Ai Weiwei: According to What?

I don't like to leave readers hanging, subtly hinting about my feels of an exhibit, or waiting until the end to give a verdict. As a reader, I find that kind of writing annoying because the first thing I want to know about a show is whether I should waste my time reading about it. So, the first thing I want to say about Ai Weiwei's exhibit, According to What?, at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC (October 7, 2012 - February 24, 2013) is that I loved it. I love how the work is challenging -- emotionally, conceptually, and intellectually. It makes you think -- about the limits of human ingenuity, the preciousness of artifacts, and the role of contemporary art in modern society. I also found it particularly interesting in having seen it after a visit to the Renwick Gallery's 40 under 40: Craft Futures exhibit. That show demonstrated how craft and contemporary art can no longer be viewed as a dichotomy; this one reinforces that conclusion while also blurring the lines between hand-craft and technology-craft.

At the entrance of the exhibit (surrounded by images of the construction of the "bird's nest" stadium that Ai helped to design for the Beijing Olympics) are two spheres constructed out of octagons and hexagons (I believe, if I counted right, they are 34-sided). The title of the large sphere, Divina Proportione, refers a mathematics book written by Luca Pacioli in 1497 and illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci. One of the drawings in the book is a "sphere" made with squares and triangles but the series was actually inspired by a toy for Ai's cat.

Divina Proportione (left) and F Size (right)

Huali Wood

2006/2011

Collection of J. Chen/Courtesy of Ai Wei Wei Studio

That play between history and modernity is a constant theme of the show, but what I found truly remarkable about the work is the impeccably precise craftsmanship that went into its construction. In watching the Art 21 profile on Ai Weiwei, I learned that Ai hired traditional Chinese craftsmen to make the series and that they spent a year trying to figure out how to make this kind of work using traditional Chinese joinery.

From the image below you can see how the wood overlaps. Making something like this out of wood is much more difficult than other materials because there needs to be a surface area for glue at each joint. It would be interesting to know whether there is also a mortise and tenon joint inside each corner (I suspect there is). As wood sculpture, the work is mindbogglingly complex, I'm surprised it would only take a year to figure out.

Divina Proportione (closeup)

With F-Size, a bead was added to the edge, I suspect because the work had become just too easy.

F Size (closeup)

With China Log, Ai constructed a "log" made from posts of dismantled Qing Dynasty temples, with a map of China carved through the middle, end to end.

China Log

tieli wood (iron wood) from dismantled temples of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

2005

Private Collection

The posts used to make it, and the joinery for combining of the posts reference China's past, but how they were combined and the carving of the map of China within reference the present. The mystery is in thinking about where the hand-craft ends and the technology-craft begins; the magic is in thinking about how it could have been done. It seems to me to be an impossible object -- with or without modern technology.

China Log (closeup)

A similar theme is created with Grapes, a sphere-like structure made from precisely sculpted, overlapping, antique stools.

Grapes

40 antique stools from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

2010

Collection of Larry Warsh

I'm guessing something like this would have to be done by hand, by highly skilled craftsmen, but I'm not sure. It makes me wonder, in amazement, how craftsmen can be so precise, or, alternatively, how our technology has become so advanced that an object like this could be constructed with it. Additionally, I'm curious about whether some kind of reinforcing (blind) joinery was constructed between the connecting seats because of the tremendous weight that the joints need to hold, though, I guess an epoxy could also be strong enough to hold them together. I doubt that an average wood glue would work on its own.

Grapes (closeup)

With Cube in Ebony (mysteriously made with rosewood rather than ebony), Ai created a contemporary form, a minimalist cube, but had it intricately carved with the same pattern he found on a small wooden box belonging to his father (see below).

Cube in Ebony

rosewood

2009

I love how this piece again blurs the lines between past and present, contemporary art and traditional craft.

Small wooden box belonging to Ai's father

With Kippe, Ai again used wood from dismantled temples (with all the pieces in the show made with dismantled Qing Dynasty temples, it makes me wonder whether he destroyed them for art, whether they were being torn down anyway, or whether he salvaged the pieces that had long been dismantled, and, in general, what was the history of the artifacts -- thereby adding the the mystery of the work and making me -- and I suspect other viewers -- uneasy and unsure about it). I couldn't find a translation or implied meaning for the title, but it looks to me like a coffin that would be carried to the grave - perhaps implying the burial of history.

