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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Okada, Frank S. (Frank Sumio), 1931-2000  Search this
Interviewer:
Johns, Barbara  Search this
Names:
Cornish School of Allied Arts (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
Cranbrook Academy of Art -- Students  Search this
Northwest Asian American Project  Search this
University of Oregon -- Faculty  Search this
Bunce, Louis, 1907-1983  Search this
Charles, Ray, 1930-2004  Search this
Chin, Frank, 1940-  Search this
Davis, Sammy, 1925-  Search this
Derbyshire, Leon  Search this
Dusanne, Zoe, 1884-1977  Search this
Horiuchi, Paul, 1906-  Search this
Inada, Lawson Fusao  Search this
Ivey, William, 1919-1992  Search this
Jones, Quincy, 1933-  Search this
Kusama, Yayoi, 1929-  Search this
Martin, David Stone  Search this
Nomura, Kenjiro, 1896-1956  Search this
Okada, John  Search this
Peck, James Edward, 1907-  Search this
Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Tsutakawa, George  Search this
Extent:
87 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1990 Aug. 16-17
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Frank Okada conducted 1990 Aug. 16-17, in Seattle, Wash., by Barbara Johns, for the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American Project. Okada discusses his parents' background; his family including his brothers, John, author of "No-No Boy," and Charlie, a graphic designer; traveling to Japan for the Pacific Northwest Artists and Japan exhibition; being in an internment camp; painting in Eugene, Ore. and Seattle, Wash.; his painting techniques; studying under Leon Derbyshire; his connection with the jazz scene in Seattle in the late 1940s and 1950s including musicians Sammy Davis, Ray Charles, and Quincy Jones; attending Cornish School of Art, Seattle; meeting Mark Tobey; comparision of his painting style to Tobey's; his stint in the Army; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art and studying with painter Fred Mitchell; his Whitney fellowship in New York; study of Japanese, Chinese, and Zen paintings; working for Boeings in the early 1960s; traveling to France on a Guggenheim; teaching at University of Oregon in Eugene; his minimalist work; influence of Japanese art in his painting. Okada mentions Lawson Inada (Asian American poet), Frank Chin (Asian American playwright), artists David Stone Martin, James Edward Peck, Yayoi Kusama, George Tsutakawa, Paul Horiuchi, Ben Shahn, Kenjiro Nomura, Louis Bunce, Bill Ivey, and art gallery owner Zoe Dusanne.
Biographical / Historical:
Frank S. Okada (1931-2000) was a Japanese American painter based in Seattle, Washington. He taught at University of Oregon from 1969-1999.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 38 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- United States  Search this
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Painting, Japanese  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Painting, Chinese  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Asian American sculptors  Search this
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.okada90
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ff6868c7-38fd-4e50-9323-474b69e03b8e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-okada90