Gaman (ga—mon): To bear the unbearable with dignity and patience.
Why is it important to preserve the art of Gaman? Why were the Japanese ashamed about the artwork they created during their internment?
Browse the artwork of Gaman (once you are on the page, click on the link slide show and comments beside the cow) and describe in detail one of the pieces of artwork you find interesting. What is the piece made out of? Who made it? Why does this particular piece of artwork speak to you? Your response is due on Wednesday, April 28.
Click on the title of this post The Art of Gaman and scroll down the page. Under the heading Recent news about the exhibitions BBC, The Strand, April 7, 2010, features “The Art of Gaman” with Delphine Hirasuna, listen to the BBC's The Strand from 12:40 – 18:50 minutes.Answer the following questions:
Why is it important to preserve the art of Gaman? Why were the Japanese ashamed about the artwork they created during their internment?
Browse the artwork of Gaman (once you are on the page, click on the link slide show and comments beside the cow) and describe in detail one of the pieces of artwork you find interesting. What is the piece made out of? Who made it? Why does this particular piece of artwork speak to you? Your response is due on Wednesday, April 28.
I think there is a great importance to preserving the Art of Gaman. The art displays the culture of the Japanese Americans. Even in the most unbearable times, the Japanese Americans take it with dignity and hope. The art, in many ways, touches people. Many people feel deeply moved by what the Japanese Americans have done. I think many Japanese were ashamed of their artwork because they were embarrassed about the situation at hand and humiliated by the actions that took place. The art reminded them of an unpleasant time in their lives. Even though it does reflect unhappy times, I feel we should show the world so we can reflect, and hope something like this never happens. The photo I choose is called Camp Scene. The artist is unknown and this painting was made of wood and paint. A quick glance of the photo shows some small barracks lined up with a large mountain in the background. The closer you look this painting is gaman. The cabins look the exact same. The rich navy blue and a cheesy yellow that have been painted on each camp is peeling. The camps look old and worn. There is a post sitting in the middle of the painting. There seem to be no wires attached to the post. On the ground there is not one sign of green. It looks like a giant mud bath. The camp is empty, no sign of color or life. The camps feels like solders. They are all dressed the same and aligned perfectly next to on another. Then the eye catches a bright orange spread across the wood. A large mountain stands behind the camp. There is some grass stretched out around the mountain. At the top the peaks have frosting all over them. Behind the mountains is an orange sunset that looks like pumpkin pie. A full moon is floating a little behind one of the peaks. This painting reminds me of the word gaman. Below is the unbearable. Sad, lonely, lifeless creation of the Japanese internment camps. In the sky is where the hope and patience is shown. The bright orange happy sky just makes you feel happy. I felt the patience and dignity the Japanese American displayed in a form of beauty, art.
ReplyDeleteI think that is it very important to preserve the art of Gaman because it shows what the Japanese people were put through and what they did with their time. The art of Gaman is a great example of how little the people in the internment camps had and what they would do in their hours of free time. I think that the Japanese people who made these things are embarrassed because this reminds them of a time that they don't want to be reminded of. It shows a time of humiliation and terrible things that they don't want to remember and since these were made in the camps, they bring back the memories so the people try not to look at them and bring back those memories.
ReplyDeleteI chose the piece that was a boat. The person who made it is unknown and it is made out of wood, scrap metal, paint, wire, thread, nails, and screws. It is of an ocean liner that is painted red and white with many windows, two masts and two smoke stacks.
Two things really stand out at me. One of them was that the boat is so incredibly made and had as much detail as a model boat from a kit has, but once you know it was made completely out of scraps, it takes a whole new meaning and I appreciate it much more. The other thing that stands out is that it is a boat and that symbolizes the Japanese people's longing to go back across the ocean to their country, and leave these internment camps.
It is important to preserve the art of Gaman because it represents a time in recent American history that should be remembered and never repeated. I represents a time when Americans were judged by the color of their skin and not the values in their heart. It was a time of war and the things that were done then were done out of that excuse, but what was done was uncalled for and targeted an innocent community. Unfortunately the Japanese community is ashamed of their passed because of the problems and the time that they had to suffer in the camps for nothing that they did. What they were accused of was nothing that they had done and for most of the m nothing that they would have done. They were ashamed of the artwork because it reminded them of a time when they were prosecuted and sent to camps for a stereotype of what they looked like.
