Incomplet Design History

Tomoko Miho was a Japanese-American graphic and industrial designer. Born Tomoko Kawakami in 1931 in Los Angeles, California, she learned her first design principles from the family flower business. Tomoko lived in LA until her family was forcibly interned in 1942. The Kawakami family spent three years of their lives imprisoned without reason or evidence at the Gila River War Relocation Center. Like most internment camps, Gila River was overcrowded and unhygienic, conditions that contributed to a majority of the 1,862 internment camp deaths. Tomoko and the Kawakami family survived their internment and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tomoko took design classes there and later moved back to Los Angeles, California with a full scholarship to the Art Center School. Around graduation she met her future husband, fellow designer James Miho. The couple would travel together often during their lives, moving to different cities for work or taking international trips for both business and leisure. Tomoko Miho met many fellow talented designers of her day, even mentoring under prolific modernist designer Irving Harper. Tomoko Miho would eventually start her own firm, Tomoko Miho Design, where she was known for her creative take on minimalism that would use shape and harmony to create elegant, multilayered worlds. Her unique style has left a lasting impression, especially on catalog design which her innovative minimalism transformed into something stylish and fashionable.

1931 – b Tomoko Kawakami in Los Angeles, California.
1942 – President Franklin Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9066; Japanese internment begins in America.
1945 – Internment ends; the Kawakami family relocates to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
1958 – Tomoko graduates from the Art Center School of Minneapolis, Minnesota with an industrial design degree.  Around this time, Tomoko meets husband James Miho.
1960 – Tomoko and James take a six-month tour of Europe, meeting several notable European designers.
1974 – The couple opens their own company, Miho Associates.
1982  – Tomoko and James divorce; Tomoko founds Tomoko Miho Design in New York.
2012  – d Tomoko Miho in New York, NY.

Americans of Japanese Ancestry WWII Memorial Alliance. (2020). Gila River Relocation Center. Japanese American Veterans Association. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from http://www.javadc.org/gila_river_relocation_center.htm

Conradi, J. (2010, September 18). Looking back, thinking forward: A narrative of the Vignellis. The Design Observer Group. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://archive.is/20130121113802/http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/looking-back-thinking-forward-a-narrative-of-the-vignellis/15308/

Corley, M. (2018, May 17). Health in Japanese internment camps. Health and medicine in American history. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://lewiscar.sites.grinnell.edu/HistoryofMedicine/spring2018/health-in-japanese-internment-camps/

History about. (2015). Gila River Indian Community. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from http://www.gilariver.org

Kedmey, K. (2017, January 14). How Isamu Noguchi’s seven months in a Japanese internment camp inspired his art. Artsy. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-noguchis-seven-months-japanese-internment-camp-inspired-art

Leong, K. J. (2020). Gila River. In Brian Niiya (ed.), Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Gila%20River/

Maciag, M. (2013). Population Density for U.S. Cities Statistics. Governing: the future of states and localities. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://www.governing.com/gov-data/population-density-land-area-cities-map.html

Martin, R. (2015, October 15). California dreaming: Reconsidering the work of Charles and Ray Eames. Apollo Magazine. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://www.apollo-magazine.com/california-dreaming-reconsidering-the-work-of-charles-and-ray-eames/

Other resources. (2021, January 5). National Archives. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://www.archives.gov/research/japanese-americans/links

Paid notice: Deaths Miho, Tomoko Kawakami. (2012, February 26). The New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9803E1DE113AF935A15751C0A9649D8B63.html

Remembering Tomoko Miho. (2017). Ginkgo Journal. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://ginkgojournal.com/home/remembering-tomoko-miho/2017

Takei, G. (2019). They called us enemy. Top Shelf Productions.

Vienne, V. (1993). 1993 AIGA medalist: Tomoko Miho. AIGA: The professional association for design. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://web.archive.org/web/20210309014433/https://www.aiga.org/medalist-tomokomiho

Mary Blair was a fine artist, commercial artist, concept artist, and Disney Imagineer. After graduating from Chouinard and marrying Lee Blair, Mary was set to build a career as a regionalist watercolor painter like her husband. Due to World War 2, fine art was not working out, and the two entered the world of commercial art and animation. Both landed positions at Ub Iwerks Studio. In 1940, Blair joined Walt Disney studios as a sketch artist. The job frustrated her, and she quit shortly after. A few months later, Walt Disney animators went on strike in 1941, right when Walt left on a Goodwill tour of South America. Lee Blair was invited to go with a group of Disney artists. Mary desperately wanted to go, so she convinced Walt to bring her. The South American tour was where Mary Blair flourished as an artist and developed the style we know of today. Walt supported and encouraged her work and involved her in a number of projects back at the studios. Blair was the art director on the films Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos, and concept artist for Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. Blair left the Disney studios and moved to New York to pursue freelance commercial art. She illustrated for Little Golden Books, did set designs for Radio City Music Hall, and designed ads for Bakers Cocoa and Pall Mall. Mary returned to Disney for her biggest project yet: creating the look for a new Disneyland attraction called “It’s a Small World.” Mary Blair’s modern style had a huge impact on the way Disney created their films and her influence at Disney can be seen to this day. 

