[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 116 (Friday, September 6, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF RUTH ASAWA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 6, 2013

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, on August 6th San Francisco lost a visionary 
artist, educator, community activist, civic leader and beloved friend. 
Ruth Asawa was an internationally recognized sculptor who will be long 
remembered for her public works of art, her extraordinary wire 
sculptures, and her commitment to the people of San Francisco, 
especially our children. Her memory will embolden future generations to 
devote their passions to the freedom of self-expression and public 
betterment.
  The story of Ruth Asawa is the story of America, of great patriotism 
and ethnic pride, as reflected in her life and work. She earned the 
recognition she deserved, conquering discrimination as a female in a 
male-dominated discipline, and during and after World War II when our 
government incarcerated Ruth, then 16 years old, her family, and about 
110,000 fellow Japanese Americans in internment camps throughout the 
United States.
  Ruth and her family were first sent to Santa Anita Race Track in Los 
Angeles, California, housed in horse stables for six months before 
being transferred to a barbed wire enclosed camp in Rohwer, Arkansas. 
After the war, lingering ill will against Japanese Americans prevented 
her from securing a teaching position and completing her degree. She 
decided to study art at Black Mountain College in North Carolina where 
she studied with painter Josef Albers, dancer Merce Cunningham and 
architect/inventor Buckminster Fuller and met her husband Albert 
Lanier. They decided to live in San Francisco because of its vibrant 
arts community and respect for diversity as the Laniers were an 
interracial couple. In Noe Valley, one of many neighborhoods in San 
Francisco, they raised their six children.
  As a trustee of the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums, Ruth influenced 
the evolution of the new de Young museum and was a strong supporter of 
the museum's innovative architecture. More than 150 of her works are 
preserved at the de Young where her gorgeous hanging wire sculptures 
are permanently displayed.
  Ruth's public works include such recognizable San Francisco landmarks 
as the Andrea Mermaid Fountain at Ghirardelli Square, the Hyatt on 
Union Square Fountain, the Buchanan Mall Fountains in Japan town, the 
Aurora Fountain at Bayside Plaza and the Garden of Remembrance at San 
Francisco State. Other great works in the San Francisco Bay Area 
include the Japanese American Internment Memorial in front of the 
Federal Building in San Jose, California.
  Ruth will be forever remembered for her dedication to our children 
and her loving work to make our schools and City more joyful learning 
environments. Her legacy will live on in the young artists who attend 
Ruth Asawa School of the Arts which she founded. She also founded the 
Alvarado Arts Workshop which established the artist-in-residence model 
of public arts education. It is a national model. Ruth helped organize 
the Music, Dance, Drama and Science (MADDS) Festival, now an annual 
city-wide youth event sponsored by schools, civic leaders, neighborhood 
groups, and museums.
  It was a great honor for me to be asked to say a few words at the 
celebration of Ruth's life on August 27th in San Francisco's beautiful 
Golden Gate Park. I spoke about our City's great love for Ruth and her 
tremendous impact on the Bay Area, and I learned about talents beyond 
Ruth's art, her love of gardening and sharing her bounty, most 
particularly her famous ginger garlic salad dressing, with her friends 
and loved ones. To Ruth's children Xavier, Aiko, Hudson, Addie and 
Paul, her ten grandchildren, and four great grandchildren I extend my 
deepest sympathy. I hope it is a comfort to them that Ruth will forever 
be remembered, not only for her work that so lovingly adorns our City, 
but also for her activism and leadership that showed us how to mentor 
generations to come.

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