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Hanging on the white walls of the Syracuse University Art Museum, Tetsuo Ochikubo’s “Seed of All Things” is a piece showcasing intense layering and depth of color as well as a sharp contrast between deep, mossy blues and a long streak of visually striking red.

The piece is one of a collection of canvases filled with vibrant and complex sets of shapes and colors at the SU Art Museum’s new exhibit, “To understand and to be understood.” The collection, a collaborative effort between the museum, associate professor Sascha Scott and her graduate students, showcases the often forgotten art of Asian Americans in the 1960s and 70s.

Each of the paintings was at SU before the exhibit, just in the museum’s back storage. Students in Scott’s class explored its archives, looking for pieces that fit the exhibit’s theme and time period. The group researched and studied together in a class last semester with Scott, creating the exhibit that opened on Jan. 25 and closes on Mar. 8.

“These pieces have been in storage for a long time,” Kate Holohan, the curator of education and academic outreach at the SU Art Museum. “The field of art history has often told stories of white men.”

SU Art Museum Interim Director Emily Dittman worked with Scott and her students to help cultivate their research about Asian American backgrounds. She provided access to different files and past exhibitions and gathered objects to prepare the exhibition.

“Professor Scott was interested in the climate on campus in terms of hate crimes,” Dittman said. “To bring attention to (the hate crimes) and think about how that has happened in the past.”

As part of their research, students were able to speak to curators and educators to discuss their piece and to hone their analysis of it, Scott said. She said while the process of creating the exhibit was long, at the heart of it was the interaction between students and the museum’s staff.

The idea was originally sparked by #NotAgainSU, a 2019 student-led protest in response to a string of racist incidents on campus and the university’s response to them. In the run-up to the start of #NotAgainSU, racist graffiti against Asian and Black people was found in Day Hall. But, with students having to leave campuses due to the start of the pandemic, the project stayed on the shelf.

“One place where (Asian American) students were not visible was at the museum,” Scott said.

Holohan, along with her colleagues, said they want this exhibit to help create a more welcoming community on campus. They also feel it can act as a useful resource for SU students.

Some classes have already started to visit the space, such as professor Amy Murphy’s writing class. Sam Roth, a freshman in the School of Engineering, visited the museum the day after the exhibit opened with Murphy’s class.

“I don’t have a lot of experience with abstract art or any art, really,” Roth said. “But, I did find the color palette really vivid and intense. It’s something I can say I am glad I went and saw.”

Published on January 29, 2024 at 12:15 am