ReplyDeleteI chose the art work that was crafted by S. Kawamoto, this piece of work is made out of a natural piece of wood, paint, and a piece of a fence post. The piece of natural wood is a very irregular shape and is placed above the fence post to lift it and act as a stand for the artwork. On the natural piece of wood is a depiction of a camp, this camp is shown by having rows of buildings lined up and in the center of the camp is a large building flying the American flag. In the background there are lots of mountains that make the camp feel small and insignificant compared to the sheer size of the mountains. There is a fence around the camp that signifies that things are being kept in or out. On the bottom of the picture there is written "U.S. detentio camp
Santa Fe, New Mexico 1942" and to the right of the inscription is the same thing wirtten in Japanese. S. Kawamoto has signed his name on the left edge of the wood. This piece of artwork to me shows that there was never a lack of things to do, but at the same time the supplies for what the Japanese created were not ideal, this piece of work shows a camp that is framed by mountains and to me that represents the Japanese and how they felt being encircled and closed in on by the larger body of Americans.
I think the Japanese were embarrassed that that was all they had done made beautiful artwork in a time of suffering an war. They hadn't been a part of the war effort or helped to support their country although I can't blame them for that. Their country had imprisoned them. I think mant of these art works are amazing especially given the limited supplies they had.
ReplyDeleteI chose the piece of art work by Henry Sugimoto. He was interned in Arkansas, his painting was created with Oil paint and canvas. The painting is of who I presume to to be the painter, an elderly man, in a extremely pro-American household. There is an American flag behind him and a army 7th division pillow at his side. It is remarkable to me that somebody could still love respect and think themselves a part love a country that had all but banished them. There is also a V for victory below the flag which tells me that this is he is on the American side not the Japanese side. He signed his name on the bottom left corner H. Sugimoto, maybe he personally isn't embarrassed of this piece of art.
It is important to preserve the art of Gaman. This art was a way for the Japanese in the internment camps to express themselves, and show their artistic sides. The art also expressed their cultures, as seen in many of the photos. By preserving the Art of Gaman, they were also preserving Japanese culture. The Japanese were ashamed of the art they created in the internment camps because they were very proud and noble people until they were put into the interment camps. I think the art they made represented their pain and humiliation that they faced throughout the camps.
ReplyDeleteMY favorite piece from the exhibit of the art of Gaman was a photograph taken by Dorothea Lange. The photograph is of a dust storm at Manzanar War Relocation Authority Center, 1942. The photograph looks hand-developed, and is black and white. The is an American flag on a pole in the center of the picture, mountains in the background, and two or three kids running around in the midst of all the camp houses. Out of all the other art, this one is my favorite becasue its so simple, but says a lot. This photograph shows how even though the US put these Japanese -Americans into a camp, they can still love and salute our country by having a flag up. I also find the picture beautiful, with the mountains in the background. I like that it brings out a beautiful side of the camps.
The art of Gaman should be preserved to commemorate the Japanese interment. I choose a piece of art that has the Santa Fe detention center. It has buildings and an American flag in the middle, small huts to the side, and mountains in the background. The paint that was used is the exact shade that the objects are in real life. It was painted on a piece of wood pulled from a wooden fence. It was made S. Kawamoto. I’m drawn to this piece of art because; I’m amazed that anyone can make something so beautiful from a piece of a fence.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to preserve the art of Gaman because to the Japanese the word Gaman, or to bear the seemingly unbearable with patience and persistence, is very important to the Japanese and their culture. The art work of Gaman represents the patience and persistence of the Japanese as they, American citizens, were detained, and needed something to do, turning to art.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese were ashamed of the artwork they created during their internment camps because they had no idea of the quality and worth of their creations, and wanted to forget every thing about the camps and the pain it brought to them.
In the Art of Gaman slide show, the piece of art that struck me most was a water color painting of a Arkansas bayou by Ruth Asawa. The painting is very simple in terms of the amount of color present, but their is a lot of detail. The detail includes the individual waves and branches on the trees, and the reflections of the trees, cabin and sunset in the water. This piece of art stuck out to me because it was very American, with the quiet, peaceful bayou and the small cabin, inviting because of the warm glow from the windows. Not knowing the name and purpose of the exhibit, I would not guess that the painter was a Japanese. It is a very simple piece of art, which makes it all the more attractive.
I think It is important to preserve the art of Gaman because it is so amazing what the japanese-americans did with what they had, and the art teaches us a little bit more of what the camps looked like, and how they lived.
ReplyDeleteI think they were embarassed by the art because they didn't want to remember what had happened to them for 4 years, they just wanted to put that in the past. I think also maybe becasue it was different, they didn't have supplies they just used scraps and what they had, so they could have been ashamed because the art was different from other kinds before.
