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Paintbrush, (from the Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II)
Paintbrush, (from the Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II)
Paintbrush, (from the Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II)

Paintbrush, (from the Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II)

Artist (American, born 1944)
Date1984 (printed 1994)
Mediumplatinum- palladium print
DimensionsImage: 8 1/4 × 6 1/4 in. (21 × 15.9 cm)
Support: 14 1/2 × 10 13/16 in. (36.8 × 27.5 cm)
Mat: 20 × 16 1/8 in. (50.8 × 41 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Joan Myers, 2017
Object number2017.5.16
DescriptionStill life composition with remains of a paintbrush at center of composition, with rusted metal strip at top and heavily weathered wooden handle below.
eMuseum Notes
Throughout her series Whispered Silences, Myers uses the camera to convey the solemn, isolated landscapes of former Japanese internment camps, highlighting physical ruins and abandoned objects. Her photographs of utilitarian objects carry an emotional poignancy while simultaneously presenting the objects with an archeological importance. The isolation of the objects within the frame implores their careful observation. The details of each object speak to their history while also serving as testimony to the resiliency of human spirit.
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