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When Chiura Obata painted \\u201cMoonlight Over Topaz, Utah,\\u201d he was a prisoner at the camp: one of 120,000 Japanese Americans to be incarcerated during World War II. The painting\\xa0shows a dreamy moonlit desert, with just a few dark lines to hint at the barbed wire fences and guard towers that held him and his family captive.\\xa0As a painter, Obata turned again and again to nature as his greatest teacher, and his greatest subject. Today, his work can be found in art collections and museums around the world, including the Smithsonian's American Art Museum.\\xa0This time on Sidedoor, we learn from Chiura Obata about the power of art in tumultuous times.

Speakers:

Rihoko Ueno: Processing archivist at the Smithsonian\\u2019s Archives of American Art

Noriko Sanefuji:\\xa0Museum specialist in the Division of Cultural and Community Life at the Smithsonian\\u2019s National Museum of American History @apacurator\\xa0@amhistorymuseum

ShiPu Wang:\\xa0Coats Endowed Chair in the Arts\\xa0and Professor of Art History at The University of California Merced. Curator of the traveling exhibition, \\u201cChiura Obata: An American Modern.\\u201d @curatingobata

Kimi Hill: Chiura Obata\\u2019s granddaughter and author of the book, \\u201cTopaz Moon.\\u201d