Expressing the Incarceration Through Art

While home for Thanksgiving, I went to the Kohler Art Museum in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and saw an excellent exhibition titled Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts. To say the least, I was surprised to see several artworks about the Japanese American incarceration. Masumi Hayashi‘s photo collages from the remnants of the camps at Heart Mountain and Tule Lake were visually striking. Tying in with the theme of memory, the large collages are shaped out of smaller photos, which when pieced together (like snapshots of memory), recall the incarceration experience as a whole.  There were also several pieces by Roger Shimomura, who was incarcerated in Minidoka, Idaho. His seemingly benign comic book style exposes the political and social contradictions of not only the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans but also the essence of American ideals and stereotypes. If anyone has a chance, swing by Sheboygan before December 20th. I highly suggest checking out the Hiding Places exhibition.