My Palace in Dallas: James Kung
“Solitude requires you to move past reacting to information created by other people and focus instead on your own thoughts and experiences – wherever you happened to be”
Welcome back folks, it has been a WHILE! Many things happened after my last piece that took place in Taiwan as many of y’all know. (If not, now you do! ) We are officially halfway through 2023 and things are only about to get better for all of us I’m sure of it! I’m happy to see how the habits we’ve nurtured during the pandemic are now integrated into our lives. We love staying in now and HOME has become a much more important concept for everyone who is finding peace in being alone and enjoying their space.
This is the exact idea that gave birth to this project, I want to know, I want to see, and more importantly, I want to document what the people around me have become after this unprecedented year, they can be artists, comedians and they can also be the people you meet daily on the street (which is quite hard cause apparently people in Dallas don’t walk at all). What is it that they do? What are their stories and what does their Palace in Dallas look like?
I’m not sure what to put here but I selfishly did another interview for myself to run my mouth and because I really really wanted to show the world my cute space I can finally call home. I’m an American now I don’t have to worry about anything home related! Special thanks to Juston, a great friend of mine and I am forever grateful to have him take these photos for me while my AC compressor is breaking down. Thank you Christina for transcribing my audio recording for over 24 hrs enduring my blabbling.
Christina: Hi James, good to see you! Thank you for sitting down with me and having me over to help out on the project! I have a set of questions that I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while but before everything, would you mind telling everyone who are you and what it is that you do?
James: Hi everyone I'm James! I am a digital marketing specialist/photographer currently based in Dallas. It's been 5 years and counting since I moved to the United States.
By day, I work for digital media most of the time and I try to pursue creative passion projects here and there on the times that I'm off work.
I am, as you mentioned, an all-around creative person that loves answers. I love answers to things that I don't know. I love holding answers over things that I do know. I love to insert myself into fun situations that I normally won’t get exposed to if I sit around. I think the United States really turned me into this person that's really outgoing and enjoys putting myself out there. I enjoy good times with friends. To pick their brains and have a fun time together and dance around at the end of the night. That should sum it up: chaotic and mellow.
I love it. I love the dichotomy. We have a lot to unpack and I have a lot of questions. But first and foremost, happy 5 years and some pocket change. It’s crazy how time has passed because I remember the first time I met you. I’m interested in hearing more about your background before the States back in Taiwan.
So can you tell us more about your come-up overall? How did you get started as a creative before moving here?
I started out like most Asian kids and didn't know what I wanted to do up until college. It was all about getting good grades and trying not to get our ass whooped. I didn’t tap into my creative side until my second or third year of college.
I started using Instagram in 2011 and that exposed me to what the world has to offer and tried my best to keep up with it since then. I remember loving all the visuals these brands put out for their lookbooks online every season but never knew what was behind it. In sophomore year, the school club I was in needed some photos taken and let me tell you the terrible job I did trying to mimic the things I saw online. It was real horror but even so, it was an opportunity for me to learn how to use Photoshop and operate a camera. Trying my best to make things look the way I see lookbooks. Of course, I did a terrible job but it made the things I like seem less unattainable. It shortened the distance a lot for me.
Senior year, I got my first ever DSLR and got more active on shooting and attending this thing called Instameet back when Instagram was still, you know, Instagram. Now, Instagram used to do this to build communities solely based on a shared love for photography. They would host photo walks and actually send you PR packages, goodies, name tags, and pins resembling the like and heart icons they used to have. They even sent you stickers that resembled their chat icon and you can slap your Instagram handle on it and stick it on yourself.
Christmas time in his downtown apartment
You are an OG Instagam influencer. You were getting PR packages even before it was a thing!
It’s a lot simpler than it sounds. You just e-mail them and ask for it and they’ll give it to you. So we would make it a monthly photowalk for all to come. I wasn't the one who founded it but I attended a few and even hosted one of them. You walk around really photogenic places and take photos with like-minded enthusiasts. So Instagram was a really good platform for branching out and connecting with people. I think that was how I got more consistent in shooting and more confident in my compositions. Slowly, I became more comfortable in calling myself a creative.
