Corky Lee, considered the photographer laureate of the Asian-American community, died of complications from COVID in NYC yesterday.
For decades, his lens captured the struggles for civil rights and social justice, but he also was the photo archivist for New York's award-winning Pan Asian Rep. He photographed dozens and dozens of its shows, actors, directors and playwrights. And in 2016, Pan Asian Rep honored Lee at the theater's 40th anniversary benefit dinner. (He also took pictures of the Asian-Americans protesting ''Miss Saigon'' on Broadway in 1991.)
The Queens-born photographer's works appeared in Time, the N.Y. Times and A.P., and Mayor Dinkins once declared May 5, 1988 ''Corky Lee Day.''
On a personal note, Lee was a wonderful friend who left too soon, but his indelible legacy will live on in his photos and an upcoming documentary. |
