BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//PYVOBJECT//NONSGML Version 1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:events.uid.1337@www.discovernikkei.org DTSTART:20060212T000000Z DTEND:20060320T000000Z DESCRIPTION:<strong>Exhibition Thoughts ~\nOut of the Desert: Art and Craft of the Internment</strong>\n\nThe Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center (ONLC)'s re cent opening of the exhibit <em>Out of the Desert: Art & Craft of the Inte rnment</em> has given us the opportunity to appreciate the resilience of t he Nikkei Community both historically and in the present.\n\nThe exhibit w as made possible by the innumerable Nikkei artists and artisans who filled countless hours of their forced internment during World War II by making beautiful things with whatever materials were at hand. For many of these craftspeople\, their involuntary confinement was the first instance in the ir lives when they had time to spare. They had lost their livelihoods\, t heir farms\, orchards and businesses\, as well as their homes and belongin gs. Time and boredom confronted them. In addition to fashioning function al items for the bare barracks\, they put their hands to carving\, paintin g\, sculpting\, beading\, embroidering and a variety of other new skills.\ n\nItems on exhibit range from jewelry made of shells\, pipecleaners\, pol ished wood carvings and beaded leather\, to paintings\, prints\, drawings and photographs\, to handcrafted household items including greasewood tabl es and planters\, benches and room dividers\, lamp bases and shades\, and embroidery. This myriad of carefully made crafts and works of art are test ament to the human spirit and the unwillingness of Japanese Americans to b e defeated by the tedium and desolation of their internment. \n\nMore tha n 60 years later\, donations that have been made to the ONLC's permanent c ollection have given us the opportunity to curate this exhibit\, celebrati ng the resilience of the Nikkei. The ONLC first established its permanent collection in 1998. In less than 10 years\, it has grown to include artif acts from the earliest migration of the Nikkei to the United States\, thro ugh a wide range of material from the internment\, to items that reflect c ontemporary life and experience. The Nikkei community in Oregon realizes and has embraced the importance of preserving and sharing all facets of i ts history and traditions with the current generation and those to come. In addition to featuring the permanent collection\, <em>Out of the Desert< /em> has also relied on the generosity of lenders to broaden the range of material on view. Maintaining relationships with both lenders and donors is integral the ONLC’s mission of preserving Nikkei history.\n\nFollowin g is a glimpse of just a few items on display in <em>Out of the Desert: Ar t and Craft of the Internment</em>.\n\n<strong>Handmade Story Puzzle\nKame taro Matsumoto\nMinidoka\, Idaho\n<em>Courtesy of Alice Matsumoto-Ando and Jean Matsumoto</em></strong>\n\nThis story puzzle was made by the lenders ' father\, Kametaro Matsumoto. Jean Matsumoto remembers her father filling many of his hours with woodworking. He made this puzzle to entertain his children. Its various pieces illustrate a maiden\, her mother\, father\, g uard and two servants\, plus four young suitors. The object of the puzzle is to slide the pieces in such a way that the daughter can ultimately esca pe the protection of her parents and guard\, and enter the world to be cou rted by her suitors. When talking about the puzzle\, Jean commented\, "Tha nk heavens my father taught me how to work the puzzle!"\n\n<strong>Part of a Barracks Room\n<em>Varied Gifts and Loans</em>\n\n"Portland Assembly Ce nter" painting\n\nTanka Poem on Wooden Board\n\nOil Painting of Minidoka\n \nWooden Screen\, used as a room divider\n\nGreasewood Table\n\nPen Holde r / Vase\n\nGreasewood Walking Cane\n\nGreasewood Cane\n\nWooden Bench wit h Cushion\n\nHomemade Houseslippers</strong>\n\nThis collection of artifac ts provides a glimpse of how the many things made by Nikkei at camps inclu ding Minidoka\, Tule Lake\, Santa Fe\, and Missoula\, helped to improve th e uncomfortable and unwelcoming environment of the barracks.\n\n<strong>Se lection of Shell Jewelry\n<em>Gift of Mary Okita\, Loans from The Gonzales Family and Jane Kawashima</em></strong>\n\nThe arid landscapes of the cam ps at Minidoka\, Tule Lake and Topaz offered unexpected materials to use f or crafting jewelry. Seeds found in the desert or shells unearthed from d ry lakebeds provided the supplies used to make jewelry ranging from neckla ces to corsages to earrings. Jane Kawashima and her sister remember sifti ng through the sand at Tule Lake\, California to find shells for necklaces \, and painting them with nail polish. The Gonzales sisters treasure the jewelry gifts that were given to their parents\, employees of the WRA\, by Nikkei women with whom they became friends\, while all lived in the barra cks at Topaz\, Utah.\n\n<a>onlc@oregonnikkei.org</a>\n<a href="http://www. oregonnikkei.org">www.oregonnikkei.org</a> DTSTAMP:20240418T133321Z SUMMARY:Exhibit -- Out of the Desert: Art and Craft of the Internment\, Por tland\, Oregon URL:/en/events/2006/02/12/exhibit-out-of-the-desert/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR