Ruth Asawa teaching geometric patterns with milk cartons, c. 1981. Courtesy Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc.
Ruth Asawa (1926–2013) was a Japanese American artist and arts advocate who worked to integrate arts education into the standard curriculum of San Francisco’s public schools. Although Asawa is best known for her looped-wire sculptures, Archive Room: Ruth Asawa explores her lifelong dedication to arts activism through selected projects from the Alvarado School Arts Workshop curriculum, an artist-in-residence program she cofounded with architect and fellow parent Sally Woodbridge at Alvarado Elementary School in 1968. The teaching materials, workshops, and collaborative projects presented in this compact, single-gallery presentation explores Asawa’s belief that art is essential to cultivating a fuller sense of self.
Stanford acquired Asawa’s archive (Special Collections, M1585) in 2007 with additional materials arriving in subsequent years. To explore Asawa’s archive online, please visit Stanford Libraries’ website.
The Cantor’s Archive Rooms highlight the rich art historical resources available right here at Stanford. These single-gallery, single-artist installations feature engaging selections from the robust holdings of Special Collections at Stanford Libraries, home to archives for Pacita Abad, Ruth Asawa, Bernice Bing, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Amalia Mesa-Baines, and other notable artists.