Guide to the Leon Sun photography archive M2856
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2022
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Leon Sun photography archive
Creator:
Sun, Leon
source:
Sun, Leon
Identifier/Call Number: M2856
Physical Description:
.8 Linear Feet
(1 manuscript box and 1 half manuscript box)
Physical Description:
106 gigabyte(s)
1 flash drive, 20 DVD+Rs.
Date (inclusive): c. 1988 - 2018
Content Description
Consists of 10 folders containing photographic negatives, cd-roms; flash drive and contact sheets for documentary photos taken
by Leon Sun. The photographic materials document Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign, pro-choice rallies, labor strikes,
San Francisco's Chinatown, peace rallies, Asian/Pacific Islander Americans, the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in Standing
Rock and the Bay Area, and trips to the American South and China.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Leon Sun photography archive (M2856). Department of Special Collections and University Archives,
Stanford Libraries, Stanford, California.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Digital materials have
been processed and are available at the collection's catalog record.
Conditions Governing Use
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization
to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction
beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Biographical / Historical
Leon Sun is a photographer, artist, graphic designer and activist based in San Francisco, California.
Leon Sun was born 1948 in Shanghai, China. His family migrated to Hong Kong in 1957. In 1966 he came as a student to the United
States. In 1973 Sun graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco with a Fine Arts degree in photography.
He also received a BA in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University in 1977 and an MA in East Asian Studies from the
University of Washington in 1979.
Leon Sun worked with Asian American artists groups such as Japantown Art & Media Workshop, Kearny Street Workshop, East Wind,
Unity/La Unidad (the newspaper for the League of Revolutionary Struggle) and Community Asian Art & Media Project (CAAMP).
He was the CAAMP director from 1979 to 1981. Sun worked as a freelance photographer, graphic designer and illustrator from
1982-1989. From 1989 until his retirement in 2003 Leon Sun worked as a photographer and graphic artist for the city of Richmond.
Sun also participated in multi-cultural, ad hoc artist groups doing international support work for Palestine, El Salvador
and Cuba. Leon's artwork has been shown in local, national and international venues.
Related Materials
M2384: Unity/La Unidad Archive Project collection
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographers -- Political activity -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Political campaigns -- United States -- History
Peace movements -- United States
San Francisco -- Chinatown
Asian Americans
Pacific Islander Americans
Pro-choice movement
Chinese Americans -- San Francisco (Calif.)
Labor unions -- United States
Agricultural laborers -- California.
Strikes and lockouts
Labor movement
Environmental justice
Environmentalism
Dakota Access Pipeline
Sun, Leon
Jackson, Jesse, 1941-
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota
United Farm Workers
Box 1, folder 3
Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame
1988-1992
Box 2, folder 1
Jesse Jackson campaign
1988
Box 2, folder 2
Jesse Jackson campaign
1988
Box 2, folder 3
Jesse Jackson campaign
1988
Box 2, folder 4
Jesse Jackson campaign and labor, pro-choice and peace rallies
1988-1992
Digital files
1988-2022
Digital files in the Leon Sun collection
Physical Description: 106 gigabyte(s)
Scope and Contents
Computer media in this collection includes 1 flash drive and 20 DVDs. The content on these discs were digitized and born-digital
copies of photographs, videos, and PowerPoint presentations made by Leon Sun. Optical discs hold photography on the same subjects
as the physical photographs in this collection. Flash drive held more recent work on protest movements in the Bay Area, including
protests in support of the Sápara Indians, the #noDAPL and Occupy movements, and Ohlone teach-ins. Content can be faceted
by topic in SearchWorks.
Conditions Governing Access
Digital materials have been processed and are open for research. The materials are available through SearchWorks at the collection
catalog record: https://searchworks.stanford.edu/catalog?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=14356210
