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Bernice Bing
Bernice Bing (10 April 1936 – 18 August 1998) was a Chinese American lesbian artist involved in the San Francisco Bay Area art scene in the 1960s. She was known for her interest in the Beats and Zen Buddhism, and for the "calligraphy-inspired abstraction" in her paintings, which she adopted after studying with Saburo Hasegawa.
Bing was a co-founder of San Francisco’s SCRAP, according to the 2013 film about her life and an article in the SF City College Guardsman.
Bernice Lee Bing, given the nickname "Bingo" as a child, was born in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, in 1936. Bing's father was an immigrant from Southern China, while her mother was born in the United States.
Bing's father was incarcerated before she was three years old, and her mother, who was at times physically abusive, died due to a heart ailment before she was six, leaving Bing with limited exposure to her traditional Chinese heritage. Raised in numerous Caucasian foster homes with her sister, Bing also lived in the Ming Quong Home, a girls' custodial home in Oakland's Chinatown, for some time. Bing occasionally stayed in Oakland with her grandmother, whose praises fostered Bing's interest in art. As a rebellious child who did not do well academically, Bing turned to drawing, which she said "kept [her] connected."
Bing was involved in the arts throughout high school, winning several local and regional art contests. After graduating from Oakland Technical High School in 1955, she received a National Scholastic Award to the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) initially as an advertising major, then later as a painting one. She attended school with fellow abstract expressionist painter George Miyasaki and sculptor Manuel Neri. During her time there, Bing was instructed by Nathan Oliveira (1928–2010), Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993), and Saburo Hasegawa (1906–1957), who especially made an impact on Bing. A Japanese-born painter, Hasegawa introduced Bing to Zen Buddhism, Chinese philosophers, including Lao Tzu and Po Chu-i, and traditional calligraphy. Her encounter with Hasegawa also incited her to start thinking of her identity as an Asian woman.
In 1958, after one semester in CCAC, Bing transferred to the California School of Fine Arts (now known as the San Francisco Art Institute). There, she studied with Elmer Bischoff and Frank Lobdell and eventually earned a B.F.A. with honors in 1959 followed by an M.F.A. in 1961. To support herself as a student, Bing waitressed and maintained a studio in North Beach above the Old Spaghetti Factory, a popular artist hangout.
By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Bay Area art scene had become lively, and Bing was close to many of those artists. Her wider circle of friends, many of which were prominent Bay Area abstract painters, included Joan Brown, Wally Hedrick, Jay DeFeo, Bruce Conner and Fred Martin. The art, literature, theater, and film of the beat generation movement were a major influence on her.
Most of her early work is destroyed, stolen, or lost. A common theme in her early work was exploration of her own identity, particularly as an Asian woman, in contrast to dominant ideas of "normalcy."
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Bernice Bing
Bernice Bing (10 April 1936 – 18 August 1998) was a Chinese American lesbian artist involved in the San Francisco Bay Area art scene in the 1960s. She was known for her interest in the Beats and Zen Buddhism, and for the "calligraphy-inspired abstraction" in her paintings, which she adopted after studying with Saburo Hasegawa.
Bing was a co-founder of San Francisco’s SCRAP, according to the 2013 film about her life and an article in the SF City College Guardsman.
Bernice Lee Bing, given the nickname "Bingo" as a child, was born in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, in 1936. Bing's father was an immigrant from Southern China, while her mother was born in the United States.
Bing's father was incarcerated before she was three years old, and her mother, who was at times physically abusive, died due to a heart ailment before she was six, leaving Bing with limited exposure to her traditional Chinese heritage. Raised in numerous Caucasian foster homes with her sister, Bing also lived in the Ming Quong Home, a girls' custodial home in Oakland's Chinatown, for some time. Bing occasionally stayed in Oakland with her grandmother, whose praises fostered Bing's interest in art. As a rebellious child who did not do well academically, Bing turned to drawing, which she said "kept [her] connected."
Bing was involved in the arts throughout high school, winning several local and regional art contests. After graduating from Oakland Technical High School in 1955, she received a National Scholastic Award to the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) initially as an advertising major, then later as a painting one. She attended school with fellow abstract expressionist painter George Miyasaki and sculptor Manuel Neri. During her time there, Bing was instructed by Nathan Oliveira (1928–2010), Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993), and Saburo Hasegawa (1906–1957), who especially made an impact on Bing. A Japanese-born painter, Hasegawa introduced Bing to Zen Buddhism, Chinese philosophers, including Lao Tzu and Po Chu-i, and traditional calligraphy. Her encounter with Hasegawa also incited her to start thinking of her identity as an Asian woman.
In 1958, after one semester in CCAC, Bing transferred to the California School of Fine Arts (now known as the San Francisco Art Institute). There, she studied with Elmer Bischoff and Frank Lobdell and eventually earned a B.F.A. with honors in 1959 followed by an M.F.A. in 1961. To support herself as a student, Bing waitressed and maintained a studio in North Beach above the Old Spaghetti Factory, a popular artist hangout.
By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Bay Area art scene had become lively, and Bing was close to many of those artists. Her wider circle of friends, many of which were prominent Bay Area abstract painters, included Joan Brown, Wally Hedrick, Jay DeFeo, Bruce Conner and Fred Martin. The art, literature, theater, and film of the beat generation movement were a major influence on her.
Most of her early work is destroyed, stolen, or lost. A common theme in her early work was exploration of her own identity, particularly as an Asian woman, in contrast to dominant ideas of "normalcy."