Ruth Aiko Asawa (1926 - 2013)

Born 24 Jan 1926 in Norwalk, Los Angeles, California, United States

Wife of William Albert Lanier — married 1949 in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States

Died 6 Aug 2013 at age 87 in San Francisco, California, United States

Biography

Ruth Asawa was a Californian.

Ruth Asawa is Notable.

Ruth Aiko Asawa was born in Los Angeles, California on 24 January 1926, the daughter of Japanese immigrants Umakichi Asawa and [[安田-15|Haru Yasuda][. Her Japanese name was Asawa Aiko (淺輪 愛子), but she never went to Japan during her early life. She was living with her parents and siblings in Norwalk and Downey in the 1930 and 1940, respectively. She was forcibly removed to Santa Anita Assembly Center with her family, excluding her father Umakichi, who was instead interned as an enemy alien in New Mexico by FBI agents. Meanwhile, Ruth and her Japanese American family were incarcerated at Rohwer War Relocation Center on 23 September 1942.

On 16 August 1943, Ruth left Rohwer after graduating from the camp's high school and went to Milwaukee, where she attended the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, intending to become an art teacher, but was prevented from attending college in California, since the Pacific War was still ongoing. She left Wisconsin, but the university would later award a degree to her in 1998.

Ruth studied with Josef Albers at Black Mountain College from 1946 to 1949, experimenting with wire sculpture, which would be her main medium during her art career. She also attended several courses during summer sessions from 1946 to 1948. During her studies, Ruth created several crocheted wire sculptures in abstract forms, from baskets to biomorphic forms that hang from the ceiling. She was one of the most prominent sculptors in the middle of the 20th century.

While at Black Mountain, Ruth met Albert Lanier in 1947. They married in San Francisco, California in 1949. They had six children during their marriage, including a son, Adam, whom the couple outlived in 2003. Ruth's husband died in 2008.

Ruth was also committed to arts education activism, and she advocated for arts education for children throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. She established her arts workshop in 1968, leading to a public arts high school in 1982, now known as the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts in her memory.

Ruth died at her home in San Francisco on 6 August 2013 at the age of 87.

As of 29 May 2021, several of Ruth's works can be in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. In San Francisco, fifteen of her works are also on permanent display at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, while her fountains are found in the city's public places.

Sources

• "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGL7-1ZLV : 27 September 2019), Ruth Aiko Asawa, 27 Jan 1926; citing Birth, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, California State Archives, Sacramento.
• "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGLW-GCNP : 27 September 2019), Ruth Aiko Assawa, 27 Jan 1926; citing Birth, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, California State Archives, Sacramento.
• "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGLW-GKTJ : 27 September 2019), Ruth Aiko Asawa, 27 Jan 1926; citing Birth, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, California State Archives, Sacramento.
• "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGFR-NRT : 27 November 2014), Ruth Aiko Asawa, 27 Jan 1926; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XC8J-JZH : accessed 24 July 2020), Aiko Asawa in household of Umakichi Asawa, Norwalk, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1195, sheet 8B, line 88, family 180, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 167; FHL microfilm 2,339,902.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K976-19T : 4 February 2020), Luz Asawa in household of U Asawa, Downey Judicial Township, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 19-129, sheet 4A, line 36, family 66, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 226.
• "United States Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1942-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KX22-TT7 : 12 December 2014), Ruth A Asawa, 1942-1946; citing Rohwer, person number 02172E, file 900232, NARA NAID 1263921, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
• "United States, War Relocation Authority centers, final accountability rosters, 1942-1946," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLXR-K276 : 8 February 2019), Ruth Aiko Asawa, 23 Sep 1942; citing roster, family no. 2172, line 385, NARA microfilm publication M1865 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2001).
• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK2K-F7MP : accessed 24 July 2020), Ms Ruth Asawa, California, United States, 07 Aug 2013; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing San Francisco Chronicle, born-digital text.

See also:

• Official website: https://ruthasawa.com/
• Wikipedia: Ruth Asawa
• Wikidata: Item Q7382874, en:Wikipedia
• Find A Grave: Memorial #198791654
• Smithsonian National Postal Museum, stamp released August 2020 https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/women-on-stamps-part-3-visual-arts/artist-and-educator-ruth-asawa