Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Artwork copyright Keiko Hara. Photo courtesy of the artist (detail).

Topophilia - Imbuing in Maru, 2006

Keiko Hara
(Japanese, born 1942)

Location: Seattle Central College, Seattle

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Keiko Hara uses painting, as well as fragments of fabric and text from cultures around the world, to create a collage artwork that evokes a sense of interconnectedness in the face of a period of global conflict. The title Topophilia - Imbuing in Maru refers to the love that each of us holds for places of personal significance ("topophilia") and the Japanese word for circle ("maru"), indicating something infinite.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Seattle Central Community College.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Keiko Hara’s art is about facing and examining life through her own personal language – something which cannot be done in any way other than art, in her opinion.

Hara was born during World War II in North Korea to Japanese parents. In 1945, her family moved back to Japan, where she was raised. As a young woman, she attended art school in Tokyo, exhibited her paintings, and taught arts and crafts in the public school system. Eventually she travelled to the United States in 1971, completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from Mississippi University for Women, a Master of Arts degree in printmaking from University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Hara was a professor of art at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Southeastern Washington, from 1985 to 2006. She continues to live and make art in Walla Walla.