Title:
Snowing
Creator/Contributor:
Hibi, Hisako
Date:
1/1/1945
Identifier:
96.601.44
Format:
painting
oil on canvas
Description:
Unframed stretched canvas. Image of someone walking in a snow storm with barracks and utility poles. Everything is snow covered.
The colors are white and gray.
Historical Note:
Painted during her last winter at Topaz concentration camp, this work by Hisako Hibi represents the snow that overwhelmed
the camp and its internees. Of course, Hibi did not know at the time she painted this work that it would be her last winter
at Topaz. The view of camp offered by this painting is a barren one, empty of life except for the lone figure in the foreground.
At the right Hibi portrays a long row of barracks at a severe angle. It works to frame the image and give a sense of depth
to the work. The barracks thus appear to continue for a long distance, with no end in sight. Hibi seems to be trying to
portray falling snow in this painting. Daubs of white paint are strewn across the canvas towards this purpose.
Subject:
Concentration Camps, Topaz | barracks | snow | person | telephone pole