It is important for the art of Gaman to be preserved because it shows one of the most important historic events that happened in the U.S. It also shows how the Japanese - Americans got through their troubles with all the amazing art work that they produced.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite piece of artwork was the Model Ship, by an unidentified artist from the internment camp in Jerome, Arkansas. The photo looks like it was a toy made for a young child. It has a lot of amazing details and it looks as if it could have been a scale replica of a ship today. This is my favorite piece of artwork because it was very detailed, and used a lot of modern items such as wood, scrap metal, wire, thread, paint, screws, and nails. The ship also looks like it has been sailing because the paint is faded, and it also looks as if it was beat and used a lot because the smoke stacks were tilted as were the posts to hold the sails. The final reason why I liked this piece of artwork was because it was somewhat simple yet it gave the Japanese men, women and everyone in the internment camps hope that they might one day be free citizens again.
It is important to preserve the art of Gaman, because it represents the way the Japanese people suffered, but made the best of unimaginably horrible circumstances. The art of Gaman illustrates the hope and determination they felt. The Japanese people were ashamed about the artwork they created during their internment, because it was tangible evidence of the internment camps, which were embarrassing to the Japanese. They were probably embarrassed that they had been so unfairly punished for a crime that was not their own.
ReplyDeleteI chose the model of a train. It is black and silver and has the words "New York Central" and the number 307 printed on its incredibly detailed side. It was made out of scrap metal, scrap wood, and paint. A man named Edward Jitsue Kurushima, who was interned in Poston, Arizona, made it. This piece speaks to me, because of its unbelievable detail. There is a small ladder hanging next to one of its perfectly proportioned wheels. Everything is so exact that it's hard to believe the creator of the train hadn't been studying a real train as he made his own model and that he was really locked into an unjust internment camp. It is incredible to think about the amount of patience Mr. Kurushima must have had to be able to place the tiny strips of metal on the wheels, connecting them in the same fashion of a real train. In short, this artwork speaks to me, because the detail and perfection displayed in this model was created not during free time as a fun pastime, but during a horrible, frustrating period of time for Japanese-Americans, and surely for Mr. Kurushima, too.
I feel that there is a great importance in preserving the Art of Gaman. It has great importance to the Japanese-American culture and everything they had to go through to get their freedom back. I think that the people who made these amazing pieces of art are embarrassed by them because they do not want to remember the troubles that they went through. They do not want to be reminded what made them have to make these pieces of art. I picked the little samurai standing on a raised platform. It was made by Kinoe Adachi and was made of shells, paint, wood, glue, and bottle caps. I picked this piece of artwork because to me it shows that Kinoe, even though he was American, he did not forget about his Japanese heritage. I say this because the samurai is a big part of the Japanese culture and history. I also think that it shows that although he was persecuted because he was Japanese, he was still proud of his heritage.
ReplyDeleteIt is incredibly important to preserve the art of Gaman because the time period was so important, "free" americans were stripped of their rights and put into harsh concentration camps, some of the art work represents this time period, others show how these people were able to go past the pain and suffering and create beautiful pieces of art. The japanese were ashamed of the artwork they created during this time period because they wanted to forget this time period all together, they were so pained to be treated this way that they didn't want anything to remind them, also they didn't really know the quality of the artwork and didn't think that the artwork was valuable in any way. The piece of artwork that was not only my favorite but really spoke to me was the big piece of wood with the picture of the internment camp in New Mexico painted on it. This piece was made of natural wood slab, old fence post and paint. It was made by S. Kawamoto who was in the Santa Fe detention center. The weirdly shaped wood is propped on top of the fence post to hold it up. This was important to me because I feel that this artist wants it to be known and remembered. In the painting is a road through several buildings located in the desert of Santa Fe. It looks peaceful and beautiful. Like the ideal of an internment camp. There are no barb wires, no rundown houses. Its as if the artist wanted to erase what really happened and replace that memory as this beautiful place. The most important detail in this painting was the american flag in the camp. This was, I'm guessing, the artist choice to put into the painting. It shows their loyalty to America, that they were Americans. It shows their hope and faith that they would be able to go back into the world and be free. All of the artwork was gorgeous but this was definitely my favorite.