I got my follower count because Instagram used to do a rotation of suggested users. When you first get your account, there would a suggested list of people to follow because you don't really know anybody. So being on that list for a week bumped me from 2K all the way to like 38k and then it just slowly started to decline.
It’s interesting because Instagram has gone through different phases and you've been there since the very beginning. There’s been different trends and you know now we have algorithms that cater to the type of content you're trying to look at. Can you talk more about how you felt as a creative growing a following and even the decline?
In the beginning, I was just documenting my life. If you scroll all the way back you can even see a lot of very cheesy selfies. I don’t archive anything. I have no shame. I don’t think anyone would care enough to scroll past 4,000 posts, and if they do, what ya waiting for slide into my DM babes.
When I first started, I wanted to be like the greats. The ones that were making New York street snaps and I wanted to curate content so the following comes through. It works to a certain degree and I soon realized not what I love. After the spike, I saw those numbers drastically decline because people realize it wasn’t actually what they like and they unfollow. That’s when I realize, all those numbers don’t really mean anything if your work isn’t good or authentic enough. I fully understand though that It’s a privilege to say, “Once I got a taste of that, I no longer think it’s that desirable” because at the end of the day, they still speak volumes in the industry. As your style evolves, people will fall out of interest one way or another because you are not the same person they originally followed.
Realizing that I started posting more about myself and my face, and the number started declining faster (laughs). It went from declining to plummeting. At least I was quickly filtering out those who actually care!
Now I’m like fuck it, whatever. The fact that I can post dumb stories and not care about if some brand director saw it. I’m very much in that carefree phase.
He said: PLANTS.
You touched on so many things. Especially now if you are someone who has social media as a full-time job, it’s easy to lose yourself because you are trying to stay trendy and relevant. It seems like you’ve been able to do a good job of separating social media and still have all these pockets of creative projects you are involved in.
You said things got really good when you stopped caring. So that brings me to “I Don’t Know I Don’t Care” which is my brother’s brand and how we met (laughs).
Hey Johnny! What’s up, lil mama? (laughs)
It’s a very important transition because you talked about your come-up in Taiwan and your creative projects first starting out. Then you moved to Dallas and I met you at my brother’s pop-up.
Yes, it was at the back area of Mike’s Gemini.
It was there. I knew when I met you and from your energy that you were a very outgoing person and liked to have a good time, but you are also all about community. Since you are a creative yourself, you already knew who all the creatives were and how to talk to them and get plugged in. So tell me more about your transition and how you ended up in Dallas.
You know how people always make jokes about how people graduate from business school and they still don’t really know what to do so they just go to grad school? That’s how I was.
The reason I came to the United States was my parents, they met here so they’ve always been determined on sending me out here for at least a year and a half so I can see the world and also get a degree. I’m privileged enough that they’ve been saving since I was a kid to have the funds supporting this journey.
My photography career kicked off after college. I knew people from Conde Nast who had projects every month. It wasn’t enough for me to fully support myself but it was a consistent gig where I knew I could get paid. I was on the brink of whether I should go all in or treat it as a side hustle before coming here.
So I made a PowerPoint to my parents about a position shooting for a sneaker shop.
That’s the Asian upbringing you were referencing earlier. You made a powerpoint to show to your parents (laughs)?
Yes so for example, let’s say a sneaker shop like Sneaker Politics was looking for an in-house photographer. Back then I was very much in my “Hypebeast” era. All I cared about were Supreme drops, UNDFTD, Stussy…I loved taking photos of dangling your feet on the rooftop with your cool kicks. A shop like that was looking for an in-house photographer, so I told my parents “Hey, I’m going to go for it and I need you to listen to me. If I get it, I would like to go all in and see how far I can go as a full-time photographer and I need you to respect that decision. If I don’t, I’ll go to grad school.” This was after college and I went through my mandatory military training so I was a free man.
Obviously, I didn’t get it. That’s when I started studying for GMAT and stuff. I never opposed grad school and that’s how I got to UTD, miraculously with my 2.8 college GPA I might add. I lived in a shared house with no doors but a dining room divided with a shower curtain for $450 a month. I lived there for two years until I finished school and got a job. Once I was able to fully support myself, I was more adventurous. I went to Deep Ellum for the first time and went with my camera. I met someone at Merit and his going away party was at Mike’s Gemini and that’s how I first went to Mike’s and met Katie. She was staff for Dallas Street Market’s pop-up at Tiny’s and that’s how I met many great friends and everything kinda snowballed to where it is now.
