Licensing

Drawing vs. Wire Art

Narrators:
Karin Higa, Senior Curator of Art, Japanese American National Museum.
Aiko Cuneo, Ruth Asawa's daughter

Transcription

The immediacy of drawing was central to Ruth Asawa’s practice as an artist, for her wire was like a line, and wire sculptures functioned as three-dimensional drawings in space. As such, her calloused and often bloody fingers, wrapped in tape to protect them, were her tools. Aiko Cuneo, Ruth’s daughter, talks more about how she created these sculptures.

The looped wire sculptures are formed by hand using only wire, a wooden dowel, and Ruth’s hands. She did all the looping and shaping herself, and the sculptures take shape as each new row of loops is added, much like knitting or