Background
Roger Shimomura is an American artist and a retired professor at the University of Kansas. His artistic endeavors, showcased across the United States, address Asian American sociopolitical and ethnic issues through the juxtaposition of common everyday images and racially charged imagery. (Wikipedia)
Challenge
Shimomura presented a one-time show at the Lawrence Arts Center in 2011 featuring dozens of his paintings and his personal collection of artifacts and writings created by Japanese Americans imprisoned during World War II. Shimomura, who was sent with his family and relatives to the concentration camp called Minidoka in Idaho, has painted many pieces during the years about that experience, which is influenced by his grandmother's journals from the time. His large collection of artifacts was donated to The Smithsonian National Museum of American History when the exhibition ended.
Callahan Creek donated my time to create an exhibition catalog and promotional materials for the event that highlighted the paintings, but honored the artifact collection, too.
Solution
I directed, designed and produced a 125-page book for the exhibition, the largest publication that the arts center has produced for an exhibition. It also helped reposition the arts center as a noteworthy exhibitor and curator of meaningful art in the Midwest.
Awards // AIGA Kansas City Design Award, AAF Kansas City Silver ADDY
Art direction and design // Chris Ralston Photography // Jon Hardesty