I think you met me at Mike’s when I was going through my social butterfly phase *laugh
The kitchen is where he felt most at peace.
So how was the creative culture? A lot of the places you go to in Dallas are where the creatives hang out. So how does that differ between Taiwan and Texas? Yes, Texas is a country.
J: didn’t really make an effort to break into the creative industry in Taiwan because it was too cliquey. You don’t just approach a group of Asians and talk to them. If there were 5 of us going out, we wouldn’t talk to anyone outside of the 5 of us. That’s usually how the social dynamic there is at least to my understanding. Those who “made it,” don’t go out as much or only hang out at invitation-only events. There’s no middle ground for everyone who likes to hang out because there are just so many spots!
Especially in Taiwan, people keep to themselves. Even if I was in the same room as someone I admire in the creative industry, I wouldn’t go up and talk to them. I’m more inclined to do so here because there are no consequences. In Taiwan, we have a very small circle and words travel fast. In the United States, nobody knows me so they can’t really talk about me. The worst thing they can say to me is no.
So from an outsider’s perspective, when you came to Dallas it seems like you already had an “in.” You were already cool with so many different types of groups of creatives and you always have a camera around your neck. You’re always taking photos. So what are some of your favorite places to hang out in Dallas?
J: I absolutely love Wayward Coffee in Oakcliff. You know how they say that you make friends in your adult life by consistently visiting the same place? That’s what happened to me at Wayward. I had a place to drink coffee, be pretentious, and just be a pretty thing to look at (laughs).
That’s very Dallas of you to say that (laughs).
I would have a coffee outside, wear a nice outfit and read a book with shades on. When I was working on my Master’s, I go to Wayward a lot more. It started with Wayward and that’s how I got exposed to Oakcliff.
I didn’t know Tiny Victories was that close to Wayward back then. When I started hanging out with our friends in 2020, I got introduced to La Reunion and I really liked it there. A lot of people genuinely think I work there because I would go there a lot. It’s one of those bars where even if you go alone, you’re bound to run into someone you know by the end of the night.
So La Reunion, Wayward, and Tiny Victories because that’s where it all started for me. Double D’s right now. It’s a good spot. I rotate between those four places. I don’t branch out all that often. Oh and my place! I love staying home.
So you mentioned while you were in Taiwan, you shot Taiwan Fashion Week. I saw the amazing street-style photos you posted. That’s been a common thread with a lot of your creative projects. You’ve worked a lot in fashion in Dallas and Taiwan.
It’s impressive because you have worked in a lot of different verticals. Not only fashion but also music and art in general. You’ve shot some studio sessions. So what have been your highlights working in music, fashion, and art?
Music-wise, Jeff Fest was a very fun experience. Jeff is a well-loved, local music producer and musician. He lost both of his arms in an electrical wire accident back in 2021. It was a traumatic experience for everyone but he had a great community to support him, so Jeff Fest was a concert and fundraiser to celebrate him. To give him the support he needed and honor him as the entire music community came together.
When my friend put together Jeff Fest 2, he asked me to be one of the photographers documenting the entire series. That was one of my biggest achievements in shooting concerts. I was able to document something so big and so touching! Never felt so lucky to witness the love of community not from the crowd, but being part of it.
Fashion-wise, outside of lookbooks I really love backstage photos and street style snaps. I flew to New York on Spirit for $50 to cover one of my friend's shows backstage and that was my first ever New York Fashion Week backstage experience. I spent that weekend running around venues and taking photos of editors and people on the streets. This year, I did Melissa Anne Taylor’s show and that was a huge highlight for me. It’s one of those surreal moments where you get to witness how a captivating show can come to life in a storm of organized chaos.
You are the type of person who is comfortable in being uncomfortable and you’re very adaptable in that way. In Taiwan, there was no shortage of gigs and in Dallas, you are always working on a project. So how do you decide the types of projects you want to be involved in? What is your thought process for who you want to work with and what you want to work on?
