Collection:
Juneau—Douglas City Museum
Object ID:
2016.10.002
Accession#:
2016.10
Credit Line:
Purchase of this artwork has been made possible through the generous support of the Rasmuson Foundation.
Object Name:
Sculpture
Title:
Ibara no Michi (Pathway of Thorns)
Artist — Creator:
Fumi Matsumoto
Artist — Creator Role:
Artist
Date:
2012
Description:
Sculptural art work consisting of a grid of rose branches with ten (10) origami cranes made from teabags and coffee filters.
Notes:
My mixed—media sculpture, "Ibara no Michi" (Pathway of Thorns) was created as a tribute to the men, women, and children who were sent to Japanese Internment Camps. Loyal Japanese American citizens were stripped of their civil rights and suffered a terrible injustice just because they "looked like the enemy." I hoped that the artwork would have an emotional impact that would affect the viewer and make them aware of the hardships that the Japanese Americans had to endure.
Many internees created beautiful works of art during their years in camp. They used whatever materials they could find since art materials were scarce and difficult to acquire. In the mixed media sculpture "Ibara no Michi" I wanted to create a piece using only limited materials that I could find in my environment. I used wild Nootka Rose twigs to form a lattice and tied them off with pieces of grass. The teabag paper origami cranes represented each of the internment camps and had the name of each camp written on the back of the cranes in Japanese. Working with the thorny rose branches was often painful and difficult to weave. It made me sadly reflect on the experiences of the individuals who were in the camps, especially my father, who joined the army from camp to fight with Merrill's Marauders in Burma during the war. He became a highly decorated Nisei Veteran for his heroic deeds during WWII.
——— statement from artist, Fumi Matusmoto
Many internees created beautiful works of art during their years in camp. They used whatever materials they could find since art materials were scarce and difficult to acquire. In the mixed media sculpture "Ibara no Michi" I wanted to create a piece using only limited materials that I could find in my environment. I used wild Nootka Rose twigs to form a lattice and tied them off with pieces of grass. The teabag paper origami cranes represented each of the internment camps and had the name of each camp written on the back of the cranes in Japanese. Working with the thorny rose branches was often painful and difficult to weave. It made me sadly reflect on the experiences of the individuals who were in the camps, especially my father, who joined the army from camp to fight with Merrill's Marauders in Burma during the war. He became a highly decorated Nisei Veteran for his heroic deeds during WWII.
——— statement from artist, Fumi Matusmoto
People:
Matusmoto, Fumi
Search Terms:
WW2
Art
Sculpture
Japanese
Internment
Art
Sculpture
Japanese
Internment
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Ibara no Michi by Fumi Matsumoto
Ibara no Michi by Fumi Matsumoto