Title:
Waiting near Topaz high
Creator/Contributor:
Hibi, Hisako
Date:
2/1/1945
Identifier:
96.601.46
Format:
painting
oil on canvas
Description:
Unframed stretched canvas. Image of a woman leaning against a telephone pole and there is a man walking along side a building
heading towards her. A back of a barracks is on the right side.
Historical Note:
Hisako Hibi's paintings from this period can be characterized, in part, for their experimentation with composition. In this
work she depicts a building at a sharp angle which is used to create a sense of diagonal recession into space. The building
at the left interrupts the direction of the green building and forms another diagonal movement into depth. The electrical
pole at the right and the woman leaning against it function as anchors in the expanse of field in the foreground. We are
positioned above ground level, looking slightly down upon this scene, yet we are unable to see beyond the buildings. The
woman in the foreground stands casually, resting against the pole with her feet crossed at the ankles. The building at the
left is presumably the high school auditorium. The green building at the right may also be part of Topaz High School, although
Hibi is not explicit about the identification of the structures.
Subject:
Concentration Camps, Topaz | barracks | mountain | people | telephone pole