ReplyDeleteIt is vital that the art of the Gaman is preserved and revered for several reasons. Firstly, this art comes from a dark part of our recent American history, when American citizens were unjustly stripped not only of their land, homes, processions, and businesses but also of their dignity and respect. It is important that we remember this and reflect on it so that history will not repeat. Their artwork, beautiful pieces of self expression, is a product of the internment. Art was one of the only outlets these people had. They channeled all the negative inner strife into something positive and beautiful, and that in itself is worth preserving. Secondly, these arts and crafts were made incredibly well. It’s hard to believe they were really just made of scraps. It would be a huge waste not to preserve these exquisite works. Handmade pieces of this level of craftsman ship are valuable ad very interesting to observe.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese ashamed about the artwork they made because for them it is very closely linked to their internment experiences. Such experiences that included racial prejudice, humiliation, anger, and hurt are naturally not something they wanted to be reminded of. As we learned from the documentary, once the Japanese were finally able to leave the camps many of them never spoke of it. So it is understandable that they wouldn’t want to be associated with their art. For them, it would be laden with emotions and memories they probably spent many years trying to forget.
The Gaman artwork that I personally found the most interesting was a woven basket, created by Kenji Fuji at the Topaz, Utah internment camp. The basket is made of crepe paper, twine, wire and starch. At the top it is a rounded square shape sloping inwards to a small rectangle bottom. The wrapped handle encompasses the base of the basket in a v-shaped grip. It was woven in a basic but aesthetic manner. It is mainly an unremarkable brown with a slight color change to a lighter shade of brown about halfway down.
The basket’s simple, understated elegance caught my eye right away. I’ve been learning how to basket weave and it is rather tricky. So I found this expertly hand-created basket quite impressive. The basket also seemed to embody Gaman. This basket could bear a heavy load with gracefully, from it’s shape and strength from it’s tight weave and design. To me, this basket is a great physical symbol of what the definition of Gaman implies.
It is very important to preserve the art that the Japanese Americans made while in internment camps because, while in such bad conditions, they made beautiful work. It represents a time in their life that was horrible. The Japanese Americans had close to nothing, and made art out of it. They made art out of their surroundings, scrap metal, fence posts, et cetera. They expressed theirselves in their art. it was the one thing they could be proud of in the disasterous time of their life. The Japanese Americans were ashamed of the artwork they created in the internment camps because it was a shameful time of life, that they had to be treated like animals. They don't want to remember the bad times, they want to move on. They were ashamed becasue it brought back the times where they were forced to move, even though they couldn't help what they look like.
ReplyDeleteI chose the artwork of carved birds. The birds are made out of scrap wood, paint, and metal. Himeko Fukuhara and Kazuko Matsumoto created each of the sixteen birds. Each bird is carved precisely and carefully, with each one being unique in shape and color.
This piece of art really stands out to me because the birds are full of color, which makes me able to see them as if they were living. Also it speaks out to me because in such a bad time as this, Japanese Americans were able to produce something so beautiful it looks like someone made it today. Who knows where they found the paint or wood or tools to make it, but they are very good pieces. The uniqueness of each bird stands out to me as well, why didn't they just make them all the same.People generalize about all Japanese, making them seem the same, and it is interesting how they would carve things that are so unique. I really loved this piece and it really is amazing
The Art of Gaman is important because it showcases a very important part of our nation's history. A part that we must never forget. It shows a time where American citizens were stripped of their rights and put into internment camps. We must never forget the internment camps to ensure that something that tragic never happens again in the future. The Japanese were ashamed of the artwork created in the internment camps because they wanted to forget the whole incident. The Art of Gaman highlighted a dark portion of Japanese-American History. To showcase those dark times through art must have been hard. Since The Art of Gaman showed such dark times, you can see how some people would feel ashamed of it.
ReplyDeleteThe piece of art I chose was a painting by an unknown artist. The painting's detail and setting intrigued me. The painting shows an internment camp tucked in a rural northern setting. In the distance lies a mountain with clear white snow topping the peak. The rural setting adds to the overall abandoned feel the painting has. Even the windows to the camp lodges are boarded up. The dull orange sky at the top of the painting makes it appear as if it is dusk. It amazes me that something so detailed and precise can come out of such a horrific situation. I can't imagine painting something so detailed under the conditions the Japanese were suffering from. I believe that is what makes The Art of Gaman so incredible. It came from a place I never would have expected.
