Chiura Obata: Art and Life Inspired by Nature
Sun, Oct 17, 2-3:30 – Chiura Obata: Art and Life Inspired by Nature
Co-presented as part of Ashby Village Arts and Culture Series
World-renowned American artist and distinguished UC Berkeley professor, Chiura Obata (1885-1975), is considered by many today one of the foremost California landscape painters of the 20th century.
His seminal work depicting the High Sierra was created nearly 100 years in 1927, and was captured vividly in the book Obata’s Yosemite. Obata’s art and his philosophy of gratitude and reverence to “Dai Shizen”– Great Nature — continues to resonate with admirers both new and old. As people today search for inspiration and healing as stewards of our planet, a fresh look at Obata’s art and life afford lessons for everyone. “Paintings must give to others the kinds of feeling about Nature that Nature gives us. If we pass this along, not just to art lovers but to everybody, our friends, our community, our country, it is the best possible promise for peace in the future.”
His granddaughter Kimi Hill has consulted on numerous books and exhibitions about her grandfather, including a recent retrospective at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. As family historian Hill also edited the book Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment which tells the story of the Obata family, one of the thousands of Japanese-Americans stripped of their homes and livelihoods and incarcerated during WWII.
RSVP to info@ashbyvillage.org with “Chiura Obata” in the subject line.
Automated AI captioning will be available at this event.
Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award–winning author of the Mas Arai mystery series, including Summer of the Big Bachi, which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and one of Chicago Tribune’s Ten Best Mysteries and Thrillers; Gasa Gasa Girl; Snakeskin Shamisen; and Hiroshima Boy. She is also the author of the LA-based Ellie Rush mysteries. A former editor of The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, she has co-written non-fiction books like Life after Manzanar and the award-winning Terminal Island: Lost Communities of Los Angeles Harbor. 
Kerwin will also join us to remember Hiroshi Kashiwagi, the celebrated and beloved Nisei poet, playwright, writer, and actor who sadly left us in 2019, just shy of his 97th birthday. Hiroshi is the star/featured performer of Kerwin’s “Japantown Trilogy,” and we’ll watch a trailer and shorts, including a moving video tribute to Hiroshi, A Meeting at Tule Lake, by cinematographer Ben Arikawa, who will also be our special guest this evening.
KERWIN BERK is a Sansei filmmaker who was born and raised in San Francisco’s Japantown. He is an award-winning journalist who worked at newspapers and wire services in Asia and the United States for more than 20 years. His last stop was at his hometown newspaper – The Chronicle. Today, he is a freelance writer and independent filmmaker who still calls The City his home. He has written, produced, and directed award-winning films and web series, including The Virtues of Corned Beef Hash, Infinity & Chashu Ramen, and Gold Mountain.
BEN ARIKAWA is a Northern California Sansei. He lives not far from where his paternal grandparents settled to work on a fruit orchard about a hundred years ago. Late in life, he realized that he has a need to tell stories and has been exploring his literary side. Ben has contributed an article to Pacific Citizen and several articles to Discover Nikkei. His stories reflect his experiences as a Japanese American, son, husband, and father. He is also exploring his artistic side as a director of photography for Ikeibi Films on Kikan: The Homecoming (2019), the web series Gold Mountain (2016), and as an actor in Infinity and Chashu Ramen (2013).
YURIKO GAMO ROMER is an award-winning director based in San Francisco. She holds a Master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University and is a Student Academy Award winner, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Scholar, and American Association of Japanese University Women Scholar. In June 1999 she started Flying Carp Productions. Her current documentary project, DIAMOND DIPLOMACY, explores the relationship between the United States and Japan through a shared love of baseball.
