Chiura Obata

Chiura Obata 2024 Wall Calendar

Chiura Obata left Japan as a teenager and settled in San Francisco. In summer 1927, he and two other artists traveled to Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada, where Obata made over 100 drawings and paintings of his adopted homeland's natural beauty. From 1928 to 1930, in Tokyo, Obata translated 35 of these sketches into color woodblock prints, retaining artistic control by reviewing the proofs after each successive block in the printing process. These prints capture kiin seido (living moment), the essential nature of a scene. In 1932 Obata began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, but 10 years later was interned along with thousands of other Japanese Americans. While detained, Obata taught art to more than 600 people. He became a naturalized US citizen in 1954. With this calendars' 12 images, venture into some of California's most treasured scenic areas.