Oral history interview with Frank S. Okada
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 38 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Okada, Frank S. (Frank Sumio), 1931-2000
label: Interviewer
content: Johns, Barbara
label: Names
content: Cornish School of Allied Arts (Seattle, Wash.)
label: Names
content: Cranbrook Academy of Art -- Students
label: Names
content: Northwest Asian American Project
label: Names
content: University of Oregon -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Bunce, Louis, 1907-1983
label: Names
content: Charles, Ray, 1930-2004
label: Names
content: Chin, Frank, 1940-
label: Names
content: Davis, Sammy, 1925-
label: Names
content: Derbyshire, Leon
label: Names
content: Dusanne, Zoe, 1884-1977
label: Names
content: Horiuchi, Paul, 1906-
label: Names
content: Inada, Lawson Fusao
label: Names
content: Ivey, William, 1919-1992
label: Names
content: Jones, Quincy, 1933-2024
label: Names
content: Kusama, Yayoi, 1929-
label: Names
content: Martin, David Stone
label: Names
content: Nomura, Kenjiro, 1896-1956
label: Names
content: Okada, John
label: Names
content: Peck, James Edward, 1907-
label: Names
content: Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969
label: Names
content: Tobey, Mark
label: Names
content: Tsutakawa, George
topic: label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- United States
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
label: Topic
content: Asian American art
label: Topic
content: Asian American artists
label: Topic
content: Japanese American art
label: Topic
content: Japanese American artists
label: Topic
content: Painting, Japanese
label: Topic
content: Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
label: Topic
content: Painting, Chinese
label: Topic
content: Asian American painters
label: Topic
content: Asian American sculptors
label: Topic
content: Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Okada, Frank S. (Frank Sumio), 1931-2000
label: Interviewer
content: Johns, Barbara
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Frank S. Okada (1931-2000) was a Japanese American painter based in Seattle, Washington. He taught at University of Oregon from 1969-1999.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 87 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1990 Aug. 16-17
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.okada90
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Transcript available on line
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Transcript also available at the University of Washington, Manuscripts Collection, and at the Oregon Historical Society.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Frank Okada conducted 1990 Aug. 16-17, in Seattle, Wash., by Barbara Johns, for the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American Project. Okada discusses his parents' background; his family including his brothers, John, author of "No-No Boy," and Charlie, a graphic designer; traveling to Japan for the Pacific Northwest Artists and Japan exhibition; being in an internment camp; painting in Eugene, Ore. and Seattle, Wash.; his painting techniques; studying under Leon Derbyshire; his connection with the jazz scene in Seattle in the late 1940s and 1950s including musicians Sammy Davis, Ray Charles, and Quincy Jones; attending Cornish School of Art, Seattle; meeting Mark Tobey; comparision of his painting style to Tobey's; his stint in the Army; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art and studying with painter Fred Mitchell; his Whitney fellowship in New York; study of Japanese, Chinese, and Zen paintings; working for Boeings in the early 1960s; traveling to France on a Guggenheim; teaching at University of Oregon in Eugene; his minimalist work; influence of Japanese art in his painting. Okada mentions Lawson Inada (Asian American poet), Frank Chin (Asian American playwright), artists David Stone Martin, James Edward Peck, Yayoi Kusama, George Tsutakawa, Paul Horiuchi, Ben Shahn, Kenjiro Nomura, Louis Bunce, Bill Ivey, and art gallery owner Zoe Dusanne.