Course on Artists of Japanese Ancestry
CrossCurrents
Mondays from October 13, 2025 through November 3, 2025 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. EDT
Virtually on Zoom
Admission: $80
Joseph Tokumasu Field, an art historian and educator, has developed CrossCurrents, an exciting new course that is centered around twentieth-century artists of Japanese ancestry.
Meeting on four consecutive Monday evenings beginning October 13 through November 3, Field and attendees will deep dive into the inspiring lives and work of the selected artists: Toshiko Takaezu, Atsuko Tanaka, Miné Okubo, and Henry Sugimoto. Using the newest scholarship, this course celebrates the important contributions to visual art, design, education, and political activism of these Japanese and Japanese American luminaries.
With an emphasis on lively discussions and shared discovery, the class will occur online through Zoom and will be recorded for participants to view/review in their own time. The cost is $80, which includes the four classes along with a further reading list, class schedule, weblinks, and other provided materials. Registrants who mention JapanCulture•NYC will receive a 25% discount, bringing the total to $60! Scholarships and other accommodations are available upon request.
To register and for more information, please contact Field at joetokumasufield@gmail.com.
Course Schedule
Toshiko Takaezu
Week 01 – Monday, October 13 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. ET
Featured Artist: Toshiko Takaezu
American artist Toshiko Takaezu (1922–2011) was born in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, to Japanese immigrant parents Shinsa and Kama Takaezu. One of eleven children, she was raised in a traditional Japanese household whose values, as well as the surrounding Hawaiian landscape, strongly underscore her artistic practice. During her five-decade-long career, the artist worked in many media including painting, fiber, and bronze. However, her primary medium, and that for which she is best recognized, was ceramics. Takaezu was instrumental in the post-war reconceptualization of ceramics from the functional craft tradition to the realm of fine art. Her signature “closed form” merged the base form with glazed surface painting to create a unified work. From the Toshiko Takaezu Foundation
Atsuko Tanaka
Week 02 – Monday, October 20 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. ET
Featured Artist: Atsuko Tanaka
Born in Osaka, Japan, Atsuko Tanaka (1932-2005) was an innovative artist whose work gained prominence among the flourishing postwar Japanese avant-garde. Interested in understanding the relationship between the body, space, and time, her works challenged traditional notions of art and performance. While a member of the groundbreaking Gutai group, Tanaka created Electric Dress (1956), a garment made from 200 colorful blinking light bulbs which the artist wore in performance. From the 1960s onward, Tanaka produced mainly abstract paintings with colorful compositions at once organic and ordered. From Glenstone
Miné Okubo
Week 03 – Monday, October 27 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. ET
Featured Artist: Miné Okubo
Miné Okubo (1912-2001) remains best known as a narrator and artist of the Japanese American camp experience, most famously in her 1946 book, Citizen 13660, a graphic memoir of her confinement at Tanforan and Topaz. However, Okubo considered herself first and foremost a painter, and she devoted seven decades to perfecting her art. Her work is currently on view at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in the exhibition Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo through January 4, 2026. From Densho
Henry Sugimoto
Week 04 – Monday, November 3 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. ET
Featured Artist: Henry Sugimoto
Henry Sugimoto (1900–1990), a Japanese-born artist who studied in Los Angeles and France, achieved largely posthumous fame for his paintings documenting the official wartime confinement of Japanese Americans by the U.S. government. Sugimoto lived and worked in New York City, and his works are held in many major institutions/collections. From Densho
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!
