2026年1月25日 / 美国东部时间上午9:39 / CBS新闻
艺术家露丝·阿萨瓦(Ruth Asawa)位于旧金山联合广场的《旧金山喷泉》(San Francisco Fountain)，是一座取之不尽的湾区知识宝库。”有些人把它称为’沃尔多在哪里’（Where’s Waldo）的现实版，因为里面有太多东西值得发现，”她的儿子保罗·拉尼尔(Paul Lanier)说，”你能找到威利·梅斯(Willie Mays)、旧金山巨人队(San Francisco Giants)、歌剧、市政厅和图书馆。”
这只是阿萨瓦在这座城市创作的11件公共艺术作品之一，也让保罗·拉尼尔和他的妹妹艾迪·拉尼尔（Addie Lanier，她六个孩子中最小的一个）想起了母亲对社区的投入，以及她化腐朽为神奇的艺术创作能力。”她说，即使是用泥土和纸张创作，她也会感到满足，因为对艺术家来说，过程本身才是最重要的，”艾迪回忆道。
[图片1：露丝·阿萨瓦的《旧金山喷泉》(Union Square, San Francisco Fountain)，1970-1973年。CBS新闻]
露丝·阿萨瓦将在今年迎来百岁诞辰，她最出名的作品是那些由金属丝缠绕而成的立体结构——一整根金属丝被弯曲和编织，创造出悬垂的雕塑。”她使用的材料非常经济实用，就是工业用铁丝，就像农场里常见的捆扎铁丝，”艾迪解释道。
[图片2：露丝·阿萨瓦在家中客厅创作金属丝雕塑，1976年。照片由Allen Nomura拍摄。艺术作品©2026 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. 由David Zwirner画廊提供]
阿萨瓦从小就学会了就地取材，从厨房的烘焙黏土到回收纸张，各种材料都能成为她的创作素材。
当被问及母亲作为母亲的样子时，保罗回答：”嗯，她就像任何一位母亲，准备午餐和早餐，送大家出门。”
“但她会在门廊上用喷灯！”艾迪笑着补充。
阿萨瓦早年在加利福尼亚南部的农场度过，与父母一同劳作。二战期间，她（和其他日裔美国人一样）被送进拘留营——根据第9066号行政命令，超过12万日裔美国人被关押。
在那里，面对巨大的逆境，她首次开始学习绘画。目前在纽约现代艺术博物馆(MoMA)举办的露丝·阿萨瓦回顾展策展人卡拉·马内斯(Cara Manes)表示，阿萨瓦参加了”由迪士尼动画工作室的前动画师——同为被拘留者——主持的’草根绘画课程’”。
战后，阿萨瓦进入北卡罗来纳州著名的黑山学院(Black Mountain College)，在德国出生的艺术家约瑟夫·阿尔伯斯(Josef Albers)和编舞家默斯·坎宁安(Merce Cunningham)等导师的指导下磨练技艺。
[图片3：纽约现代艺术博物馆”露丝·阿萨瓦：回顾展”的装置视图(CBS新闻)艺术作品©Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc./纽约艺术家权利协会(ARS)]
她的动态雕塑仿佛拥有生命。”它们真的很有动感，”马内斯说,”当你绕着它们走动时，它们会呈现出不同的样子。”
阿萨瓦作品的一个特别之处在于其难以预测的节奏感。马内斯解释道：”有时，通过观察某件雕塑投下的阴影，你能了解到它有多少层金属丝网，这是从正面无法直接看出来的。”
[图片4：雕塑与阴影的互动]
在阿萨瓦的家里，任何东西都可能成为艺术品。保罗回忆：”如果有人来访，她会说’你的脸真好看，能给你做个石膏像吗？’而人们往往会答应，却不知道自己同意了什么！”
“但她总能做到，”艾迪笑着说,”她甚至能对完全陌生的人这样做。”
尽管如今她的作品在拍卖会上能拍出数百万美元，但阿萨瓦生前并未获得太多商业成功。但她的孩子们表示，这并非她的创作初衷。
当被问及希望人们从母亲的作品中感受到什么时，艾迪回答：”我觉得人们会屏息，深呼吸，然后惊叹：’天哪’。看到这样一件纯手工创作的艺术品存在，会让人感到既惊奇又敬畏。这是一个关于个人能做到什么的实验。你就是这个实验的一部分。勇敢前行，用自己的一生去创作、学习技巧、传承技艺，对吧？”
更多信息：
- 纽约现代艺术博物馆”露丝·阿萨瓦：回顾展”（截至2月7日），网址：https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5768
- 展览画册：《露丝·阿萨瓦：回顾展》（Yale University Press），精装版，可在亚马逊、巴诺书店和Bookshop.org购买
- 官方网站：ruthasawa.com
报道制作：Julie Kracov，编辑：George Pozderec
“Wonder and awe”: The art of Ruth Asawa
January 25, 2026 / 9:39 AM EST / CBS News
Artist Ruth Asawa’s San Francisco Fountain, in the city’s Union Square, is an endless treasure trove of Bay Area knowledge. “Some people refer to it as sort of a Where’s Waldo?, because there are so many things to find,” said her son, Paul Lanier. “You can find Willie Mays, the San Francisco Giants, the opera, city hall, the library.”