Kippe

tieli wood (ironwood) from dismantled Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) temples and iron parallel bars

2006

In this closeup you can see that the pieces are chopped small and fit nicely together, but not perfectly, as in some of the other pieces. Here they are a bit more haphazard internally but perfectly aligned on the outside, which I interpret as being meant as metaphor for China.

Kippe (closeup)

In Map of China, Ai's China can't be seen at eye level (even if you are 6'1"). You just see a block of wood intricately carved with vertical lines.

Map of China

tieli wood (ironwood) from dismantled Qing Dynasty (1694 - 1911) temples

2008

I struggled to get a top view by holding the camera over my head so that you can see how amazing the construction of this piece is. It is still hard to see, but each of the columns from the disassembled temples fit perfectly together, and then the whole block is carved into a map of China (no surprise there). The wall text says that it is made "using traditional Chinese joinery techniques," implying that it was made by hand and not machine. I'm not really sure how that would be done, and certainly the outside must have been carved with a CNC router, but, again, this is one of the great things about the piece, the mystery of where the ancient craftwork ends and modern technology begins.

I don't agree with the wall text in its assessment that this map of China "can be understood as symbolizing the political unity of a country made up of many different cultural and historical factors. The monumental scale of the work suggests the long history of the Chinese nation." Rather, I think the monumental scale shows the viewer how difficult it is to understand China. It is impenetrable and unknowable, a mystery from the outside view. In fact, you can't even know that you are looking at China. Only from a bird's-eye view do you have any understanding of what you are looking at and what you see is a complete (and still mysterious) amalgamation of the past and present.

Map of China (almost top view)

In this final piece, Ai again commissioned highly skill Chinese traditional craftsman to create eighty-one chests (seven on view) in which four holes are precisely placed so that the viewer can see every phase of the moon in them, though, how exactly to use them to do this I found a little confusing. 

Moon Chest

seven chests in huali wood (quince)

2008

Looking directly through the holes and trying to line up the chests does no good, you really can't see much of anything, and being that none of us are 8' tall to see though the top holes, in alignment, that can't be done either (and how you would look at the top hole depends on where you stand and your personal height).

Moon Chest (view 2)

I clearly need to learn more about the phases of the moon to understand where to stand or how to walk around them, but at the very least, you can see that the shapes of the white and black of the holes changes in moon-like shapes. Additionally, one of the confusing aspects is that (I think) light/black of the moon is inverted in looking at the cabinets versus the real thing. Regardless of exactly how you are supposed to see the moon in these, it is again a wonderful mixture of tradition and modernity, which I'm sure is again a metaphor for China.

Moon Chest (view 3)

(Looking at this last image, I'm not sure that one isn't supposed to look directly through the holes -- I'm confused.)

Moon Chest (view 4)

In reading Roberta Smith's New York Times review of this show, I learned that the title of the exhibit, According to What?, is a reference to a seminal Jasper Johns painting by the same name. Based on some other articles easily found on-line, I learned that this painting is an homage to Marcel Duchamp and references his painting Tu m'. Knowing this makes me think that Ai is claiming an elite artistic lineage, or at least taking this elite lineage and claiming it for China. It is a ballsy claim, but the show is very ballsy. It is very much in your face, challenging the viewer and making you think about the value of the past and its role in the present. Blurring lines forcing the viewer to ask questions and wonder -- something great art should do, and, as such, I feel that the ballsy title is backed up by the quality of the work. As you might have guessed by now, I loved this show.

Flag Proposal Series Update

After four years of thinking and working on my flag proposal series, I've finally finished six pieces. To celebrate, I took them to RLPhoto Studio in Burlington to get high quality, professional images. I think they did a fantastic job. It is nice to see what really professional studio can do -- great lighting, great shadows, no glare!, great detail and clarity, great color balance -- they are true professionals.

Though the series is obviously influenced by Jasper Johns' flag paintings, I consider Claes Oldenberg's proposal series to be equally influential. I love his absurdist proposals to replace landmarks, like the Washington Monument, with things like scissors, cloths pins, or electric fans. I want this work to be viewed as proposals for replacing the US flag with my designs, including materials, techniques, and dimensions. 

Reference Flag is the first of the series. Though everything else is a variation on the theme of the American Flag, I wanted the first to be clearly identifiable as a US flag. Technically, it isn't an exact replica, the blue section should extend down one more stripe, but I decided replication of the actual flag was less important than the aesthetics of the lumber and dimensions I wanted to work with.

