Ruth Asawa is Now Literally ‘Out of this World’
The Japanese-American Modernist sculptor, Ruth Asawa became the 23rd woman to have a Mercurian crater named after her. However, compared to 100 men whose names have graced the planet, the gender inequality debate is nigh. The recognition came on November 14 2024 and was bestowed by the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
The US government’s Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature stated that the craters have traditionally been named after “artists, musicians, painters, and authors who have made significant contributions to their disciplines and have been acknowledged as historically important figures in the arts for over five decades.” Despite the news circulating in November, it received wider attention when Helen Molesworth, an American curator and art writer who contributed to Ruth Asawa: Life’s Work (2019), hinted at it in an Instagram post.
Artists Considered by the International Astronomical Union
Ruth Asawa was chosen amongst the other 7 esteemed names. As indicated by Tenielle Gaither, the project lead for the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, other artists considered included Ukrainian folk artist Kateryna Bilokur; Peruvian artist Julia Codesido, known for her work inspired by Indigenous painting; Palestinian French artist Jumana El Husseini; Uruguayan nonfigurative artist Maria Freire; Tahia Halim, who led the Modern Expressive movement in Egyptian art during the 1960s; American science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin; and Chinese landscape ink painter Wu Shujuan from the Qing dynasty.
Who is Ruth Asawa?
Ruth Asawa (b. 24 January 1926) was a sculptor most often known for her distinguished wire sculptor; resembling organic natural forms; found hanging from museum ceilings. She was born in Norwalk, California, and was brought up on a truck farm. During World War II, she was separated from her family due to the American internment of Japanese individuals, where she learned to draw from illustrators who were also interned with her at the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas. After facing discrimination that dashed her aspiration to become a teacher, she joined the renowned Black Mountain College, where she was mentored by influential figures such as Josef Albers and Buckminster Fuller.
Drawing inspiration from basket-weaving techniques acquired in Mexico, she began to create the abstract looped wire forms for which she is most recognized, in addition to an extensive collection of works on paper, establishing a successful career while raising six children. She played a vital role in founding the San Francisco School of the Arts in 1982, which was renamed the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts in 2010. She co-established the Alvarado School Arts Workshop and advocated for arts programs and community involvement in educational institutions and beyond through her roles on the San Francisco Arts Commission, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
She received the 2022 National Medal of Arts posthumously, and during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the United States Postal Service celebrated her wire sculptures by issuing a set of 10 forever stamps. Ruth Asawa was represented by the David Zwirner Gallery, until her passing on 5 August 2013. She is set to be featured in a significant travelling retrospective that will debut at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in April 2025.
Ruth Asawa’s Art Style
Asawa is primarily recognized for her biomorphic looped-wire sculptures characterized by repetitive and enveloping forms, often suspended in such a way that challenges the distinctions between line and form, volume and negative space, interior and exterior, as well as light and shadow. She is also fondly remembered for her paper works, paintings and prints, and public commissions throughout California.
Other Artists Who Received the Honour
The earliest craters on Mercury received their names in 1976, recognising artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Titian, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, alongside other famed writers, composers, playwrights, and poets. Today, over 400 creative figures are represented by names of craters on this planet.
The 22 women artists who have had craters named for them on Mercury include Augusta Savage, Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral, Clarice Beckett, Olga Boznańska, Imogen Cunningham, Anne Seymour Damer, Maria de Dominici, Clara Driscoll, Maija Grotell, Frances Hodgkins, María Izquierdo, Katarzyna Kobro, Dorothea Lange, Bessie MacNicol, Nampeyo, Ulrika Pasch, Lyubov Popova, Rachel Ruysch, Amrita Sher-Gil, Júlíana Sveinsdóttir, Nína Tryggvadóttir, and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva.
Henry Weverka on Ruth Asawa and The Recognition
Henry Weverka, one of Asawa’s 10 grandchildren and president of the estate office managing Asawa’s heritage says, “Ruth Asawa was an innovative artist who made a lasting impact on Post-War American art and her community in her adopted hometown of San Francisco. She often likened her most recognizable looped-wire sculptures to ‘drawing in space’ and considered herself to be a ‘citizen of the universe,’ so it seems fitting to have her name associated with outer space.”
“We hope generations of future scientists studying Mercury will take the time to learn about Asawa’s life and work, along with her tremendous contributions to the arts and arts education here on Earth,” Weverka added.
Image Courtesy – AbirPothi
Contributor
