Eugene Daub & Louis Quaintance

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Eugene Daub & Louis Quaintance
Japanese / American Memorial, 'From Injustice to Redress'
2006

Project Area: Little Tokyo
Project: California Japantown Landmarks Project
Project Location: 101 N. Judge John Aiso Street
Project Type: CRA/LA Initiated

Description:

The California Japanese American Community Leadership Council’s California Japantown Preservation Committee coordinated the development of a landmark honoring the history and heritage of ethnic Japanese neighborhoods. The design process involved the communities of the California's three remaining Japantowns in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.

Each landmark stands 9 feet high and weighs over 1,000 pounds. Its three faces depict the Issei pioneers, the WWII internment experience and current community life. According to the Historical Cultural Neighborhood Council, “The goal of the "California Japantown Landmarks Project" is to capture the hopes and struggles of the Japanese American community and to provide visitors the opportunity to learn about and gain a better understanding of the history and challenges of the Japanese American community. In addition, this project seeks to create a historical landmark exhibit in common with each of the three communities, which would not only designate our Japantowns as a historic and cultural California community asset but also educate individuals about the history of our communities—to the fact that they are not just tourist destinations but are real neighborhoods where our communities were born, where our two cultures first met, our first businesses were developed and where civil liberty violations in our American history took place.”

"The California Japantown Landmarks Project," Los Angeles, is currently located in the plaza of the Judge John Aiso Parking Garage at 101 N. Judge John Aiso Street in Little Tokyo. The landmark is constructed of bronze and stone by artists Louis Quaintance and Eugene Daub and includes a poem by Janice Mirikitani. The project was funded by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program with additional resources from Proposition 40 historical and cultural heritage preservation funds.

For other projects by Eugene Daub, please see:

Phineas Banning Memorial

Artist Profiles

Well-known late 20th century sculptor, Eugene Daub has been an instructor at the Scottsdale Artists’ School and a designer of the first Philadelphia Liberty Medal, which the city awards every year to a champion of world peace. In 1985, Daub won first place in an international competition for the design of the Statue of Liberty Medal, issued by the Numismatic Society. His works are in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum. In 1991, he won the Saltus Award, the highest national and international recognition of the American Numismatic Association for excellence in bas-relief sculpture.
In addition to Louis Quaintance’s contribution to the California Japantown Landmarks Project, the artist has also completed artwork for the West Coast’s WWII Memorial, Irish American Monument, Baltimore Ravens Pro Football Team, Rotary International, Legion of Honor Museum and De Young Museum. The artist has received numerous awards including: the Life-time Elected Member into the National Sculpture Society, New York City Exhibition Awards and the International Pinnacle Award (for the International Stone Industry) for “Design Excellence.” Quaintance received his MFA in sculpture from the Southern Illinois University. During his tenure at the Academy of Art University, as the Director of Fine Art, Quaintance created the world’s largest Sculpture Department. Quaintance currently resides in Berkeley, California and instructs professional sculpting workshops.