July 30, 2007

Campaign for the "New Asian"???

If any of you visit the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, you'll notice as you walk into their front doors that the far right wall boasts an impressive plaque naming the donors to the campaign to build what I presume is the new Asian Art Museum, and NOT the new Asian, because, as I'd like to think, Asians have been defining and redefining ourselves for centuries -- as is every human being on this planet. I just felt it presumptuous and totally inappropriate for them to shorten the campaign name in this particular way. What is being suggested by the title, I wonder? What does it mean to intentionally choose to say the "new Asian" instead of the "new museum" or "the new Asian Art Museum" or even "the new Asian Museum" (which is not correct use of adjectives, but that's even preferable to what they currently have)...?

Sometimes, just to be a bit more interesting, I'd like to consider whether it is possible for us to campaign for the new Asian. How would that go? I wonder who could be the campaign manager? What will be our logo? Who will be our poster child? What the heck, which sponsors should we try to get on board? This might get interesting, folks. And, finally, what's the pitch?

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