Ruth Asawa

Japanese American sculptor

Ruth Asawa (January 27, 1926 – August 5, 2013) was an American sculptor. Born in Norwalk, California as the fourth of seven children, she was forced into Rohwer Japanese-American concentration camp in Arkansas during World War II.[1] She later became a famous artist, advocated for arts education, and founded the San Francisco School of Arts.

Education

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Asawa was forced to attend high school at Rohwer concentration camp in Desha County, Arkansas. After graduating, she went to the University of Wisconsin, but could not get a degree because of where she was from.[2] After that, she went to Black Mountain College.

Asawa's interest in art began when she was a young girl. As a child, she enjoyed drawing pictures in the mud.

As an adult, Asawa became famous for making sculptures out of metal wire. She used different patterns and lines in order to make her work unique. She helped to found SCRAP, a recycling art program. Asawa also created the San Francisco School of Arts.

She once said “Art is for everybody. It is not something that you should have to go to the museums in order to see and enjoy."[3]

References

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  1. "Ruth Asawa - Densho Encyclopedia".
  2. Hatfield, Zack. "The New York Review of Books - Ruth Asawa: Tending the Metal Garden".
  3. Milton Chen and Ruth Cox (February 2, 2007). "Ruth Asawa: "Art is for Everybody"". Edutopia.