Title:
A Stormy Day
Creator/Contributor:
Hibi, Hisako
Date:
6/1/1943
Identifier:
96.601.16
Format:
painting
oil on canvas
Description:
Unframed stretched canvas. Image of two children and one man between barracks with a pile on the LR.
Historical Note:
This painting entitled "Stormy Day" appears to be a portrait of camp either during a break in a storm or just prior to its
beginning. In the foreground is a pile of what appears to be coal. Three solitary figures are also present in this space
enclosed by barracks. Hibi portrays the sky dramatically with white and black clouds, with a hint of orange on the horizon.
In this painting Hibi was most likely referring to the numerous dust storms that plagued the internees of Topaz. The dusty,
dry soil of the area was often swept up into blinding dust storms that seeped into the barracks and engulfed anyone unlucky
enough to be caught outside. Hibi remarked in her writing that "Once in awhile the ominously shaped clouds started to move
rapidly toward the north, while the western sky became dark...The residents had learned from bitter experiences what it all
meant. They ran into their barracks, sealed all the openings and cracks between the front door and windows with old cloths
and papers. Cyclones of sand in a dust storm with twigs and sage brush roots violently swept over the vast desert floor as
if the earth and sky became one fierce dust ball in madness."
Subject:
Concentration Camps, Topaz | barracks | people