U.S. #5506
2020 55¢ Ruth Asawa
Issue Date: August 13, 2020
First Day City: San Francisco, CA
Type of Stamp: Commemorative
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Pane of 20
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 18,000,000
Ruth Asawa took inspiration from her surroundings throughout her life, which helped her become a leading artist in the 20th century.
Growing up on a farm, Asawa spent a lot of time outdoors. When she wasn't working, she was outside exploring nature. her hours spent examining natural forms would later be apparent in her sculptures, which often took organic forms resembling plants.
One of the greatest influences on Asawa's art was her time spent at North Carolina's Black Mountain College. Studying under some of the leading artists at the time, she found her voice and passion. Perhaps the most influential of these were Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller, and Merce Cunningham. Albers pushed his students to explore the relativity of perception, encouraged them to use unusual materials, and see the world around them in a new way. Asawa found Buckminster Fuller's excitement for problem solving and experimentation contagious. And she was particularly inspired by choreographer Merce Cunningham's chance-driven dance classes.
Albers had once said, "We do not create 'works of art,' but rather experiments; it is not our ambition to fill museums: we are gathering experience." Asawa always described her work simply as "an experiment," showing the long-term influence Albers had on her life's work.