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

Valeda Daze, 1989

Roger Shimomura
(American, born 1939)

Location: Bethel High School, Spanaway

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Valeda Daze is part of artist Roger Shimomura's body of work investigating cultural metaphors and stereotypes. It explores segregation, assimilation, and whitewashing. "Valeda" refers to the service organization for Japanese-American women that existed while Shimomura attended the University of Washington in the 1960s. He notes that at that time, "people of color were not allowed into fraternities and sororities causing ethnic minorities to form their own groups."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Bethel 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.