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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Pijanowski, Hiroko Sato, 1942-  Search this
Interviewer:
Fisch, Arline M., 1931-  Search this
Subject:
Pijanowski, Eugene  Search this
Cranbrook Academy of Art  Search this
University of Michigan  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Place of publication, production, or execution:
Hawaii
Physical Description:
123 Pages, Transcript
General Note:
Originally recorded on 6 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 42 min.
Access Note / Rights:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Summary:
An interview of Hiroko Sato Pijanowski conducted 2003 May 13-15, by Arline F. Fisch, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Pijanowski speaks of her American/Japanese identity; childhood in Japan and her small family; the Christian schools she attended; Geidai University; learning Japanese jewelry design in the U.S.; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art; her thesis on line-inlay, a Japanese technique; meeting Eugene (Gene) Pijanowski, her future husband, at Cranbrook; life in Japan with Gene; moving back to the U.S.; her teaching philosophy; teaching at the University of Michigan; computers and other technological advances that have changed the way metals are taught; her presentation at a 1999 SNAG conference, "A Look Into the Future: The Implementation of Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing for Metalsmiths"; the importance of sharing information; her creative work and its relation to teaching; working with Japanese paper cord [mizuhiki]; Zen philosophy; her reoccurring childhood dreams; her line of jewelry "Hiroko Sato Pijanowski"; and the different types of molds she has made in wax, silicon, and rubber. Pijanowski also discusses jewelry tradeshows; her series Gentle Solitude; Issey Miyake's approach to design and his influence; her haiku club; orchids as inspiration; scuba diving experiences; the World Crafts Conference in Kyoto in 1978; the importance of exhibitions, such as "International Jewelry" in Vienna and "Poetry of the Physical" at the American Craft Museum, New York; galleries such as Helen Drutt in Philadelphia and Yaw Gallery in Michigan; the custom of "renting a gallery space" in Japan; and she concludes the interview with a discussion of the effects of of her depression. Pijanowski also recalls Ruth Taubman, Jim Hopfensperger, Leslie Leupp, Michael Rodemer; Stanley Lechtzin, Herman Junger, Albert Paley, David Watkins, Bob Ebendorf, Otto Kunzli, Michael Rowe, and others.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Hiroko Sato Pijanowski, 2003 May 13-15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Funding:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Biography Note:
Hiroko Sato Pijasnowski (1942- ) is a Japanese American metalsmith from Honolulu, Hawaii. Arline M. Fisch is a jeweler.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
This interview is 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.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Asian American metal-workers  Search this
Jewelers -- Hawaii -- Interviews  Search this
Metal-workers -- Hawaii -- Interviews  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Metal-work  Search this
Jewelry making  Search this
Theme:
Craft  Search this
Asian American  Search this
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13104
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)242162
AAA_collcode_pijanoh03
Theme:
Craft
Asian American
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_242162