Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa
This is the story of a woman who wielded imagination and hope in the face of intolerance and who transformed everything she touched into art. In this compelling biography, author Marilyn Chase brings Asawa's story to vivid life. She draws on Asawa's extensive archives and weaves together many voices—family, friends, teachers, and critics—to offer a complex and fascinating portrait of the artist.
Born in California in 1926, Ruth Asawa grew from a farmer's daughter to a celebrated sculptor. She survived adolescence in the World War II Japanese-American internment camps and attended the groundbreaking art school at Black Mountain College. Asawa then went on to develop her signature hanging-wire sculptures, create iconic urban installations, revolutionize arts education in her adopted hometown of San Francisco, fight through lupus, and defy convention to nurture a multiracial family.
• A richly visual volume with over 60 reproductions of Asawa's art and archival photos of her life (including portraits shot by her friend, the celebrated photographer Imogen Cunningham)
• Documents Asawa's transformative touch—most notably by turning wire – the material of the internment camp fences – into sculptures
• Author Marilyn Chase mined Asawa's letters, diaries, sketches, and photos and conducted interviews with those who knew her to tell this inspiring story.
Ruth Asawa forged an unconventional path in everything she did—whether raising a multiracial family of six children, founding a high school dedicated to the arts, or pursuing her own practice independent of the New York art market.
Her beloved fountains are now San Francisco icons, and her signature hanging-wire sculptures grace the MoMA, de Young, Getty, Whitney, and many more museums and galleries across America.
• Ruth Asawa's remarkable life story offers inspiration to artists, art lovers, feminists, mothers, teachers, Asian Americans, history buffs, and anyone who loves a good underdog story.
• A perfect gift for those interested in Asian American culture and history
• Great for those who enjoyed Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel, Ruth Asawa: Life's Work by Tamara Schenkenberg, and Notes and Methods by Hilma af Klint
Reviews (14)
Amazing woman!
Fascinating bio
A great read about an amazing artist
I began this book with trepidation, since most works about art and artists are written by academics and art historians, who cannot write to save their lives and are thus virtually unreadable. I need not have worried. Marilyn Chase’s writing is so clear and her storytelling so accomplished that her book is a delight to read from start to finish. Ruth Asawa deserved a remarkable biography and Ms Chase has done her proud. What an extraordinary life, what an extraordinary person, both gifted and humble, a rare combination! Highly recommended.
Marvelous
This is a marvelous and gripping story of an incredible and incredibly committed artist.
Great writing, storytelling that's true. What a great soul this artist had.
Education about a great artist.
Wonderful book on iconic artist
Very moving and well researched book on iconic and influential artist. Would highly recommend.
A magnificent weave of triumph and tragedy all set in a stunning format
Of the books I have read this year, Marilyn Chase's "Everything She Touched" reached me with a profundity that I never would have imagined. Richly visual doesn't begin to describe this excellent volume, which tells the saga of an artist who faced the incredible challenges of racism and sexism only to gain courage and direction from these obstacles, drawing strength from episodes in a life that would have rendered a lesser spirit inert and bitter. The weaving technique of her art, crocheting wire into abstract forms, mirrors her ability to bend to her will the harsh challenges she faced again and again. Author Chase does a magnificent job of doing her own "weaving" of a tale of a life brilliantly told. HIGHLY recommended not just for those interested in art and artists, but to ANYONE who enjoys learning and expanding their reading horizons.
Ms. Chase captures the life of a remarkable artist, educational advocate and community leader.
This outstanding book reflects tireless journalism combined with an unusual understanding of the many obstacles overcome by Ruth Asawa as she perfected her art as a sculptor. Ruth never was cowed by the humiliating treatment of Americans by our government after Pearl Harbor. She never accepted the reduced status of women assumed by some in the art world. Ruth battled relentlessly yet courteously for the properly significant role of the arts in public education and in public spaces. This book offers a superb learning experience about an important period in modern American history and about a great American hero who “made a difference” every day. And, it’s a delightful “read”.
Unforgettable story, gracefully told
Author Marilyn Chase brings her writer's skills and reporter's training together in this remarkable book, which meticulously documents the life of one of America's great women artists. More than just a biography, Everything She Touched is a page-turner telling of Asawa's life story -- her hard-working childhood, imprisonment in internment camps during World War II, the emergence of her art in its many forms and her unlikely romance with noted architect Al Lanier, who would be her lifetime supporter. Along the way they raised the six children she had always wanted, her multi-racial clan surrounding and working alongside Asawa as she created. Chase deftly unrolls the story to document Asawa's activism, indomitable spirit and the devotion to education that led to what is now the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. Beautifully illustrated and a compelling read, this is a book for the ages -- and for all ages.
A magnificent artist and person
Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase is a phenomenal work of biography and history (art and United States). I came to this book because I admire Asawa's art and wanted to learn more about her. I expected to gain some appreciation for who she was but did not expect to be moved to the extent I was. I almost don't know where to begin discussing this book. Ruth Asawa had a life that tested her at every turn. That is probably true, to some extent, of every life, it is the moments in our lives and how we respond to them that test us and make us who we are. Asawa, however, endured things that could easily have broken her, or made her bitter and hateful, or simply made her shut down. Yet through everything she tended to find a positive way to deal with and move through each ordeal. I found the entire life story compelling but, because of my interests and old friends, I was particularly moved by her experience of the World War II concentration camps the US government set up to jail (contain) many of its own citizens. The ability to both be present in the moment (school, letter writing on behalf of her father, art instruction) and move into the future (going to teacher's college, a trip to Mexico) shows an amazing degree of strength. To also come out of the experience without a long and abiding hatred of all things American is more than I think I would have been able to do. To then work toward making the world a better place for future generations is the stuff of movies. Chase writes about this life with both a keen eye and a compassionate heart. The details and research is astounding yet the narrative of Asawa's life never gets bogged down in detail. Rather, it is enhanced by being able to connect more of the dots. I can't speak highly enough about how well written and organized this biography is. I highly recommend this book to readers of biography, this is a wonderful example of the genre. Also any readers of art or art history books will find a lot of interesting information here. Finally, those interested in US history will appreciate this as a work of historical importance because of the efforts Asawa made to reunite her family during WWII and the response (or lack thereof) of government officials. Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Important Resource on Ruth Asawa
Marilyn Chase’s “Everything She Touched” is likely to become the definitive resource on the life, times and art of sculptor Ruth Asawa. Meticulously researched and evocatively written, this biography gave me a fuller appreciation of Asawa’s quiet courage and her remarkable contributions to the arts and public education.
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