It is important to preserve the Gaman artwork, because it reminds us of an unfair and unjust time period in this country. We must always remember how we unfairly treated the Japanese-Americans in this country during the 1940's. Many American citizens were taken from their homes and put into internment camps without any reason other than they were from Japanese decent. Most of the people that were put into the camps were not even born in Japan, but had lived in the United States their whole lives. The Art of Gaman should serve as a reminder to the people of this country that it was wrong what we did to the Japanese-Americans, and we should make sure we never treat a group of people like that ever again.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese were ashamed of their works of art once they were let out of the Internment Camps, and many of them threw their Gaman away. They just wanted to forget what had happened and move on. Their spirits and confidence had been severely damaged and they were afraid to display their artwork made during this time period. But some of the artwork that was created was amazingly beautiful, and even more astonishing that they constructed the Gaman using the scarce resources that they had.
Looking at the slide show, the pieces of artwork that especially stood out to me were the bird and animal pins created by Himeko Fukuhara and Kazuko Matsumoto. These pieces of Gaman are so very delicate and precise that it is hard to believe that they were made from scrap wood, metal, and paint. It is amazing to me that such a magnificent work of art could be created without professional material and tools to work with. Seeing this work of Gaman makes me think that even under the most horrible and depressing conditions, the Japanese people found a way to keep on going strong and managed to create something truly special.
The piece of art I especially liked was by Homei iseyama, the tea pot. It is made of slate, and it is so detailed. I think it is amazing what this person can do with little supplies. the handle it looks like, is a branch and there is some kind of fruit and leaves decorated on the pot. It seems like this piece of art is something you could buy in a store, because it is crafted so well. It also looks like they carved an interesting texture on the pot, which looks like it would have taken a very long time to carve! This piece of art blew me away that someone could make something like a tea pot out of barely anything.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to preserve the art of Gaman because through this art we can learn not only about their Japanese heritage but also about their unique experience of suddenly having your rights as an American citizen taken away because of your race. If we open our eyes to the way that this experience changed their lives maybe we can make sure that this kind of thing never happens again. The Japanese were so affected by the racial predjudice, cruelty, and humiliation that they suffered during their time in these camps that many were ashamed of their beautiful art for the connections it had to these feelings.
ReplyDeleteThe piece that stood out to me was a painting by Jimmy Tsutomo Mirikitani. It is a picture of Tule Lake in California, where the artist was interned, and it's in a very traditional Japanese scroll painting style. It is black and white paint on paper. The reason it really stood out to me is that it is striking to see such a quintessentially Western landscape painted in such a recognizably Japanese style. Even as his own country turned against him, the artist was able to see the beauty in his surroundings and he decided to show it through the style of his homeland.
its important to preserve the art of gaman because it brings us back to the time when the Japanese were imprisoned in the camps. also because it shows their amazing craftsmanship, it is so amazing that they made these beautiful pieces of artwork from scraps. The Japanese feel shame of their artwork because to them it reminds them of a time when their rights were taken away and so was their dignity. I chose the boat out of all the pieces, it really strikes me as amazing, incredible craftsmanship. The artist of the piece is unknown, the boat consists of many scraps found from around the camp; there is wood, pieces of scrap metal, hand made paint, twine or thread, wire and to hold it all together either nails or filed down pieces of metal. The boat appears to be a ocean liner or transport vessel, it has been painted red and white, with two masts, and two smoke stacks and tons and tons of little windows, it is incredibly detailed. The reason i chose this piece was because it reminded me of the relocation of the Japanese people, like a ship carrying them of to some unknown land. I also thought that it was just plain amazing, its just so intricate with all of its little details, and to think that it was made out of absolutely nothing, that really just blows my mind.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to preserve the art of Gaman because it helps Americans to remember the Japaneses’ past in the internment camps. They can be passed down through the families’ generations as heirlooms, and with the works of art the stories of the internment camps would be remembered as well. The pieces of art are also the perfect example of how one can create something beautiful, no matter what situation they’re in. At the time, Japanese may have been ashamed of their art because they want to forget about the four years they were in the internment camp, and anything that reminded them of it would bring back undesired memories. Furthermore, even though the final pieces of art were amazing, what they were made out of consisted of scraps around the camp. This might also be a reminder of how little the Japanese had during those years.
ReplyDeleteI chose a painting by Ruth Asawa that was created in 1942. The painting is made from only watercolors and a piece of paper. It shows a cabin perched on the shore of a lake. Behind the cabin is a disappearing orange sunset, and surrounding it are tall dark trees. The water of the lake distorts and reflects the whole scene. The colors in this picture are very natural and soft, giving it a peaceful appearance. However, the darkness of the colors, the fading light, and the single cabin makes the whole scene seem lonely and forlorn. I chose this painting because I think it represents the feelings of the author. The colors they chose might denote their specific feelings, for example their own solitude. It also might be a place where the author is longing to be, instead of in an internment camp.
