Artist, erased

Today's post is about a couple of once-esteemed Japanese-American painters whose careers - and lives - were crushed by the outbreak of WWII. Kamekichi Tokita and Kenjiro Nomura each came to the US at young ages in the early 20th century, and found mainstream success in the Seattle area chronicling life in the "Japantown" district:

"Alley," a 1929 oil on canvas by Kamekichi Tokita.
Seattle Art Museum (Collection of Shokichi & Elise Y. Tokita).

"Street", (c. 1929), oil on canvas by Kenjiro Nomura
 [Seattle Asian Art Museum, Seattle WA, Oct 22-Feb 19] Collection of the Seattle Art Museum

For a time, they ran a sign-painting shop that supported their artwork and provided a studio, and their work was praised and often championed by famous artist Kenneth Callahan (see this review of Barbara Johns' book "Signs Of Home" - which I have NOT yet read - about Tokita's life, paintings and wartime diary). The shop closed in the Great Depression, and after Pearl Harbor was attacked both painters' families were eventually taken to the internment camps and the two stopped painting altogether (they both died soon after the war ended, at ages 51 and 60 - see Jen Graves' Seattle Times article "From Artist To Enemy" HERE). In 1946, when Callahan co-founded what became known as The Northwest School, he credited white artists with looking to "Asian influences", but made no mention of Tokita, Nomura or any other artists actually within the Japanese-American culture. They, their work, and their significance were essentially erased. As Tokita has said "(i)n a moment, we have lost all the value of our existence in this society."


Likely the only reason the importance of these two artists' beautiful work (shown HERE and HERE as part of an exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum thru February 19th) is even acknowledged today is that Tokita kept a journal from 1942 until 1945 while he and his family endured the Idaho internment camp:

(from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art;
these page images are quite beautiful themselves)

and his eldest son recently offered the journal itself for translation. The current Seattle show exhibits 20 of their paintings, with author Barbara Johns as guest Curator of the show.

In my view, the fact that these two gifted artists got totally screwed by the politics of THEIR time means a couple of important things. First, art can require some context to be truly appreciated. I think their work is beautiful, but it gains great meaning and power - and so does its influence on the work of others - when seen thru the lens of their "life and times". This, of course, goes against a prevailing view that "all '⌠Art'⌡ must stand on its own", unadorned and unexplained.

Second, and more chilling and immediate to me: those who create are ALWAYS at the mercy of the politics and moral climate of their times. The ongoing morals-charged debate over NEA's funding is a clear example; You may recall that "(l)ast winter, the Smithsonian Institute removed an artwork that had angered the Christian Right, and last [February], the House voted to cut a quarter of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) budget" (see Travis Korte's related Washington Post item HERE). Given today's toxic US political climate, this ain't gonna stop soon, friends. From my seat, the politics of OUR times are no more art-friendly than those surrounding WWII. Be watching - it's happening again. Or still: 


The wars are long,
the peace is frail.
The madmen come again.
There is no freedom in a land
where fear and hate prevail.
- "Wasn't That A Time", by Pete Seeger with The Weavers
   (performed by Peter, Paul & Mary HERE)
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Today's creation is: missing. The blogspot editor software has been screwed up for three days, during which I've been attempting to edit this post to add a new creation. I'm not waiting any longer. More next time when - HOPEFULLY - the bug is fixed.