“Silent Stories grew out of a series of realizations about myself as a first generation Filipino-American, a woman, and an artist. The piece was first presented at California Institute of the Arts in December of 1982, in a photographic/audio installation. The 18 people chosen to be interviewed ranged from 18 to 35 years of age … I chose participants who were either native-born Asians, American-born Asians, or part Asian and part Caucasian. Silent Stories is a sampling of emotions and experiences about being a part of the American culture as subjects of the cultural melting pot. In doing this piece, I began to realize that people made certain kinds of distinctions based on appearances and personalities, excluding the actuality of each human being. I wanted to externalize what we often internalized and repressed … These once silent stories convey the bitterness and betrayal that we have experienced, (what it feels like to be treated as a foreigner in our own country). If the reader begins to read between the lines and can get behind some of the humorous, but not so humorous stories, the reader can come closer to understanding what it is like to experience both personal and cultural alienation, due to the lack of acceptance by peers … Silent Stories becomes a recognition that there is still an unfulfilled need for the acceptance and validation of Asian-American experience.” - Angel Shaw