I think it is important to preserve the art of Gaman because through this it shows the Japanese-American history that had come from the experiences of being in the internment camps. I think that the Japanese-Americans were ashamed of their art work because of the anger and humiliation that was thrown upon them. I think they are most ashamed of the punishment that they received for a crime that none of them had committed.
ReplyDeleteThe piece of art work that moved me the most was by Ansel Adams,California 1943. It was a scene of a bridge over a river and beautiful landscapes of grass and flowers. I picked this painting because it portrayed a scene of peace that was nowhere to be found around them anywhere close.
I Feel sorry for the people stuck in the internment camps and couldn't experience the thrill and happiness that comes out of nature. I believe that this painting showed that even though the Japanese-American were surrounded and en-closed by a larger body of Americans they were still able to look past the small things. The Japanese were able to sustain their anger and resentment even under the hard and depressing circumstances, the Japanese-American people were able to look past many situations and put them aside. They were strong and even when they thought they had lost hope of ever getting out of the internment camps they never gave up. They managed to create out of almost no tools a beautiful and truly remarkable piece of artwork.
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ReplyDeleteThe Art of Gaman is a living testimony to the silent suffering that Japanese Americans endured throughout World War II. Although these people were imprisoned throughout the war, they rose up and made things beautiful out of their bleak and hopeless surroundings. The art that they created demonstrates the culture of the Japanese: how they believe in hard work, and value beauty. The statement that it makes is so strong that many people are moved by it. It is a reminder of past horrors, and in this way it is important. What happened to the Japanese people has been avoided by our government for ages because it is a dark spot on our history. However, when it is brought to attention it is a good lesson for all Americans to learn. It makes us question our ethics and makes us think about how looking different really sets citizens apart. The Japanese were called enemies, but I think that if anyone had seen the art that they created out of basically garbage, it would be hard to call the hardworking and talented people even war-like. The Art of Gaman is important for the way it reminds us of the Japanese, and how in truth while they were silently suffering they remained hardworking and honest.
ReplyDeleteHowever, some Japanese Americans were ashamed of their artwork. I think that this is because they do not want to remember back to their internment. It was such an awful time that any reminders of the suffering is painful, and now that they are accepted American citizens they do not want to ever think of when they were not. They may also be ashamed of being called the enemy, and be ashamed of being in prison.
The piece of work that speaks to me the most is the collection of pins made from scrap metal, scrap wood, and paint by Himeko Fukuhara, Kazo Matsumoto. They are a series of birds; most on branches and one white one in flight. The paint on them makes them shiny and bright, and they are extremely life-like with their detail. To me, a bird is a symbol of freedom and peace. However, it seems that during their internment the Japanese had none of these things. I think that it is amazing that anybody in the camps could even have a glimmer of hope, but these birds seem to portray it. These birds must have made beauty out of ugly surroundings, and may have even helped people move on throughout the day. The quality of them is amazing: they are so delicate that one would think they are professional. I love these pieces because they are truly the Art of Gaman: throughout suffering the Japanese endured silently, and even managed to find the little beauty in the situation.
It is very important to preserve the art of Gaman because they are a very special and rare glimpse into what life in the camp was like. Not only what the artwork is showing, but also how it was made and from what it was made. This artwork shows us how the Japanese-Americans felt during their time spent in the camps. The Japanese-Americans were embarrassed by their artwork when they left the camps because they felt that it was too harsh a reminder of the pain and humiliation of having their rights taken away. Instead of having to be constantly reminded of this, they probably hid their paintings away in their homes. Only recently have they begun to showcase the art as proof of their struggle against the injustice they witnessed.
ReplyDeleteI liked a landscape painting of the desert best of all the pieces. It was done on parchment paper with black, green, and white paints, and in the classic Japanese style with thin lines and characters on the side. It was painted by a man name Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani, and reminds me of Hokusai's "Thirty Six Views of Mt. Fuji" print series. This painting shows a rock formation in the California desert with the Tule Lake Internment Camp below it. This painting speaks to me because it shows that under the most unbearable circumstances, the human spirit can survive and create beauty in the form of artwork.
It is important to preserve the art of gaman because it reminds us of when the Japanese-Americans had their rights taken away from them because of their race and the trials and hardship they went through. I think the Japanese were ashamed of the artwork they made because it reminded them of the humiliation and unpleasant memories from when they were in the internment camps.
