ALEESA PITCHAMARN ALEXANDER

Installation view of East of the Pacific: Making Histories of Asian American Art (September 28, 2022 - February 12, 2023, Cantor Arts Center). This exhibition was one of three inaugural shows for the Asian American Art Initiative and was curated by Dr Alexander Photo

Credit: Johnna Arnold

The potential of the AAAI was the primary reason I came to the Cantor, as I knew this was a unique opportunity to make a significant contribution to art history. Being situated on a university campus was also particularly appealing, as we really believe an initiative like this is best served in an academic environment. The AAAI is based at the Cantor but connected to multiple entities on campus, like academic departments, Stanford Libraries and Special Collections, and the Asian American Activities Center. Additionally, the history of the Bay Area and Stanford is particularly compelling for the AAAI: this is the region where some of the first Asian migrants arrived in the United States, working to help build the railroads and Stanford’s campus. The term “Asian American” was also coined in 1968 as a political gesture by student activists in the Bay Area.

GM: You’ve conducted an astounding amount of research on the artist Ruth Asawa, which has resulted in the exhibition The Faces of Ruth Asawa (2022 – Ongoing) at the Cantor. Why is contributing scholarship about Ruth Asawa important to you, and what was your experience curating the exhibition?

APA: I have admired Ruth Asawa’s work and practice since graduate school, never imagining that I’d get to work on such a significant project about her. Asawa is one of the few Asian American artists who has received a high level of art historical and museological recognition. Even so, the hundreds of masks she made over the course of more than 35 years remain under-the-radar in relation to her wire sculptures, but they were such a significant part of her output and reflect her deeply democratic and inclusive approach towards the world. (Continued)