Reference Flag

shellac on maple and cherry

24" x 41" x 1"

2009

Reference Flag (closeup)

Almost Square Flag was the second. I remember I started the blue section after seeing a Rebecca Purdum show at Dartmouth College and was inspired by her style, but got very frustrated after a number of attempts. I had given up and started to sand it down when I noticed that the bird's-eyes had become bumps that I was preferentially cleaning off. I liked the look, seeming to reference stars, so just polished it and was happily surprised with the results.

Almost Square Flag

shellac on maple, cherry, and epoxy

26 1/2" x 26 3/8" x 3/4"

2010

Almost Square Flag (closeup)

Thirty-Nine Piece Flag was the third in the series until I recently took it apart and reworked it. So now it might be considered the sixth. I think it is be the only piece I've signed and dated three times (each one being a documentation of thinking I was done). I'm sure it is finished now.

Thirty-Nine Piece Flag

shellac on maple and birch
34" x 53" x 1.5"

2010/2012

Thirty-Nine Piece Flag (closeup)

Here is an earlier version.

Thirty-Nine Piece Flag (September 2010 version)

When I thought of the design for Double Star Flag, I cursed my imagination because I had no idea how I was going to do it. In fact, as I was making it I still had no idea if I would be able to pull it off. Much to my surprise, it worked out. I was especially happy when getting it photographed because that was the first time I had seen it as a finished piece. I was a bit nervous as to whether it would all fit together (I don't have a good place to store it assembled and it is too large for me to fit in my truck as well) but, thankfully (or miraculously), even with the wood movement since summer (the last time I had assembled it) it came together without a hitch.

Double Star Flag

shellac on maple, birch, walnut, and epoxy
71" x 62" x 1.5"

2012

Double Star Flag (closeup)

Perhaps I shouldn't say it, but Trapezoid Flag is my favorite. Maybe it isn't coincidental, but it also gave me the fewest problems, among all six, in terms of design and implementation - no rework, no second thoughts, no mistakes. Plus, that black salamander is a really great feature. 

Trapezoid Flag

shellac on maple, birch, epoxy

39" x 49" x 1.5"
2012

Trapezoid Flag (closeup)

Of all these pieces, Nine-Sided Flag was the most frustrating. I reworked the middle section four times before I came up with something that I liked. I also trimmed some of the left side off after I thought it was done in order to shift the center piece more to the left. I easily put more work into this one than any of the others and, though it is still isn't my favorite, I am finally happy with it. To my surprise, my photographer said it was his favorite, perhaps not coincidentally, because of how much work I put into it.

Nine-Sided Flag

shellac on maple, birch, ash, walnut, epoxy, acrylic paint, and gesso
35.5" x 47' x 1.5"

2012

The thin black lines in the middle section is walnut veneer.

Nine-Sided Flag (closeup)

Here is the version of Nine-Sided Flag from May 2012 (at Vermont Studio Center).

And here is the version from October 2012.

Both of these versions made me very unhappy so I'm thrilled that it is no longer a headache.

None of these pieces is for sale until I have enough for a show of the series. I would like to have thirteen of them but I know I need at least ten. I'm planning on continuing to focus on them for the next year or two in the hopes that I can make the requisite amount in the near future. I think the long time frame of their assemblage makes for an interesting look at the evolution of my work. I'm in the beginning stages of creating a Baye Fall Flag (identifiable by their colorful, patchwork clothing) and would like to make a larger version of something like Three Triangles for an eighth.

Three Triangles

shellac on ash, walnut, and acrylic paint

19" x 17" x 1"

2012

Building A Canoe: Steps XI, XII, XIII, XIV

Part XI: Make and Install Gunwales

After finishing the fiberglass work, and cleaning up the annoying, unsightly, ridges, it was time to install the gunwales (or rails). Because the longest board of ash I could find in the lumber yard was only 12 ft, I had assumed I would have to splice two sections together. However, before I had implemented this plan, I learned of a friend of  a friend who had a 20 ft board of ash available. Luckily, I was able to use this person's shop to mill the lumber as well because there was no way I could have done it in my shop. In fact, even with a 12 ft board I was going to have to go to a friend's shop. It would have been helpful, however, if I knew the final length of the gunwales ahead of time because of the cumbersome nature of milling such long strips. I thought the curve in the canoe would result in strips longer than 16' but, it turned out, my outwales were only 15' 7" in and my inwales were 13' 7". I also milled them differently than Gil suggested. He suggested 3/4" by 3/4" for the outwales and 3/8" x 3/4" for the inwales; but I didn't see how 3/8" was wide enough to install the seat hardware, which are 1/4" carriage bolts, so I made mine 1/2" wide. With the outwales, I thought 3/4 stuck out too far so I trimmed it down to 5/8".

