Artist:
Louis Quaintance
Title:
From Injustice to Redress
Year:
2006
Adress:
Japantown
www.crala.org:
The California Japanese American Community Leadership Council’s California Japantown Preservation Committee coordinated the development of a landmark honoring the history and heritage of ethnic Japanese neighborhoods. The design process involved the communities of the California's three remaining Japantowns in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.
Each landmark stands 9 feet high and weighs over 1,000 pounds. Its three faces depict the Issei pioneers, the WWII internment experience and current community life. According to the Historical Cultural Neighborhood Council, 'The goal of the "California Japantown Landmarks Project" is to capture the hopes and struggles of the Japanese American community and to provide visitors the opportunity to learn about and gain a better understanding of the history and challenges of the Japanese American community. In addition, this project seeks to create a historical landmark exhibit in common with each of the three communities, which would not only designate our Japantowns as a historic and cultural California community asset but also educate individuals about the history of our communities—to the fact that they are not just tourist destinations but are real neighborhoods where our communities were born, where our two cultures first met, our first businesses were developed and where civil liberty violations in our American history took place.'
"The California Japantown Landmarks Project," Los Angeles, is currently located in the plaza of the Judge John Aiso Parking Garage at 101 N. Judge John Aiso Street in Little Tokyo. The landmark is constructed of bronze and stone by artists Louis Quaintance and Eugene Daub and includes a poem by Janice Mirikitani. The project was funded by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program with additional resources from Proposition 40 historical and cultural heritage preservation funds.
www.vcmedia.org:
This parking lot is one of the few affordable parking structures in the vicinity so it's our go-to parking garage. Little did I know that the sculpture we passed by everyday was created to memorialize the civil violations that the Japanese American community was subject to. Ironically, we see the tearing down of the surrounding buildings, almost overshadowing the progress we've made and concreting the fact that the journey is far from over.
Context: As part of "The California Japantown Landmarks Project," this landmark in Little Tokyo was first created in 2006 and is one of three bronze sculptures that portray the stories of the Issei generation. Created by artists Louis Quaintance and Eugene Daub, their intent was to 'educate individuals about the history of our communities — to the fact that they are not just tourist destinations but are real neighborhoods where our communities were born, where our two cultures first met, our first businesses were developed and where civil liberty violations in our American history took place.' Moved to the John Aiso parking structure in 2011, it is ironic to see that there are signs for demolition behind the sculpture, implying that these violations of inaccessibility to affordable housing are still occuring today.
Text: Carrie Hsu
The California Japanese American Community Leadership Council’s California Japantown Preservation Committee coordinated the development of a landmark honoring the history and heritage of ethnic Japanese neighborhoods. The design process involved the communities of the California's three remaining Japantowns in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.
Each landmark stands 9 feet high and weighs over 1,000 pounds. Its three faces depict the Issei pioneers, the WWII internment experience and current community life. According to the Historical Cultural Neighborhood Council, 'The goal of the "California Japantown Landmarks Project" is to capture the hopes and struggles of the Japanese American community and to provide visitors the opportunity to learn about and gain a better understanding of the history and challenges of the Japanese American community. In addition, this project seeks to create a historical landmark exhibit in common with each of the three communities, which would not only designate our Japantowns as a historic and cultural California community asset but also educate individuals about the history of our communities—to the fact that they are not just tourist destinations but are real neighborhoods where our communities were born, where our two cultures first met, our first businesses were developed and where civil liberty violations in our American history took place.'
"The California Japantown Landmarks Project," Los Angeles, is currently located in the plaza of the Judge John Aiso Parking Garage at 101 N. Judge John Aiso Street in Little Tokyo. The landmark is constructed of bronze and stone by artists Louis Quaintance and Eugene Daub and includes a poem by Janice Mirikitani. The project was funded by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program with additional resources from Proposition 40 historical and cultural heritage preservation funds.
www.vcmedia.org:
This parking lot is one of the few affordable parking structures in the vicinity so it's our go-to parking garage. Little did I know that the sculpture we passed by everyday was created to memorialize the civil violations that the Japanese American community was subject to. Ironically, we see the tearing down of the surrounding buildings, almost overshadowing the progress we've made and concreting the fact that the journey is far from over.
Context: As part of "The California Japantown Landmarks Project," this landmark in Little Tokyo was first created in 2006 and is one of three bronze sculptures that portray the stories of the Issei generation. Created by artists Louis Quaintance and Eugene Daub, their intent was to 'educate individuals about the history of our communities — to the fact that they are not just tourist destinations but are real neighborhoods where our communities were born, where our two cultures first met, our first businesses were developed and where civil liberty violations in our American history took place.' Moved to the John Aiso parking structure in 2011, it is ironic to see that there are signs for demolition behind the sculpture, implying that these violations of inaccessibility to affordable housing are still occuring today.
Text: Carrie Hsu