JANM Celebrates the Book Launch of Giant Robot: Thirty Years of Defining Asian-American Pop Culture

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) celebrates the release of the new book Giant Robot: Thirty Years of Defining Asian-American Pop Culture from 7 p.m.–8:30 p.m. on Friday, October 25, 2024. Tickets are $5 and available at janm.org/events.

During the book launch, author and Giant Robot founder, Eric Nakamura, will be joined by special guests Randall Park, Tamlyn Tomita, Martin Wong, and Daniel Wu to talk about the zines, stores, exhibitions, and more that redefined what it means to be Asian American. The program is offered in connection with the exhibition, Giant Robot Biennale 5, on view at JANM through January 5, 2025.

Nakamura founded Giant Robot as a photocopied and stapled zine in 1994 and grew the publication until late 2010. Giant Robot reached a multiracial audience interested in Asian popular culture and became known as the premier magazine in the field. Nakamura built on the success of Giant Robot with stores and galleries in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, and has curated over 300 exhibitions. Currently, he works in and owns the Giant Robot store and GR2 Gallery in Los Angeles,­­ which continues to offer pop culture goods and hold art exhibitions.

Park is an actor, director, writer, and producer best known for his work as Louis Hwang on ABC’s groundbreaking sitcom Fresh Off The Boat; Jimmy Woo in Marvel Studio’s Ant Man and The Wasp and Wandavision; Dr. Stephen Shin in the Aquaman franchise; and several other roles in television and film. Tomita is an actor, singer, and writer best known for her performances in The Karate Kid Part II and The Joy Luck Club. Wong contributed to punk zines like Flipside and Fear of Grownup before editing all sixty-eight issues of Giant Robot from 1994 to 2011. He went on to start the Save Music in Chinatown DIY matinee shows inspired by the historic LA neighborhood’s punk past to support the local elementary school’s music program, and still contributes to zines to this day (mostly Razorcake). Wu is an award-winning actor, director, and producer. The Hong Kong film veteran, martial artist, and race car driver was a correspondent for Giant Robot from 1997 to 2011.

Published by Drawn and Quarterly, Giant Robot: Thirty Years of Defining Asian-American Pop Culture dives deep into the pop culture phenomenon of Giant Robot. It features the best of the magazine’s sixty-eight issue run alongside never-before-seen photographs, supplementary writing by long-term contributing journalist Claudine Ko, and tributes from now-famous fans including Margaret Cho, Daniel Wu, Randall Park, Peggy Oki, Takashi Murakami, Natasha Pickowicz, and Jia Tolentino. The book will be available for purchase at the JANM Store in October.

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a center for civil rights, ensuring that the hard-fought lessons of the World War II incarceration are not forgotten. A Smithsonian Affiliate and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories. JANM is a center for the arts as well as history. It provides a voice for Japanese Americans and a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over 100 exhibitions onsite while traveling 40 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday–Sunday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and on Thursday from 12 p.m.–8 p.m. JANM is free every third Thursday of the month. On all other Thursdays, JANM is free from 5 p.m.–8 p.m. For more information, visit janm.org or follow us on social media @jamuseum.