Sam Nakahira

This is a marvelous book; it’s amazing. It is a graphic biography of Ruth Asawa focusing on her from her teens to her middle adulthood. She was a local woman and one of my cousins (one generation up, an artist also) was a friend of hers so I have always known a fair amount about her and have been familiar with her art for many decades. This isn't the first book I've read about her. I learned a lot from this book nonetheless.

For me this was a nearly perfect book. Lovely art throughout and I appreciated that a lot of Asawa’s art is included. The narrative drew me in, from the shameful years of the Japanese detention camps during WWII to Ruth’s college years to her trip to Mexico that strongly influenced the art she started making, to her finally marrying and settling in San Francisco and having a family. The history of what happened to people of Japanese ancestry during WWII and the prejudice that continued to affect Ruth and her family have a prominent place in this book. Ruth’s always thinking outside the box, being inspired by nature and nature being so important also are made clear. I love how it’s written how Ruth combined motherhood having 6 children and being an artist (when more than one person told her she couldn’t have both) and I love the photo in the back that shows Ruth, some of her children and some of her art pieces; the photo is a fabulous work of art on its own.

I love Asawa’s art and find her story fascinating. This book does an excellent job of telling Ruth’s story and showing her art. Great photos of Ruth and of her art make the book extra special.

Another book I’d love to own!!! I might borrow it from the library again someday.

An easy full 5 stars!… (altro)