In 1942, in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and spread of World War II, the artist Tokio Ueyama and his wife, Suye, were forcibly removed from Los Angeles to the Granada Relocation Center, colloquially called Amache, in southeastern Colorado. They lived there for nearly three years alongside more than 10,000 other people of Japanese descent from the West Coast. (In fact, for a time, Amache was the tenth largest city in Colorado.) The climatic and geographic extremes of the region compounded the psychological toll of being racially segregated with no definite end in sight. The Ueyamas shared this experience with over 120,000 people across ten “relocation camps,” as they are still euphemistically referred. Theirs are stories of dislocation and loss and—just as importantly—of resilience, tenacity, and creativity in the face of prejudice.
Here, the Denver Art Museum tells the story of the life and experience of Ueyama, including his time at Amache. His experience reminds us that many facets of the American West remain to be fully understood and acknowledged, including the integral role of diverse peoples of Asian descent who established homes and careers on the West Coast and greater American interior. Their stories add dimension to our evolving American art canon.
I commend JR Henneman, Director of the Petrie Institute and Curator of Western American Art, for bringing this enlightening exhibition to fruition. I extend my gratitude to ShiPu Wang, whose contribution to this publication provides an invaluable analysis of work by Ueyama and other incarcerated artists. I am deeply appreciative for the participation and support of Ueyama’s family and the Japanese American National Museum. This project would not have been possible without them. I am also grateful for the support of the Birnbaum Social Discourse Project. And, finally, thanks to the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), which helps fund all of our exhibitions.