Sam Talks — Revealing Ruth Asawa, Artist And Advocate

A conversation with
Daniell Cornell, independent arts professional, cultural historian, curator, and educator
Mayumi Tsutakawa, writer and curator

Join us for a conversation on the remarkable life and work of Ruth Asawa (1926-2013), with curator Daniell Cornell and writer/curator Mayumi Tsutakawa. Known especially for her hanging looped wire sculptures, Asawa also created other forms of sculpture, prints, paintings, and installation art. Interest and appreciation for her work continues to grow, along with new assessments of her importance within modern art movements.

After living through the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II along with her family in California and at the Rohwer Arkansas camp, Asawa studied with Josef Albers and other notables at Black Mountain College. She then lived in the San Francisco area, where she created extraordinary sculpture exploring line, space, and light; received public art commissions; and was a strong advocate for arts education in public schools.

About the Presenters

Daniell Cornell is an independent arts professional, cultural historian, curator, and educator. While serving as Director of Contemporary Art Projects for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (2000-2008), he worked with Ruth Asawa over several years in organizing and writing for the 2006 major retrospective exhibition and catalogue The Sculpture of Ruth Asawa: Contours in the Air.

Mayumi Tsutakawa is a writer and curator who has focused on Asian/Pacific American history and arts.

This talk takes place in the Plestcheeff Auditorium at the Seattle Art Museum in downtown Seattle. South Hall doors open at 6:30 PM.

Seating is first-come, first-served. Please arrive to your seat 10 minutes before the program starts, or your seat may be released.

Individual tickets available at the door: $10, SAM members $5; free at the door for students with ID.