Artwork copyright Roger Shimomura. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

Artwork copyright Roger Shimomura. Photo courtesy of the artist.

American Neighbors, 1996

Roger Shimomura
(American, born 1939)

Location: Summit Trail Middle School, Ravensdale

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Artist Roger Shimomura created the woodblock print American Neighbors during a print workshop at the University of Nebraska. He uses a divided composition to suggest the dualities of American society. He not only separates the houses, but also presents the duality of interior and exterior space. This artwork asks you to think about what it means to be Japanese American. How do cultural stereotypes influence how we think about our neighbors?

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Tahoma School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Celebrated artist Roger Shimomura creates thought-provoking paintings, prints, and performance pieces. His art practice investigates identities and stereotypes, especially as a person who was born and raised in the U.S. and is Asian American.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Shimomura spent two early years of his childhood imprisoned in Minidoka, Idaho, in a World War II Japanese-American internment camp in the 1940s. His family later returned to Seattle. Shimomura was a distinguished military graduate from the University of Washington, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in commercial design. He served in the Korean War (1950-53). In 1967, he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University in New York state.
Shimomura was a professor of art at the University of Kansas, Lawrence for 35 years until 2004. He was honored with a Kansas Governor’s Arts Award in 2008. His artworks are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Washington D.C.), the National Portrait Gallery (Washington D.C.), and more. His personal papers are being collected by the Smithsonian Institution.