Okame by Isamu Noguchi
In recognition of the 2017 International Museum Day theme, "Museums and Contested Histories," come take a close look at and discuss Isamu Noguchi's 1954 sculpture Okame. Created after the Japanese-American artist's voluntary internment in a relocation center in Arizona, the sculpture references the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the United States.
Museum collections offer reflections of memories and representations of history. This conversation about Noguchi's piece will provide an opportunity to explore how artists - and museums - might depict and display traumatic memories to encourage visitors to think beyond their own individual experiences. Acknowledging and accepting history is a first step in envisioning a shared future under the banner of reconciliation.