Ruth Asawa
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| Ruth Asawa | |
| Born | January 24, 1926 Norwalk, California |
| Nationality | Japanese American |
| Field | Sculpture |
| Training | Black Mountain College |
| Influenced by | Peter Grippe[1] |
Ruth Asawa (born January 24, 1926) is a Japanese American sculptor. In San Francisco, she has been called the "fountain lady" for her works that include the mermaid fountain at Ghirardelli Square.[2]
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life and education
Ruth Asawa was born in 1926 in Norwalk, California, one of seven children. Her father operated a truck farm until the Japanese American internment during World War II. The family lived in the assembly center at the Santa Anita racetrack for much of 1942, then at Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas. [3]
Following graduation from the internment center's high school, she attended Milwaukee State Teachers College, intending to become an art teacher. Unable to get hired for the requisite practice teaching to complete her degree, she left Wisconsin without a degree. (The degree was finally awarded to her in 1998.)[4]
From 1946 to 1949, she studied at Black Mountain College with Josef Albers.[5]
[edit] Career
Asawa's wire sculptures brought her prominence in the 1950s, when her work appeared several times in the annual exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and in the 1955 São Paulo Art Biennial.[6]
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[edit] Marriage and children
Asawa married architect Albert Lanier in July 1949. The couple has six children: Xavier (1950), Aiko (1950), Hudson (1952), Adam (1956), Addie (1958), and Paul (1959).
[edit] Selected works
- Andrea, the mermaid fountain at Ghirardelli Square (1966);
- the Hyatt on Union Square Fountain (1973)
- the Buchanan Mall (Nihonmachi) Fountains (1976)
- Aurora, the origami-inspired fountain on the San Francisco waterfront (1986)
- the Japanese-American Internment Memorial Sculpture in San Jose (1994).
[edit] Awards
- 1968: First Dymaxion Award for Artist/Scientist
- 1974: Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects
- 1990: San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Cyril Magnin Award
- 1993: Honor Award from the Women's Caucus for the Arts
- 1995: Asian American Art Foundations Golden Ring Lifetime Achievement Award
[edit] References
- ^ Ruth Asawa. Interview with Paul Karlstrom. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. 2002. (Interview).
- ^ Template error: argument title is required.
- ^ Ollman, Leach. "The Industrious Line", Art in America, 2007-05-01.
- ^ Auer, James. "Artist's return remedies a postwar injustice", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1998-12-18. NewsBank document ID 0EB82C32E269DCB3.
- ^ "The College Died, but the Students Really Lived", The New York Times, 1992-03-14.
- ^ Baker, Kenneth. "An overlooked sculptor's work weaves its way into our times", San Francisco Chronicle.
