The Other American Moderns Wins the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Book Prize
Book by art historian focuses on
four American artists of Japanese descent
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—December 5, 2018 (Santa Fe, NM) — The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum is pleased to announce that a book by art historian ShiPu Wang, The Other American Moderns. Matsura, Ishigaki, Noda, Hayakawa, is the winner of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum 2018 Museum Book Prize. Given every three years, the Book Prize honors the author of a book that influences ideas about American Modernism, a key cultural movement in the early 20th century that shaped art, philosophy, and style. Georgia O’Keeffe was a notable American Modernist painter.
In The Other American Moderns, the author takes a close look at the creations of four 20th century American artists of Japanese descent: Frank Matsura, Eitarō Ishigaki, Hideo Noda, and Miki Hayakawa. Wang explores their contributions to American culture and the idea of “Americanness.”
“This is a beautifully written book,” says Cody Hartley, the O’Keeffe Museum’s Senior Director, Collections and Interpretation. “It is original and expansive in its approach, highlights four excellent artists, and tells broader and more nuanced stories of identity, and multicultural experiences in the United States. All of us at the O’Keeffe are happy to make it this year’s winner.”
Wang is the Professor of Art History and the Coats Family Chair in the Arts at the University of California, Merced. He specializes in pre-WWII American art and visual culture produced by diasporic artists of Asian descent. Through research and engaging storytelling, The Other American Moderns encourages a greater understanding of recent art history. An external jury of distinguished art scholars selected The Other American Moderns out of more than a dozen nominees. They chose the book for its impact on scholarship and cultural interest, as well as its accessible style.
The O’Keeffe Book Prize comes with an award of $5,000. A celebration and related public programming will feature at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in spring of 2019.
#
ABOUT THE GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MUSEUM: Since 1997, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum has
shared the art, life, and story of Georgia O’Keeffe with visitors from around the world. Located in
New Mexico, where Georgia O’Keeffe lived the final decades of her life, the O’Keeffe has sites
and experiences in two historic destinations, Santa Fe and Abiquiú. For more information, please visit okeeffemuseum.org.
