Archives of American Art Short Film Series: Oral History Interview with Ruth Asawa, 2002
Description:
Ruth Asawa’s oral history interview was recorded in 2002 when the artist was 76 years old, it is one of nearly 2,500 interviews in the Archives of American Art’s unparalleled collection of oral histories. Asawa (1926–2013) was a sculptor based in San Francisco, best known for her looped wire sculptures. In a wide-ranging conversation, Asawa explores what it means to be modern, breaks down the artificial barriers between art and craft, provides a glimpse into what life was like at the legendary Black Mountain College in the 1940s, and addresses issues of race as a Japanese American in the mid-twentieth century. Asawa’s oral history, along with the oral histories and papers of George Nakashima, Ray Yoshida, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Kay Sekimachi, Patti Warashina, and many others, are invaluable resources that shed light on Japanese American artists’ stories and many contributions to the American art world.