ReplyDeleteThe piece of artwork that caught my eye the most was the basket made by Kenji Fuji of crepe paper, wire, twine, and starch. It's a dark brown with a rounded square rim and a small round base that sticks out from the bottom of the basket. The handle looks almost as if it's connected to the base and the main body of the basket is a big bowl that is set in the cradle made by the handle and the base. I thought the design of the basket was really beautiful. It Isn't all that fancy, but instead had a graceful and simple pattern. It is hard enough to make a basket like that, and when you make it out of scrap materials it's even harder, but it was still made so well. The workmanship of the basket shows the perseverance and the effort put in by all of the Japanese who were relocated, and I think demonstrates the idea of gaman very well. The basket can take a lot of weight and bear it with grace, as well as making it easier to carry. In this way the basket can represent the way the Japanese took all that humiliation and suffering and tried to bear it with patience and dignity.
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ReplyDeletei think it is very important to preserve the art of gaman. The Japanese-American people who were sent to the internment camps litterally went there with little or none of their belongings. What they created out of stuff they found around the camps is unbelievable. To destroy and not preserve what they had created would be extremely unfair to their past and just another way for the U.S government to hide something that they might have done wrong in the past. I think the japanese were ashamed of their artwork because of the way it was made and the way it had to be made. I dont think they were ashamed that they did a bad job on the art piece, i think they were ashamed of the conditions it was created in. The peice of art i found interesting was the photo of a dust storm at one of the camps. It was shot by Dorothea Lange. This peice of art jumped out at me because it is one of the most in depth photos i saw in the slide show. Since the photo was not a painting, everything looks so much more real. It shows a row or two of the houses of a camp, and two people rushing to get indoors as a storm hits. not only is the photo very well taken, but it shows some of the harshness of nature at the internment camps, and how cepceptible to these storms the people living there were.
ReplyDeleteIt is very important to preserve the art of Gaman, because it reminds us of a period of time in US history that we didn't treat others the way they should have been treated. We falsely accused a race of people just because they were of Japanese descent. This is wrong because they too are American citizens and deserve the same rights as everyone else. But they lost their everyday normal lives because of the way they looked like. A lot of people in the internment camps were not even born in Japan! This serves as an example of what America should never do again for everyone deserves the same rights as a citizen.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese-Americans were ashamed of the pieces of artwork because they were embarrassed. Most of them threw the beautiful pieces of art away that they had worked so hard on in a dark time. Many people wanted to forget the whole time period because that time period was full of dark energy and hatred towards the people of Japanese descent. They wanted to get away from that and move on.
The piece of artwork that stood out to me the most was the toy train. The train is made out of scrap metal, scrap wood, and paint. The artist is named Edward Jitsue Kurushima. It stood out to me because I thought about how much effort Edward must had put into this train. The pieces of metal are put together in a way that flows and moves together just like a real train. Everything about this train is amazing; I love the details in the engine. I also chose it because to me trains keep working hard even if the hill is a long one. The Japanese-Americans worked long and hard by creating these pieces of beautiful art. By making art even with the scarcest of materials they were able to express in really interesting ways their feelings about the time period that they were going through.
It is vital to preserve the art of gaman. It shows how beauty and creativity can come out of the worst times. Despite the harsh and unfair treatment that the Japanese were shown, they were able to create fantastic works of art. They reflect on the beliefs of the Japanese people; beauty and hard work. All of the pieces are incredibly detailed and precise, the kind of art one would expect to be made by people with plenty of tools. But in fact, the Japanese had to make do with what they could come by in way of tools, and it probably wasn't easy to get very many. It is hard for me to believe that anyone could be ashamed of such amazing artwork, but I can also see why the Japanese were. They were forced out of their homes to live with very few of their original possesions. Most of them no longer had any jobs to go to and they found themselves with a large amout of free time on their hands. The Japanese might view their pieces of art as all they were able to accomplish in the years they spent in internment camps. They probably saw their pieces as a symbol to the helplessness and uselessness that they felt during that time.
ReplyDeleteThe piece that stood out the most to me was a bust of Ginger Rogers made by Isamu Noguchi from pink georgia marble. Looking at it before reading any information on it would make one think that it was most likely made of a goddess. Her face is very simple with nothing but the bare essentials, but it still gives off a very real and alive feeling. In addition to liking this piece because of it's beauty, I also like it for what it actually is. Making a bust of Ginger Rogers seems to me to be a very American thing to do. Many of the Japanese were completly American except for their appearance. This bust only accentuates how the Japanese Americans are no different on the inside from any other American. The Japanese knew this while much of the rest of America remained ignorant. They bore the fact with amazing dignity and grace and were able to create incredible beauty in the meantime.
