In rusty bronze, a long, rectangular sculpture with small, etched vinaigrettes of Japanese internment camps catches a glimpse of autumn’s afternoon light in Downtown San Jose. The sculpture was designed by Ruth Asawa, a female artist who witnessed the fall of Japanese families and lifestyles in the face of rising racism and sociopolitical unrest during World War II. Like a scroll, the sculptures’ carvings are laid out in chronological order from left to right in the front and back, forcing the viewer to follow along with the stories of the victims. The once traditional Japanese dining commons that provided a sense of community and care transformed into an overcrowded soup kitchen where sullen faces and empty stomachs fought over scarce food. The barbed wire, which used to keep animals out of the farm, has now thickened into jail wires that laced the internment camps, echoing dehumanization and false criminality. The fishing embargo ship was instead a train on the other side, ...
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