Tseng Kwong Chi - The Pioneer of Selfie Art by Brian Byrd
Brian Byrd is a freelance photographer with more than two decades of experience advancing communication as a catalyst for social change. He serves on the board of directors for the Overseas Press Club of America and the advisory board for WITNESS, a global NGO founded by musician Peter Gabriel that uses video and digital technology to document human rights violations.
The Accidental Ambassador
What makes Tseng's story particularly fascinating is the serendipitous origin of his iconic uniform. While most visitors to the fair might assume his "Ambiguous Ambassador" persona was a carefully calculated artistic statement from the beginning, the truth reveals a delightful spontaneity that shaped his entire artistic career.
As I learned from a representative at Yancey Richardson, Tseng's signature look came about through pure chance. In 1979, he was meeting his parents at Windows on the World, the elegant restaurant perched on the 102nd floor of the original World Trade Center. Realizing he was inappropriately dressed for such an establishment, Tseng made a quick stop at a thrift shop and purchased what would become his artistic trademark - a secondhand Zhongshan suit (commonly known as a "Mao suit").
The unexpected result? Restaurant staff and patrons immediately treated him differently, mistaking him for someone of diplomatic importance. This case of mistaken identity inspired Tseng to develop his "Ambiguous Ambassador" persona, leading to his groundbreaking photographic series "East Meets West" (1979-89).
Tseng Kwong Chi, New York, New York, 1979.
Gelatin silver print, image: 15 x 15 inches, frame: 24 x 24 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Tseng Kwong Chi, New York, New York, 1979.
Gelatin silver print, image: 36 x 36 inches, frame: 38 x 38 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Tseng Kwong Chi, New York, New York, 1979.
Gelatin silver print, image: 36 x 36 inches, frame: 38 x 38 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Before Instagram: The Original Self-Portrait Movement
In an era, decades before smartphone cameras and social media hashtags, Tseng Kwong Chi pioneered what would eventually become one of the 21st century's defining forms of visual expression: the selfie. His approach, however, was infinitely more sophisticated and layered with meaning than today's casual self-snapshots.
Using a 1940s Rolleiflex camera and tripod, Tseng meticulously composed each self-portrait, transforming the act of photographing himself into a performance art. He didn't simply document his presence; he created an alter ego—a fictional character navigating real American landscapes, critiquing both Eastern and Western cultural assumptions through his enigmatic presence.
"A cross between Ansel Adams and Cindy Sherman" as described in his artist biography, Tseng blended landscape photography's grandeur with the conceptual character development that would later define Sherman's work. This hybrid approach feels remarkably modern, anticipating by decades how contemporary artists and everyday people alike would use self-portraiture as a vehicle for identity exploration and cultural commentary.
What makes Tseng's work so startlingly prescient is how it anticipated multiple aspects of our contemporary visual culture:
The Performance of Identity: Long before social media profiles allowed people to craft public personas, Tseng understood that identity could be performed through images. His "Ambiguous Ambassador" character—with consistent costume, pose, and expression—created a visual brand that anticipated today's curated online identities.
Cultural Tourism and Documentation: His photographs at landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and Grand Canyon examined the ritual of photographing oneself at famous locations as proof of presence—a practice now so common that certain landmarks are primarily experienced through the lens of a camera.
The Politics of Representation: By positioning himself as an Asian man in a Mao suit at quintessentially American locations, Tseng explored what it meant to be seen as an "other" in Western spaces. This examination of how cultural identity is perceived through images foreshadowed contemporary discussions about representation and cultural appropriation in photography.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Rome, Italy, 1989.
Gelatin silver print, image: 15 x 15 inches, frame: 24 x 24 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Niagara Falls, New York, 1984.
Gelatin silver print, image: 15 x 15 inches, frame: 24 x 24 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Kamakura, Japan, 1988.
Gelatin silver print, image: 15 x 15 inches, frame: 24 x 24 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Hollywood, California, 1979.
Gelatin silver print, image: 15 x 15 inches, frame: 24 x 24 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
The Merging of Art and Life
Tseng didn't separate his artistic practice from his social life. As he documented Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol, he blurred the line between personal photography and artistic documentation—a blending that predicted how social media would later collapse the distinctions between personal archives and public performance.
Beyond his self-portraits, Tseng's significance extends to his role documenting the vibrant Downtown New York art scene of the 1980s. As a close friend and collaborator of Haring, Tseng created the world's largest photo archive of the artist's work, from early subway drawings to later AIDS-related projects. These candid portraits reveal the humanism that underpinned Tseng's larger photographic project of cultural critique, offering glimpses into this pivotal artistic era through Tseng's unique lens.
But what really distinguishes Tseng's work from today's selfie culture is its conceptual rigor. Each photograph was a carefully constructed commentary on cultural expectations and assumptions. His mirrored sunglasses, for instance, served both aesthetic and conceptual purposes—as he noted, they gave his images "a neutral impact and a surrealistic quality."
In his own words, Tseng described himself as "an inquisitive traveler, a witness of my time, and an ambiguous ambassador." This multi-layered approach to self-portraiture elevated his work beyond mere documentation to become a form of visual philosophy.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Andy Warhol with Liz Taylor's portrait in Fred Hughes' red studio, New York, 1986.
Chromogenic print, image: 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches, frame: 26 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Keith Haring, New York Pop Shop, 1986.
Chromogenic print, image: 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches, frame: 26 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc, © Keith Haring Foundation.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Jean-Michel Basquiat, New York, 1987.
Chromogenic print, image: 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches, frame: 26 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Keith Haring on the couch, New York studio, 1988.
Chromogenic print, image: 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches, frame: 26 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc, © Keith Haring Foundation.
Tseng Kwong Chi, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, collaboration, 1985.
Chromogenic print, image: 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches, frame: 26 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
Legacy in a Selfie-Saturated World
In our current era, where self-portraits are created and shared by billions daily, Tseng's pioneering work takes on new significance. His photographs remind us that selfies can be more than casual documentation—they can function as artistic statements, cultural criticism, and explorations of identity.
What seemed eccentric in the 1980s—photographing oneself consistently at notable locations—has become so commonplace that it's now the expected behavior. Yet few contemporary selfie-takers approach the practice with Tseng's conceptual depth and artistic intention.
When visitors attended the Independent New York 2025 event and encountered Tseng's work, they were confronted with a striking realization: this artist wasn't just ahead of his time—he had anticipated an entire visual culture that would define the early 21st century. In an age where everyone with a smartphone is a self-portrait artist, Tseng's sophisticated approach to the format offered a masterclass in how self-portraiture can transcend mere documentation to become art with enduring cultural significance.
His tragically short career, cut off by AIDS in 1990 at age 39, leaves us wondering what commentary he might have offered on today's selfie-saturated world—a cultural phenomenon he helped pioneer decades before it had a name.
Tseng Kwong Chi, New York, New York, 1979.
Gelatin silver print, image: 15 x 15 inches, frame: 24 x 24 inches.
Tseng Kwong Chi © Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc.
About Yancey Richardson Gallery: Founded in 1995, the gallery represents photographers and lens-based artists, working with museums, collectors, and institutions to advance their careers. The program includes emerging talents alongside critically recognized mid-career artists such as John Divola, Mitch Epstein, Zanele Muholi, and Mickalene Thomas, while also presenting exhibitions of historically significant figures like William Eggleston and August Sander.