Asians, Asian-Americans and comedy. Usually, this comedic coupling posits this minority as the punch line of the joke: Fu Manchu, William Hung, Takashi (Revenge of the Nerds), Short Round, the endless needling of my ex-roommate and his fetish for Japanese women which he attempted to deny. I will respectfully abstain from a discussion of the butchering of the letter “l” into an “r” that somehow passes as humor as well as poorly done imitations of the prostitute from Full Metal Jacket (though I have to admit mine is pretty spot-on.)

Why, then, with the proliferation of such comedic talents as Margaret Cho and Jackie Chan in the Rush Hour films are Asians still thought of as model minorities, wall(lotus)flowers, or humorless hard workers? Oh, right – because it’s the comedic stylings of Margaret Cho and Jackie Chan.

humor us attempts to course correct this misconception wherein 20 Asian-American artists cross-pollinate their continent with humor. In Hershey’s Kisses, traditional Chinese watercolor techniques are used to limn a nude Asian female beautifully defecating the chocolate treats for a hungry goat. Sandra Low’sChastity takes the dimensions of a Japanese scroll painting but uses oil and wooden dowels to paint a Chinese girl pushing her face into a humorous pig-nosed mask while wearing an 8-ball helmet to protect her from a voluminous descending lipstick.

Coinciding with this exhibit is “Me So Funny” on Oct. 27, a comedy night of Asian-fusion sketches and routines by D’Lo, OPM, Lan Tran and Kristina Wong among others. The show promises “Me laugh you long time!” and includes a free post-show reception 9:30 p.m.-11 p.m. with live visuals by VJ (video-jockey) Fader.

The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery is located at 4800 Hollywood Boulevard in Angeles. For hours and more information, call (323) 644-6269 or visit www.humorus.net.