My first big mistake, though, was in trimming the outwales. I wanted to cut them close to the actual length because I was taking them to my shop to pre-drill and countersink the screw holes used to attach them. In lining up the outwales, I marked it from the top of the stem, and when I started to install them I realized that the canoe gets longer as you move down the stem, so it left me short to get the entire outwale covering the stem. Luckily, I had added a little to the length to make up for any small error, but it wasn't enough. I hoped that by pulling the canoe together, making it more narrow, I'd be able to squeeze another 1/2" out of my outwales, which worked well enough that in shaping the ends, it looks decent enough and maybe even mistake free. 

Pulling the canoe tighter to make up for the short, pre-cut, outwales

Close-up of the short outwales -- Oops! Next time remember to mark from the bottom!

After the shaping, they don't look too bad, and maybe even intentional

Unfortunately, I realized when I returned my canoe forms, and looked at the lender's canoes, that I didn't need to attach the outwale with screws from the outside, that the screws from the inside were enough. In my defense, in looking back at Gil's instructions, he doesn't explicitly say this and the images show the outwale being attached with screws at the stems in order to also hold the deck in place. The one hint he gives is that he says you need 65 to 70 screws, placed every 6 inches, to attach the gunwales to a 16 ft canoe and I thought his math was just bad when I realized I needed around 115. I could have just left the outwale screws in place but, in addition to the aesthetic issue, I thought it created an increase risk of rot at each of the hole openings so I filled them with walnut (and the occasional cherry) plugs. Problem solved and I think it ends up adding to the aesthetics rather than detracting. By the way, Gil recommends brass screws but my experience with them is that they are just too soft and the heads break off all the time (even with pre-drilling) so I used stainless steel. I had absolutely no problem with broken heads and I think they look just as good.

Mistaken screw holes filled with walnut and cherry plugs

Part XII: Make and Install Yoke

For the yoke, I used a figured piece of yellow birch. I made the shoulders on it especially large, which I think works well. I had never carried a canoe on my shoulders before and the first time I lifted this one I had it resting on my neck. Big mistake. That doesn't feel too good. Better it should rest on one's shoulders, especially with a life jacket on.

Curly yellow birch yoke

Part XIII: Make and Install Decks

For the decks, I created a couple of blanks out of quartersawn ash and walnut veneer. The walnut is between each strip of ash, and as I cut and reglued the sections, I added additional pieces of veneer to create a complicated fault system (I suspect this aesthetic results from the lingering effects of many undergraduate geology classes).

Deck blanks of ash and walnut veneer

Gil recommended created a cardboard template for marking out the shape of the flush deck. I highly recommend this method, it worked out well.

Flush deck installed (bow)

Flush deck (stern)

I didn't know how big the decks would be, so I made blanks much larger than I needed and turned the scraps in to art.

 Three Triangles

shellac and acrylic paint on ash and walnut

16.5" x 17.5" x 1"

2012

Three Triangles (closeup)

Part XIV: Make and Install Seats

Of all the aspects of my canoe, I'm most proud of the seat design (provided that it turns out to be comfortable for many hours of continuous use, which I won't know for several months). It is light weight, strong, easy to make, original, and, I think, very beautiful.

I didn't want to make a standard caned canoe seat, partly because I didn't want to be responsible for the furniture joinery and partly because I couldn't see spending 20 hours weaving it. In order to avoid that monotony, I mulled a few different ideas around for several months, including a Wendell Castle inspired sculpted seat but realized that that would be too bulky. Somehow the idea of making a bent lamination seat popped in my head, which seems perfect in strength and weight. Having never made any bent lamination work though, I needed to experiment a little to get what I wanted (of course, I could have looked on-line, but for some reason, I didn't bother, which is just as well, too many people recommend using urea-formaldehyde glue which is just too toxic for me to want to work with. Instead, I used my standard Titebond III which really is the worlds best all-around wood glue. It worked fine). For the stern seat, I glued 4 thin strips together (each about 3/32" thick) in the form. For the bow seat, because the gap is greater, I used five strips.