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ReplyDeletePreserving the art of Gamen is important because it is physical lasting evidence of how the Japanese saw the would during their time in the interment camp. First it is the most direct contact most of us will ever have with people who were in the Camps during the war. No matter how well documented, stories will change and be forgotten over the years, but the art (as long as it is preserved) will never change and the feelings and emotions that the artist put into it will never be altered or tainted. I think that the Japanese were ashamed of the art they created in the camps because just being in the camps added to all the negative feelings to japanese at the time could have cause them to be scared of everything they were. This could have even included what they made and so all art they made was to be viewed with the same hatred as how people saw the japanese people themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe Art of Gaman stands as evidence of the beauty that stands out even when people are put under difficult conditions. It symbolizes the rise of people over their situation in order to create something meaningful and beautiful; the art reflects how they were able to keep busy after being evicted from their homes and their normal life, and it exhibits aspects of the culture of their Japanese heritage.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the Japanese were ashamed of the artwork they created because it represented racism and the fact that they were not considered Americans, but rather Japanese; to be evicted from one's home due to hatred against one's race is not something one would be proud of. Furthermore, the time period of the internment camps was one of fear and ignominy for them, in which they were subjected to conditions hardly humane by today's standards. Clearly, it resembled a nightmare to them, and as with all nightmares, the Japanese wanted to forget this one.
One piece of art that I find fascinating is the model ship created by an unknown artist in the Jerome, Arkansas internment camp. It is composed of wood, scrap metal, wire, thread, paint, screws, and nails. The bottom half of the hull is painted red and the top half of the hull is the color of the metal it was made from.
What caught my eye in this piece was the great level of creativity exhibited in it. I have made a sailing boat before, but it had relatively few parts and was carved with power tools and knives. This boat, on the other hand, reflects a remarkable level of detail that is made even more remarkable when one considers that the Japanese in the camps had only scraps and junk to work with. To me, this boat reflected the amazing level of ingenuity that hardship brought about in the Japanese-Americans and that even during times of fear and oppression, beauty can still shine out.
Nick D'Orsi said:
ReplyDeleteWe need to preserve the Art of Gaman. It roughly translates to keeping high spirits in hard times. This artwork is very valuable to the Japanese people and we have to preserve it to show how the Japanese could make such beautiful artwork in the hardest times with the littlest recourses, it proves how strong willed the Japanese are. Although the artwork is beautiful, the Japanese could be ashamed because it could show just how helpless they were in this situation, and how their people were treated, it's demeaning and embarrassing what they had to go through. My favorite piece of artwork was the Collection of Haruo Kawase and Family by Kichitario Kawase. It was mostly made out of wood, but it had some paint and metal, which must have been very hard to come by. I really like this piece because it shows the preferred customs and living conditions and beliefs of the Japanese. They were ripped out of their homes to live in these minimal conditions, but Kichitario kept his spirits high, and made this little room to symbolize just how strong willed the Japanese are.
It is important to preserve the Art of Gaman because it was created at a time when the Japanese Americans were trying to deal with incredible hardships. It is also important to preserve because the arts were made out of junk, and shows how artistic and creative the Japanese Americans were. I think it also demonstrates a strong culture. Many people, if they were locked up for three and a half years would give up, and not do anything. However, these people created beautiful art out of nothing. I believe that they were not ashamed of the art itself, but ashamed of the whole situation, and since the art is what they did during this time, it represented the situation. I found many of the works of art interesting, but the one that was most interesting to me, was the model ship. It was made out of wood, scrap metal, wire, thread, paint, screws, and nails. The artist was unidentified. This artwork for me represents one of the ships at pearl harbor, in a sad way. I think that whoever made it was trying to show that they were not happy about the attack on pearl harbor, and that they were on the American side.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to preserve the art of the Gaman, because it is a way to look at the war in a different perspective and see it through the eyes of what a Japanese person would have to go through. These pieces of art symbolize the sacrifice that they had to make my being forced into these camps against their will. The Japanese people, i think would be ashamed of their art because they were made in these camps and they do not want to bring back the memories of the pain and suffering that so many had to go through while at these camps.
ReplyDeleteThe piece of artwork that was most meaningful to me was the piece made by Kichitaro Kawase. The piece was made of scrapwood, paint and metal. This piece really represented how long the Japenese much have been interned if they were able to make something that beautiful out of spare pieces of wood and metal.
The art of Gaman is important to preserve because it shows insight into the Japanese at that time, and how they could still be artistic. The art was still made even in the camps and in the hard times they were in.
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