Artist Ruth Asawa and labor activist Larry Itliong were among those included in the 14th class of the California Hall of Fame.
The two Asian American legends join the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, singer Richie Valens and LGBTQ activists Phyllis Lyon and Dorothy “Del” Martin, announced Gov Gavin Newsom Tuesday.
The California Hall of Fame was established in 2006 at the California Museum by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver to honor legendary people who embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history.
Inductees come from all walks of life and have made distinguished achievements across a variety fields, including the arts, education, business and labor, science, sports, philanthropy and public service.
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| Ruth Asawa working on one of her artworks. |
Ruth Asawa
Internationally recognized for her distinctive wire sculptures, pioneering artist Ruth Asawa left her mark on the landscape of the San Francisco Bay Area through her public commissions and on countless students through her activism on behalf of arts education.
Asawa’s artistic talent was evident from an early age, but she had little spare time for the art-making she enjoyed while working on her family’s farm and attending school. In 1942, her family was forced into detention, along with all other Japanese Americans on the West Coast.
She got her first chance to study with professional artists while imprisoned at Santa Anita Racetrack and graduated from high school in an incarceration camp in Rohwer, Arkansas. Released to attend teacher’s college in 1943, she learned after three years that she would be denied a credential because of her Japanese ancestry.
At the urging of close friends, she continued her education at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. There, her creativity blossomed as she studied under many of the leading lights of Modernism, including Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller and Merce Cunningham. She also met architectural student Albert Lanier, whom she married in 1949.
In San Francisco, the couple raised six children and built their careers. Over the next half-century, Asawa produced sculptures and works on paper. Her innovative use of material and original form brought her growing acclaim. Her work has been exhibited widely since the early 1950s and is in the permanent collections of museums nationwide. She also is known for her public commissions throughout the Bay Area, including fountains in Ghirardelli Square and outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, and the Japanese American Internment Memorial in San Jose.
Asawa was devoted to expanding access to arts education, believing that when children make art, they make “history for themselves.” She co-founded the Alvarado Arts Workshop in 1968 and was instrumental in creating the first public arts high school in San Francisco in 1982, which was renamed in her honor in 2010.
In San Francisco, the couple raised six children and built their careers. Over the next half-century, Asawa produced sculptures and works on paper. Her innovative use of material and original form brought her growing acclaim. Her work has been exhibited widely since the early 1950s and is in the permanent collections of museums nationwide. She also is known for her public commissions throughout the Bay Area, including fountains in Ghirardelli Square and outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, and the Japanese American Internment Memorial in San Jose.
Asawa was devoted to expanding access to arts education, believing that when children make art, they make “history for themselves.” She co-founded the Alvarado Arts Workshop in 1968 and was instrumental in creating the first public arts high school in San Francisco in 1982, which was renamed in her honor in 2010.
View Online Exhibition
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| Labor leader Larry Itliong |
Larry Itliong
Born in the Philippines, Itliong immigrated to the U.S in 1929, hoping to become a lawyer. Instead, he ended up working in the Alaskan fish canneries and along the West Coast as a farm laborer. During that time, he experienced how badly laborers were treated and saw the power they could gain by working together. He became an activist and organizer.
Following his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, Itliong became a U.S citizen and in 1954 moved to Stockton’s Little Manila, where he organized for the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). He was so good at recruiting new members that union leaders asked him to move to Delano to organize Filipino grape workers. It was there that he helped change the history of farm labor.
On Sept. 8, 1965, he led AWOC members in walking off the grape vineyards to demand wages equal to federal minimum wage and better working conditions. But Itliong knew that for the strike to succeed, they needed members of the National Farm Workers Association to join. He approached NFWA’s leader, César Chávez, with the proposal.
On Sept. 16, the AWOC and NFWA joined forces beginning the Delano Grape Strike and Boycott. It lasted five years and was one of the most important social justice and labor movements in American history, ending with victory for the farmworkers. In the meantime, the AWOC and NFWA merged in 1966 to become the United Farm Workers (UFW), with Chávez as director and Itliong as assistant director.
In 1971, Itliong left the UFW but continued to work for Filipino Americans until his death in 1977 at age 63. One of his major successes was securing funding for the construction of the Paulo Agbayani Retirement Village in Delano, which has provided housing and support for retired Filipino farmworkers since 1974.
In 1971, Itliong left the UFW but continued to work for Filipino Americans until his death in 1977 at age 63. One of his major successes was securing funding for the construction of the Paulo Agbayani Retirement Village in Delano, which has provided housing and support for retired Filipino farmworkers since 1974.
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