Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Shellwork Blackberry Pin, c. 1942-1945 |
Object Name |
Shellwork |
Description |
Japanese Internment Camp Shell Art Boutonniere, c. 1942-1944. 6 stems of wrapped wires in green and brown, joined at the bottom with floral tape, making an arrangement of leaves and blackberries. Two leaves made of mother of pearl painted orange and brown and backed with green fabric. Two stems painted green and twisted into tight curls. Two blackberries made of clusters of snail shells painted purple. Made by Yoshiko Yamanouchi while interned at Topaz internment camp in Utah. |
Date |
c. 1942-1945 |
Creator |
Yamanouchi, Yoshiko |
Role |
Artist |
Medium |
Wire/Paint/Shell |
Catalog Number |
2019.048.004.15 |
Dimensions |
H-1 W-3 D-4.5 inches |
Collection |
3D - Art |
Inscription Text |
none. |
Provenance |
Made by Yoshiko Yamanouchi while she was interned at "Topaz" Central Utah Relocation Center during World War II. |
Notes |
"Soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, all ethnic Japanese on the West Coast-more than two-thirds of whom were American citizens by birth-were ordered to leave their homes and move to ten inland internment camps for the duration of the war. While in these bleak camps, the internees used scraps and found materials to make furniture and other objects to beautify their surroundings. Arts and crafts became essential for simple creature comforts and emotional survival. These objects-tools, teapots, furniture, toys and games, musical instruments, pendants and pins, purses and ornamental displays-are physical manifestations of the art of gaman, a Japanese word that means to bear the seemingly unbearable with dignity and patience." https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/gaman |
Search Terms |
Art Boutonniere Japan Japanese Japanese - World War II Japanese Americans Japanese Americans - Internment Japanese Americans - Topaz Japanese Americans - Relocation Center Japanese Americans Internment Japanese Evacuation Japanese History WWII WWII - Incarceration Japanese American World War II World War II - Japanese World War Two |
Subjects |
Art Japan Japanese internment World War II |
People |
Yamanouchi, Yoshiko |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Laura Watanuki |