Bent lamination in form

(this is an after-the-fact staged photo, hence, no mess or plastic keeping the form from sticking)

I wondered how many rows would be comfortable and thought that I would need three, but when I tested two, I didn't think that an additional one would have any advantage so I'm sticking with two until I'm proven wrong. I used some butternut that I bought from my neighbor when he cut down a tree in 2009. I've had it air drying in my shop ever since, which makes it perfect for a project like this because it is less brittle than kiln-dried lumber that I would have gotten at a lumber mill (maybe it doesn't make a difference but I like to think it does). They seemed to have plenty of flex in them, making them more comfortable, and they seem plenty strong too. I've stood on the front bow strip (160 lbs) without any negative consequences, so I figure two of them should be able to handle the weight of anyone getting in my canoe.

Stern seat (bent lamination butternut)

For the spacers, I played around with a scrap piece of maple and more walnut veneer. I think it is an interesting detail and it really didn't take that much time to make.

Seat spacers (maple and walnut)

The final activity I worked on before stopping for the winter was to clean up the top edge. I had thought that a spoke shave would be the best tool for the job but it turned out that my 102 Lie-Nielsen low-angle block plane worked best (gotta love that little thing!). Now I just need to wait for spring to do some finish sanding (on the decks), touch up epoxy work (on the decks, gunwales, and seats), and then add a few coats of varnish. Until then, it is going to rest in the middle of my living room (which is fine, I don't like using my front door anyway). As is, it weights in at 66.8 lbs. Not bad considering Gil says this canoe should weight about 65 lbs and I used hardwoods that are much more dense than white or red cedar.

An almost finished canoe

Hurry! Don't Forget!

Yes, it is that time of year again. Woodwork (magazine) is on the newsstands (I picked mine up at Barnes and Noble, not sure what other newsstands carry it but you can buy it on-line as well). It comes out only once a year but it is still the best wood related magazine available. This issue has another great essay by Mark Love, and Toshio Odate continues his multi-year serial saga about "Mighty Oak" (there is at least one more year of the saga to go but I wouldn't be surprised if it goes on for another ten, it has been an epic battle (going back to 1997) and in this issue we learn that Toshio suffered a rotator cuff injury working with it in 2000). I was also interested to learn about Thomas Schrunk's work. Someone had mentioned him to me recently but I wasn't able to find much info on the Internet, so I was really happy to get the scoop about his really great, and innovative, marquetry technique. There are always great images, interesting profiles, and useful information about shows and events. Reading through it, I'm always so impressed with the people the work with wood. They always seem to be a very genuine, down-to-earth, unpretentious, and dedicated bunch (or maybe that is just the ones that get written about, hard to tell, but my experience with the ones I meet seem to confirm this conclusion so I'm sticking with it). 

Anyway, I'd be very upset in this publication stopped, so I'm asking you again, hurry! run! go by a copy now! Thank you! 

Note: I receive no compensation (of any kind) for this endorsement, nor has anyone asked me to do it.

Wendy Maruyama's Executive Order 9066

"Important" is the best one word description for the Wendy Maruyama exhibit, Executive Order 9066, which was organized by, and debuted at, The Society of Arts and Crafts September 8 to November 3, 2012. In this body of work, Wendy has focused her considerable talents on highlighting the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II through the executive order issued by FDR. It is a sad, but often forgotten, part of our history, so Wendy has done a great service to bringing the event back to life so that viewers can learn about it on a visceral level through her art. This show is a wonderful example of how art can be used to teach history without being without being dogmatic or preachy.

The first piece to encounter was this representative of The Tag Project in which Wendy recreated, with the help of dozens of volunteers, the tags issued to each of the interned Japanese Americans. Organized by the ten camps to which they were assigned, there are, therefore, ten sets of tags, each with about 12,000 names attached. Because SAC's space is very limited, only one group was displayed for this exhibit, however, all should be on view at the other museum sites the show will travel to. With The Tag Project, Wendy has created an innovative and aesthetic way to convey the enormity of the internment. 

The Tag Project

paper, string, ink, thread

132" x 10" x 10"

2011

One of the things I found interesting about the series is the restraint that Wendy employed in creating the work. Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day) is a great example. For someone like Wendy, who has tremendous skill and talent in working with wood, to create something so stark and "simple" is an amazing feat in itself. Most artist look for opportunities to "show off" their skill and dazzle viewers with works they know their audience could never do. But here, Wendy is showing she cares more about conveying the stark reality internment than impressing us with works of stunning skill and complexity.

Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day)

wood, tar paper, glass, 40's era doll

26" x 48" x 3"

2011

I particularly like how she uses ripped tar paper to create something that refers to cheap, haphazard, temporary construction of the camps while also seeming to refer to abstract expressionist paintings, like Rothko's deeply emotional black series. 

Hinamatsuri (closeup)

In this piece, ID, you can see the image of a child wearing an internment tag behind a "bar" (a reference to imprisonment I assume) inside one of Wendy's art cabinets.

ID

pine, paper tags, ink

33" x 11.5" x 5"

2008

Landlocked is another "simple" piece that uses common materials, like tar paper and plywood, to convey a direct emotional experience to the viewer. 

Landlocked

wood, tarpaper, nails, found objects

25.5" x 48" x 3"

2011

Landlocked (closeup)

Land of the Free is a diptych made with sliding door cabinets, a faux functional form that Wendy has used several times for this series. It creates a variety of viewing experiences, thereby engaging the viewer to be more personally involved with the work and the past. 

Land of the Free (diptych - first section)

fir, pine, ink, plant materials

7" x 120" x 6"

2011

Land of the Free (diptych - second section)

Land of the Free (diptych - second section, second view)

The piece, Manzanar, refers to the best preserved of the camps which is now a National Historic Site. Although it is, technically, not a diptych like the Land of the Free, it also provides many viewing experiences.

Manzanar

pau ferro, fir, ink, wire, encaustic

7" x 61" x 6"

2009

Manzanar (second view)

I particularly like the curly fir she selected for the sliding doors, I assume because it refers to the mountains that over look the site.

Manzanar (closeup)

You're A Sap Mr. Jap is a black tar paper and nail "painting" that plays a continuous loop of the first Popeye cartoon, of the same name, in the lower right corner. It is a completely racist piece of wartime propaganda which you can view for yourself at this link. Again, the lack of elaborate construction of this piece makes an even more powerful statement than if Wendy dazzled us with elaborate design.

You're A Sap Mr. Jap

tar paper, wood, Popeye cartoon video

48" x 48" x 3"

2008

You're A Sap Mr. Jap (closeup)

I saw this piece, A Question of Loyalty, last year at the Fuller Craft Museum's Furniture Divas show and wrote about it here. The piece quotes what I assume was an oath that Japanese Americans needed to sign, pledging allegiance to the US. The door can be slid to reveal an answer of "YES" or "NO." It is one of the more purely beautiful pieces in the exhibit, being made with live-edge, worm-hole infested, ash.    

A Question of Loyalty

ash, ink

9.5" x 50.5" x 14"

2010

Watch Tower is another deceptive faux cabinet. With the door closed, it looks like just another nice decorative, Asian-inspired wall cabinet that any fine cabinetmaking might build. With the door open, it becomes a work of art that makes a powerful statement.

Watch Tower

pine, sitka spruce, fir, painted wood bowls, glass, ink

31.5" x 17.5" x 7.5"

2008

Zenmetsu is, again, an aesthetically beautiful piece that plays with the concepts of function, art, decoration, and meaning. The English translation of the title is annihilation. In the center, behind some glass, is a pile of broken porcelain.

Zenmetsu

tamo, ash, paper, porcelain shards

7 x 72.5 x 6

2011

Wendy used tamo, a highly figured Japanese ash, for the top and bottom of the "cabinet."

Zenmetsu (top view)

The exhibit also includes historical artifacts from the camps, including some of the art of gaman, crafts and sculptures made by Japanese Americans during their internment, as well as these pieces of historic luggage. They are much more powerful when you read the names on them: June T. Watanabe; Lillian Sasaki; Gii Yoshioka; K. Hongu. I read the names and I think, "Really? Lillian Sasaki intimidated you so much you had to ship her off to an internment camp in the middle of a desert? What could she do? Knit a sweater with her coordinates in morse code?" It helps to clarify how irrational and senseless this part of our history was, and a good reminder to how vigilant we need to be against letting our fears create such irrationality in the future.

Executive Order 9066 will travel to four additional venues into 2015 and I highly recommend seeing it if you get a chance. Here is the schedule:

Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR, February 1 to April 21, 2013

Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ, September 28, 2013 to January 4, 2014

San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA, March 1 to May 24, 2014

Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA, October 2, 2014 to January 4, 2015.