I am lucky enough to have gigs while working at my full-time job. It’s comforting to know my livelihood does not depend on it. For example, I work with DJ Blake a lot and I get to only do themed parties with him without worrying how to pay rent. If my livelihood were to depend on photography, I might have to shoot parties where people just dressed hot instead of interesting, which is pretty boring.
So my criteria for shooting gigs would be to shoot something interesting and in turn, interests me. It’s so cliche to say I like interesting things but it’s really true. I like themed parties and when people put in an effort to dress up, you can really tell on their faces and it seeps through into the photos. I like things I’ve never been exposed to. Whatever sparks my instinct of, “Oh that’s cool” is what I go for. The consistent opportunities are 20% of people asking me and 80% of me asking if I can be a part of it.
On the topic of interesting, we are at your place now and there are plenty of interesting things here. There’s a lot of knick knacks.
You can call me a hoarder - it’s okay (laughs).
We can use the word hoarder. Hoarder but with swagger. So what inspires you in terms of interior design and having your own space? You’ve come a long way from living in a place that was only divided by a shower curtain and now to have your own place. Tell me more about your spot and some of the things we can find here.
Not to get too philosophical, I think I’ve been suppressed for a really long time. I never had my own place and when living with my parents, I never had my own room. I slept in the living room with my mom. I never had my own space so now I finally get to explode and do what I really want to do.
My style is very maximalist. I have so many things I want to display and I try to balance things out so it’s not overstimulating or overcrowding your senses. I want to put the things I love on display and being able to use them! One of my pet peeves is getting things purely just for decorative reasons, I really don’t see the point of dropping a bag and just never touching or playing with them! The things around the place, I like when I can tell you about how I got them. Huge impulsive buyer over here so they just keep showing up *laughs.
My mentality is if I don’t get it, it’s gone. So certain cups, books, and early publications I love I’ll go for both online and in-person. This is really just a place piled with things I’ve accumulated over the past 5 years exploding all over the wall and any place I can make sense of.
The last few years, you’ve been on the move. You also mentioned that you never had your own space so now it’s almost like a creative vomit. Going all the way and doing what you want. What are some of the things you keep close to your chest? 3 things. I’ll limit you to 3 things that you simply can’t live without.
My books. I really love my books. Every photo book I have. Even though I’m a huge maximalist, I’m also a nihilist. So I’m also okay if all these things go away and it’s out of my control. So outside of my books, I can start fresh with everything else. My books are the only things I don’t think I can recollect because of time and they also cost a lot.
My Muji bedding I brought all the way from Taiwan, it’s the ultimate OG James starting kit.
These things are what mean the most to me. Oh! And my passport. That’s pretty important. My prints and toys, I’ll be fine without. I’ve always lived with the idea that my visa was going to expire so none of these things aren’t things I can’t let go of.
I guess myself too, ‘cause I’d be dead if I live without James, you know.
So you mentioned, in the beginning, you have your full-time corporate gig and then all of your side projects. Can you talk more about the creative process, if there is one?
I can break it down for the parties I shoot and the blog I’m working on. When it comes to party photography I might not take the most flattering photos of you but I will take the photo where you look the happiest. Chances are you won’t look ugly when you’re happy. My approach is that the photo might not be what you are used to looking at in the mirror. It will be a different type of hotness, a happy hotness! That’s part of my creative process for parties is that I want to shoot moments when you are happy. I want those who didn’t show up to get sad cause they weren’t there but I also want you to feel like you’re there watching. A giant fly on the wall with his external flash so to speak *laugh
As far as my blog goes, I’ve always loved how people looked in their homes. You can see from many of my books and magazines that they are interior related. I don’t think we have something in Dallas on that scale yet. When I start working on this project, I wanted to strip creative people off of their known label. For example, I have a friend who is a violinist but in her home, she is just Lydia. So I wanted to interview who she is and photograph her in her natural essence. I allow their story to take me to where they’ll end up in my frame if I’m being poetic about it* hehe
What about creative blocks? Do you ever have them and how do you get through them?
I talked about this with my friend Joey. We don’t get creative blocks, we get creative backlogs. We have so many ideas but can’t implement all of them. So we are just trying to get our ideas out as we come up with new ones. I have so many ideas lining up but my abilities and bandwidth aren’t enough to carry it out so that takes up a lot of my time. Dressing cute and cranking those ideas out in a coffee shop often helps though.
