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Wah Ming Chang Biography
Born to artist parents in Honolulu, Hawaii, Wah Chang grew up in San Francisco.  He displayed his artistic talent as a young boy, showing his work in art galleries from the age of 7 under the guidance of artist Blanding Sloan.

As a young man, he did a two-year stint at Disney Studios working on "Pinocchio", "Bambi" and "Fantasia" and building models for animators.  After his career was cut short by polio, he formed his own company and designed masks for "The King and I", and for Elizabeth Taylor as "Cleopatra".  He also created masks, props and creatures for the original "Star Trek" television program.

After moving to the Monterey Peninsula in 1970, he has been sculpting full-time from his Carmel Valley studio.  A member of the Carmel Art Association since 1975, he has often served on its Board of Directors.

Special Awards and Exhibitions: Outstanding Cinematic Achievement awards for "Time Machine", "Seven Faces of Dr. Lao"; Golden Eagle Award for an ecology film.

In January of 2000, he was honored by a solo show "The Imaginative World of Wah Ming Chang" at the Monterey Museum of Art.

Special Awards and Exhibitions: Outstanding Cinematic Achievement awards for "Time Machine", "Seven Faces of Dr. Lao"; Golden Eagle Award for an ecology film.


Source:
Susanne Elliott, Carmel, California

A graphic artist, sculptor and painter, Wah Ming Chang began his art career at age nine in San Francisco. He was orphaned at that age and became the ward of Blanding Sloan and his wife, and at Sloan's studio learned block printing, etching, and painting. During the 1930s, Chang taught art in the Honolulu WPA program (1938) and then worked for Disney studios. Retiring from Hollywood in 1970, he moved to the Monterey Peninsula and devoted his time to creating small sculptures.

Source: Edan Hughes, Personal Interview with the artist, "Artists in California"