It’s just one of Asawa’s eleven public works in the city, and a reminder to Paul Lanier and his sister, Addie Lanier – the youngest of her six children – of their mother’s commitment to community, and her ability to make art out of anything. “She said that she would be fulfilled making something out of mud and paper, because it’s the process that is the important thing for the artist,” said Addie.
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/ruth-asawa-fountain-san-francisco-1280.jpg
Ruth Asawa’s “San Francisco Fountain, Union Square” (1970-1973). CBS News
Asawa, who would have turned 100 this year, is best known for her looped wire structures, a continuous line of wire bent and woven to create a free-hanging sculpture. Addie said, “The media that she worked in is very economical. It’s industrial wire. It’s like the baling wire that you would find on a farm.”
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/ruth-asawa-at-work-900.jpg
Ruth Asawa working on a looped-wire sculpture in the living room of her San Francisco home, 1976. Photo by Allen Nomura. Artwork © 2026 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. Courtesy David Zwirner
Asawa learned to be resourceful from a young age, finding materials everywhere. Her media ranged from baker’s clay in the kitchen, to recycled paper.
Asked what she was like as a mom, Paul replied, “Well, she’s just like your mom, or anyone’s mom, making lunches and breakfast, getting people out of the house.”
“But she used blow torches on the front deck!” laughed Addie.
Asawa spent her early years on a farm in Southern California, working alongside her parents. Her childhood was cut short during World War II when she (along with other Japanese-Americans) was sent to a detention camp – incarcerated along with more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent under Executive Order 9066.
There, in the face of incredible adversity, she first learned to draw. Cara Manes, the curator of a Ruth Asawa retrospective now on view at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, said Asawa attended “grassroots drawing lessons that were led by fellow detainees who were animators for the Disney Studios.”
After the war, Asawa landed at North Carolina’s famed arts school Black Mountain College, where she honed her skills with mentors like German-born artist Josef Albers and choreographer Merce Cunningham.
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/ruth-asawa-at-moma-installation-b.jpg
An installation view of “Ruth Asawa: A Retrospective,” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. CBS News; Artwork © Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
, Her dynamic sculptures appear to have a life of their own. “They’re really animated,” said Manes, “and they change as you move around them.”
A special aspect of Asawa’s work is its unpredictable rhythm. Manes said, “Sometimes by looking at the shadow cast by a given sculpture, you can understand how many layers of wire mesh there is, you know, in a way that you might not be able to discern from head-on.”
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/ruth-asawa-sculpture-and-shadow.jpg
Sculpture … and shadow.
Everyone could become art in Asawa’s home, according to her children. Paul said, “If someone came over she would say, ‘You have such a nice face. Can I cast it?’ And so they would say yes. They didn’t know what they were agreeing to!”
“But she could get away with it,” Addie said. “She could do this with total strangers.”
While her works fetch millions at auction now, Asawa didn’t find much commercial success during her lifetime. But that wasn’t her purpose, say her children.
Asked what she hopes people discover from her mother’s work, Addie replied, “I think people breathe. I think people take a big, deep breath and go, ‘Oh my God.’ I think it’s, like, wonder and awe to see that something like this exists, that was made by hand. It’s kind of the experiment of what one person can do. You are that experiment. Go forth. Do something with your life, you know? Learn a technique, do something, pass it on, right?”
For more info:
- “Ruth Asawa: A Retrospective,”at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City (through Feb. 7)
- Exhibition catalogue:“Ruth Asawa: Retrospective”(Yale University Press), in Hardcover format, available viaAmazon,Barnes & NobleandBookshop.org](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/book-excerpt-where-we-keep-the-light-by-josh-shapiro/?intcid=CNR-02-0623)
- ruthasawa.com (Official site)
Story produced by Julie Kracov. Editor: George Pozderec.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-art-of-ruth-asawa/
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