Title:
A man in contemplation
Creator/Contributor:
Hibi, Hisako
Date:
7/1/1944
Identifier:
96.601.34
Format:
painting
oil on canvas
Description:
Unframed stretched canvas. Image of a man sitting on the ground by a rock. On the left is a barbed wire fence and a guard
tower in the upper corner. There are mountains in the distance.
Historical Note:
Most of Hisako Hibi's camp paintings are characterized by an experimentation with perspective and a focus on the landscape
of the camp where she and her family were incarcerated. This painting is no exception to this, with its high horizon line
and outdoor setting. A figure sits slumped against a grassy mound near the barbed-wire fence which outlined the perimeter
of the Topaz concentration camp. A guard tower can be seen in the distance against the backdrop of the mountain range. The
perspective is slightly askew, making the landscape slightly unreadable. The fence, in this case, appears to be much taller
than it seems in Hibi's other paintings. The presence of the fence and guard tower disrupts the beautiful lushness of the
field and the repose of the figure.
Subject:
Concentration Camps, Topaz | mountain | fence | barbed wire | man | rock