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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Okada, Frank S. (Frank Sumio), 1931-2000  Search this
Interviewer:
Johns, Barbara  Search this
Subject:
Bunce, Louis  Search this
Charles, Ray  Search this
Chin, Frank  Search this
Davis, Sammy  Search this
Derbyshire, Leon  Search this
Dusanne, Zoe  Search this
Horiuchi, Paul  Search this
Inada, Lawson Fusao  Search this
Ivey, William  Search this
Jones, Quincy  Search this
Kusama, Yayoi  Search this
Martin, David Stone  Search this
Nomura, Kenjiro  Search this
Okada, John  Search this
Peck, James Edward  Search this
Shahn, Ben  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Tsutakawa, George  Search this
Cornish School of Allied Arts (Seattle, Wash.)  Search this
University of Oregon  Search this
Cranbrook Academy of Art  Search this
Northwest Asian American Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Place of publication, production, or execution:
Washington (State)
Physical Description:
87 Pages, Transcript
General Note:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 38 min.
Access Note / Rights:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Summary:
An interview of Frank Okada conducted 1990 Aug. 16-17, in Seattle, Wash., by Barbara Johns, for the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American Project. Okada discusses his parents' background; his family including his brothers, John, author of "No-No Boy," and Charlie, a graphic designer; traveling to Japan for the Pacific Northwest Artists and Japan exhibition; being in an internment camp; painting in Eugene, Ore. and Seattle, Wash.; his painting techniques; studying under Leon Derbyshire; his connection with the jazz scene in Seattle in the late 1940s and 1950s including musicians Sammy Davis, Ray Charles, and Quincy Jones; attending Cornish School of Art, Seattle; meeting Mark Tobey; comparision of his painting style to Tobey's; his stint in the Army; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art and studying with painter Fred Mitchell; his Whitney fellowship in New York; study of Japanese, Chinese, and Zen paintings; working for Boeings in the early 1960s; traveling to France on a Guggenheim; teaching at University of Oregon in Eugene; his minimalist work; influence of Japanese art in his painting. Okada mentions Lawson Inada (Asian American poet), Frank Chin (Asian American playwright), artists David Stone Martin, James Edward Peck, Yayoi Kusama, George Tsutakawa, Paul Horiuchi, Ben Shahn, Kenjiro Nomura, Louis Bunce, Bill Ivey, and art gallery owner Zoe Dusanne.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Frank S. Okada, 1990 Aug. 16-17. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Transcript available on line
Location of Originals:
Transcript also available at the University of Washington, Manuscripts Collection, and at the Oregon Historical Society.
Funding:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Biography Note:
Frank S. Okada (1931-2000) was a Japanese American painter based in Seattle, Washington. He taught at University of Oregon from 1969-1999.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Painting, Japanese  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Painting, Chinese  Search this
Asian American painters  Search this
Asian American sculptors  Search this
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945  Search this
Theme:
Asian American  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11693
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216548
AAA_collcode_okada90
Theme:
Asian American
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216548