I love to paint - anything else I'm no
good at all. in the 20s and 30s in
Chinese American communities,
what could you hope to achieve? You could
become a laundry man, a houseboy, or work
in a restaurant.
To be an artist was not a remote possibility.
He's primarily a
fine artist who spent three decades of
his life working as a motion picture
illustrator. Hollywood and animation in
particular was very much an old boys
club. It's not a pretty picture but it's
one that reflects the attitudes there.
The very very first day, the head of the
department, he said, "you're a Chink." Tyrus has
this ability to always bounce back.
I discovered they did that they were making
Bambi. After Walt saw Tyrus Wong's
sketches for Bambi, he gave the go ahead
to hire him. Thank you Walt. It's only really happened
a few other times where the entire
studio will cleave to one artist's style.
You could actually see brushstrokes on
the screen. He is legendary and
constantly on the minds of everyone here.
This is some pretty good work, I think you have a future.
I think sometimes we get blinders on and
we think, "Oh I have to be a great painter
or I have to be an amazing animator."
You look at Tyrus Wong's work - there's tremendous
diversity to it.
You know, his ceramic artwork,  his greeting cards,
or his painting at Disney or his Warner
Brothers work, or his kite building - I
think all of those are hand in glove, and
I think all of those relate to each
other. It's almost a philosophy of how he
wants to live his life.
Tyrus's story is like an incredible
flower growing amidst concrete and stone.
it's so unlikely and that's what makes
it so valuable.
you
