Janice Tanaka
Janice Tanaka is a Japanese American media artist born in Hollywood, California[1] known for making video collages. She received her B.F.A. (1978) and M.F.A. (1980) from the Art Institute of Chicago.[2]
Tanaka started her career as a ballet dancer with the Allegro American Ballet in 1955. In 1957 she performed with the Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo. From 1960-1961 she was with the Jim Hetzer’s Japanese Spectacular. Her last foray in dancing was with the Conservatorio International de Musica from 1961-1964.[2]
Tanaka has taught at universities around the country. After receiving her graduate degree she headed to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1980. From 1982-1985 she was at the Columbia College in Chicago, IL. Next she moved to the University of Colorado in Boulder from 1985-1989. After spending 1990-1994 at UCLA, she briefly left academia to work at Sonic Boom, Inc. until 1996.[2] From 1996 on she has held her current position at the California Institute of the Arts.[3]
K.K. Hallmark describes her work as, "Tanaka's videos are documentary in style, using a variety of techniques; some images are abstract, distorted, and blurred to an unrecognizable degree, while others are clear and informal, as if they could be a family snapshot."[2]
Early life
Her parents Jack Koto Tanaka and Lily Tanaka were married right before World War II.[4] During the war, the family, including her brother Jack Jr, were relocated to the Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp.[5] Her father protested the internment, and was arrested by the FBI. After being diagnosed with schizophrenia, he was institutionalized. Lily divorced Jack during the war, and moved the family to a predominantly white neighborhood in Chicago.[5]
Select videography
Here are some highlights from Tanaka's work:[1]
- Swimming in Air, 2006, 28:10 minutes, color/B&W, English
- No Hop Sing, No Bruce Lee; What do you do when none of your heroes look like you?, 1998, 31:56 minutes, color/B&W, English
- Who's Going to Pay for These Donuts Anyway?, 1992, 58:30 minutes, color/B&W, English
- Memories From the Department of Amnesia, 1990, 12:50 minutes, color/B&W, English
- The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, 1989, 17:50 minutes, color/B&W, English
- Grass or When the Rain Falls on the Water Does The Fish Get Any Wetter?, 1985, 05:30 minutes, color, English
- Superhuman Flights of Submoronic Fancies, 1982, 11:00 minutes, color, English
- Ontogenesis, 1981, 05:30 minutes, color/B&W, English
- A True-Life Adventure in Beaver Valley, 1980, 05:30 minutes, color/B&W, English
Permanent collections
Tanaka has pieces in the collections of many museums and libraries.[3]
- Kröller-Müller Museum
- Carnegie Museum of Art
- The Getty
- The Japanese American National Museum California
- The Institute of Kino Engineers (St. Petersburg, Russia)
- National Library of Australia
- The New York Public Library
- The University of Southern California
- University of California Los Angeles
- New York University
- University of Chicago.
Awards
Tanaka has received many awards.[3]
- The American Film Institute Media Award
- The National Endowment for the Arts Media Award
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Public Broadcasting Systems Media Awards
- Rockefeller Foundation Media Fellowship (1991 and 2003)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Artist: Janice Tanaka". V Page.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Hallmark, Kelly (2007). Encyclopedia of Asian American Artists. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 219–223. ISBN 9780313334511.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tanaka, Janice. "CalArts Faculty/Staff Directory".
- ↑ Pang, Amy (18 June 1993). "Janice Tanaka Finds the Present by Tracing Her Father's Past: `Who's Going to Pay for these Donuts, Anyway?' Debuts June 22". Asianweek 32. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 King, Susan (20 June 1993). "Focus Closing Her Circle Daughter Finds a Father Lost During the '40s Internment". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
External links
- Archive Grid (Tanaka's works held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies).