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Ruth Asawa

An Artist Takes Shape

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Brave, unconventional, and determined, Ruth Asawa let nothing stop her from living a life intertwined with art.

Renowned for her innovative wire sculptures, Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa (1926–2013) was a teenager in Southern California when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. Japanese Americans on the West Coast were forcibly removed from their homes. Asawa's family had to abandon their farm, her father was incarcerated, and she and the rest of her family were sent to a concentration camp. Asawa nurtured her dreams of becoming an artist while imprisoned and eventually made her way to the experimental Black Mountain College in North Carolina.

This graphic biography by Sam Nakahira, developed in consultation with Asawa's youngest daughter, Addie Lanier, chronicles the genesis of Asawa as an artist—from the horror of Pearl Harbor to her transformative education at Black Mountain College to building a life in San Francisco, where she would further develop and refine her groundbreaking wire sculpture.

Asawa never sought fame, preferring to work on her own terms: for her, art and life were one. Featuring lively illustrations and photographs of Asawa's work, this retelling of her young adult years demonstrates the power of making art.

Ages thirteen and up
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 8, 2024
      Nakahira chronicles the young adult years of acclaimed Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa (1926–2013) in this illuminating graphic novel debut. Asawa works on her family farm in Norwalk, Calif., but dreams of accomplishing more. These dreams are put on hold when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, resulting in the discrimination of people of Japanese descent across the U.S. To protect themselves, the Asawa family destroy any artifact of their ancestry. Still, like many of the Japanese people they know, the Asawas are sent to an incarceration camp, where they are forced to live in deplorable conditions. Though life is bleak during her imprisonment, Asawa’s interest in art takes flight. Across Nakahira’s intimate b&w pen-drawn and digitally colored illustrations, Asawa makes her way to Black Mountain College in North Carolina, where she receives instruction from artist Josef Albers (1888–1976), who escaped Nazi Germany. Later, during a trip to Mexico, Asawa finds inspiration for her career-defining wire sculptures. This comprehensive look at the formative years and lasting legacy of a renowned artist showcases how, with great determination and an unwavering mindset of life and creativity being “one and the same,” Asawa never let anything interfere with her art or her family. Ages 13–up.

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