Title:
White heat
Creator/Contributor:
Hibi, Hisako
Date:
6/1/1943
Identifier:
96.601.10
Format:
painting
oil on canvas
Description:
Unframed stretched canvas. Image of white, black, grey of a snow covered barracks with a utility pole and a couple people
walking.
Historical Note:
Entitled "White Heat" this painting is the first snow-filled landscape painted by Hibi while incarcerated at Topaz concentration
camp. The internees were used to the mild weather of the San Francisco Bay Area, thus, the harsh Utah winters were especially
difficult. In addition, the facilities of the concentration camps did not provide much comfort from the snow and extreme
cold temperatures. In this painting Hibi portrays a row of barracks from a distance with two sketchy figures dotting the
landscape. A single electrical pole stands at the left, while some smoke from a chimney rises in the distance. The white
expanses of snow and sky border the thin row of barracks. Instead of offering a pristine white land and sky, Hibi utilizes
yellow, blue and grey patches of color throughout this landscape scene.
Subject:
Concentration Camps, Topaz | snow | barracks | pole