On the topic of showing off…you have impeccable style. So when you step out, you know you want to be seen. You mentioned street style and shooting fashion week. Let’s talk about your own style and your own wardrobe. What are some of your favorite pieces right now?
There’s only a handful of times I will leave my house - so I have to make it count! My favorite piece is the Braindead patch pants that I’ve worn a lot. That was a great purchase. I love the statement pieces I have accumulated over time. I love quirky T-shirts. I have official Duolingo merch that says, “I’m mentally unstable” in the Duolingo blocks you click on when you learn vocabulary. I have it in French. Again, I have the mentality that if I don’t get it then it’s gone.
So my quirky t-shirts, my statements pieces, and my coats in general. I love my entire closet because it’s curated for me and fits me the best. I’m 5’5 and wear baggy clothes because I’m on the chubbier side, but these clothes are what I feel most confident in regardless of my size. There’s nothing in my closet, that I would wear and not feel cool. I also came here with 2 trunks so I had to bring my heavy hitters and use them for daily life.
We covered a lot of ground. We talked about your life in Taiwan. Your life in Dallas. Your creative process and all the projects you are involved in. Your fashion sense. Your home. My last question is, how do you define home?
I’m still figuring out right now what home is for me. This is the first time in forever that I’ve lived alone. Home is somewhere where I am more than happy to Irish goodbye to a function and go back to. A place I am excited to go back to. That is home for me.
At home, I get to recharge my introverted battery after a long night of being out. It’s somewhere I feel safe. I’ve been through so many places now. I’ve moved 5 times in the 5-year span of being in the United States. As long as I have my essentials: a bed and do not have to worry about a deadline for leaving, that’s good enough for me.
As far as the city goes, Dallas feels like home because I have a robust circle. If I can call someone in the middle of the night at 2 AM, I have a place comfortable enough to do so.
James, it’s been a pleasure to speak with you! We’ve been friends for some time but it’s been great to do a deep dive and really get to know your background. So for all of us who are lucky to know you, thanks for being an inspiring and creative force. To close us out, what James Kung projects do we have to look forward to? What else is on the backlog that we should be aware of?
The ultimate goal is for my blog to turn into a coffee table book and I want to do a huge book launch party/exhibition. I can invite all the people I’ve talked to and we can celebrate the entire project coming to fruition. That’s when I can officially leave Dallas. Say I made it and peace out.
A lot of exciting things to look forward to! So for final words and last thoughts…for those who are trying to do similar things to you, what do you wish someone would have told you earlier in your creative career?
I don’t think kids need much to break into the industry anymore because the internet makes everything so much more doable. If you are like me and you struggle with going all in: don’t feel discouraged looking at those who went all in, because you didn’t and It’s naive to think you will achieve the same height as those who put their livelihood on the line if you still use your day job as a cushion. That being said, don’t feel bad about it too. Do the most you can! They get jobs you think are cool because they put their entire time and blood into it. You don’t, but you have the time to curate the things that you care about so that’s a privilege. You get to choose. Take your time until you can fully jump into it.
Who the fuck am I to say this but curate your style to how you like it. You can like many things and there really isn’t just one style that guarantees success. You can mimic and copy but don’t convince yourself to shoot a certain style to be successful. If you can like different genres, you might just be one of those who people fuck with from their POV. I have many successful creative friends and we shoot in different styles. I have different books but I love them all wholeheartedly, and that is enough to assure me that someone out there can love my style wholeheartedly as well.
Be brave. The worst thing anyone can tell you is no. No one is going to remember if you cold call them. Try again in a few months when you are more confident in what you have to offer. If they say no, you’ll be fine. If they say yes, make the most out of it. Keep trying. If it goes to shit, you don’t have to tell anyone. The secrets and the failures die with you. There’s always something you can offer, you just don’t know it yet. It’s good to remind ourselves of that not just in the creative industry but in life in general. That’s it!
James Kung : https://www.instagram.com/j_kung/
In frame: James Kung
Photographer: James Kung, Juston Case
Interviewed by: Christina Nguyen
Location: Dallas, Texas
