In her new work, from 2015 to the present, Liu draws upon the photographs of Dorothea Lange (1895-1965). This marks a significant change of subject matter and sourcing for Liu, since Lange is American. It also fundamentally alters the nature of the work. The FSA's enterprise was more on the order of public relations than insidious propaganda — the through line of Liu's Chinese-themed work. Here, she skirts critique altogether in favor of exuberant homage, as if to reiterate the dignity Lange conferred on her subjects, from young fieldworkers to the iconic "Migrant Mother."

Source: Los Angeles Times September 26, 2018 19:30 UTC