discussion of her father’s connection to Seattle and to the CID. She told of how Bruce came to Seattle as a “baby adult,” meaning someone just arriving into adulthood, and still learning who and how to be. Here, Lee opened a school and became a teacher. Here, he raised a family. According to Shannon, her father’s connection to Seattle and to the CID ran deep—it was the community he found after leaving his hometown of Hong Kong. For Shannon, her father’s presence is still here. She feels it every time she comes to Seattle, she said.
There was no doubt that everyone in the room during the unveiling of the two mural designs also felt Lee’s presence in the room. There is magic in our city that is imbued with Lee’s, and many others. One with Water will go up on South King Street at the Rex Apartments. The Journey Begins Here will go up at the New Central Building on South Weller Street, purposefully in the same location where Lee’s Seattle story began. Stop by and take a look!
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.