1911 – b Mcalister, Oklahoma
1918 – moved to Morgan Hill, California
1933 – Graduated Chouinard Art Institute
1940 – hired at Disney Studios 
1941 – quit Disney
1941 – Animators Strike at the Walt Disney Animation Studios
1941 – Disney’s South American Goodwill Tour
~1940-1960 – Mary Blair worked on Saludos Amigos, 3 Caballeros Peter Pan, Cinderella,  etc.
1953 – Left disney to begin freelance commercial artist work in New York
1951 – Illustrated “I Can Fly” golden book
1963 – Walt asked Mary Blair to art direct “It’s a Small World”
1964 – World’s Fair
1967 – murals for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland
1970 – moved to Soquel, California
1971 – mural for Disney World Contemporary Resort
1978 – d Soquel, California
1991 – Awarded Disney Legends award 

Bemis, B. (2018, October 18). Mickey Mouse morale: Disney on the World War II home front. National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/ww2-disney

Canemaker, J. (1996). Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists (1st ed.). Hyperion.

Canemaker, J. (2012). Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books. Golden Books.

Canemaker, J. (2014). The Art and Flair of Mary Blair (Updated Edition): An Appreciation (Disney Editions Deluxe)(Updated ed.). Disney Editions.

Chatting with Hal Ambro and Lee Blair. (2016, June 28). Cartoon Research. https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/chatting-with-hal-ambro-and-lee-blair/

Cook, G. (2016, February 15). Modernist Cute: Mary Blair’s Art For ‘Dumbo,’ Golden Books, ‘It’s A Small World’ | The ARTery. WBUR.Org. https://www.wbur.org/artery/2016/02/15/mary-blair

The Life Behind the Color: A Brief Biography of Mary Blair. (2014, March 19). LaughingPlace.Com. https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2014/03/19/the-life-behind-the-color-a-brief-biography-of-mary-blair/

Hanke, L. (1945, March). What Is the Good Neighbor Policy? | AHA. Historians.Org. https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/em-14-is-the-good-neighbor-policy-a-success-(1945)/what-is-the-good-neighbor-policy

Hillcrest Press, Inc. (2002). Lee Blair Biography – California Watercolor. Californiawatercolor.Com. https://www.californiawatercolor.com/pages/lee-blair-biography

Kinder, B. (2015, November 7). There’s Something About Mary: The World of Mary Blair. EatDrinkFilms.Com. https://eatdrinkfilms.com/2014/07/23/theres-something-about-mary-the-world-of-mary-blair/

Llamoca, J. (2017, November 27). That Time Walt Disney Went to Latin America to Fight Nazi Sentiment. Latino USA. https://www.latinousa.org/2017/11/17/time-walt-disney-went-latin-america-fight-nazi-sentiment/

MARY BLAIR (1911-1978). (2007). Sullivangoss.Com. https://www.sullivangoss.com/artists/mary-blair-1911-1978

Norman Rockwell Museum. Mary Blair - Illustration History. Illustration History https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/mary-blair

Okubo, K. (Producer), & Thomas, T. (Director). (2009). Walt & El Grupo [Motion Picture]. USA: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Private Snafu Cartoon Series. (2020, May 19). The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/private-snafu-cartoon-series

Reed, G. (2017, April 5). The Surprising Impact of World War II Propaganda Animation Design. Ethos3.Com. https://www.ethos3.com/2017/04/the-surprising-impact-of-world-war-ii-propaganda-animation-design/

Schmidt, N. (2020, April 21). Six Things You Didn’t Know About Disney Icon Mary Blair. AllEars.Net. https://allears.net/2020/04/19/six-things-you-didnt-know-about-disney-icon-mary-blair/

Sito, T. (2005, July 19). The Disney Strike of 1941: How It Changed Animation & Comics. Animation World Network. https://www.awn.com/animationworld/disney-Strike-1941-How-It-Changed-Animation-Comics

Sito, T. The Disney Strike, 1941 | Animation Guild. Animationguild.Org. https://animationguild.org/about-the-guild/disney-strike-1941/

Walt and the Goodwill Tour | The Walt Disney Family Museum. (2016, September 8). Waltdisney.Org. https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/walt-and-goodwill-tour

Yesterland: Mary Blair Tomorrowland Tile Murals. (2019, March 1). Yesterland.Com. https://www.yesterland.com/maryblair.html

Bea Feitler was a graphic designer, art director, educator, and a mentor to young professionals. Originally from Brazil, Feitler eventually found her home in New York City and made a name for herself in the magazine industry. Early on in her career she was named co-art director of Harper’s Bazaar along with Ruth Ansel—both having served as graphic designers under art director Marvin Israel (1924–85) who had been one of Feitler’s instructors at Parsons. Known for taking chances, Feitler and Ansel pushed Harper’s to its limits. Under Feitler’s and Ansel’s direction, Harper’s became one of the first national publications to photograph and feature an African American model. After leaving Harper’s, Feitler got involved with Ms., a liberal feminist publication founded by Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes. At Ms. Magazine, Feitler was responsible for many controversial covers including one for a December (Christmas) issue, which featured the slogan “Peace on Earth, Good Will toward People”, revising the historically patriarchal statement “Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men.” Despite a relatively short career, due to her untimely death at age 44, she made a significant impact on magazine design while also taking a stand for feminism and equality. 

1938 – b Rio de Janeiro
1959 – Attended Parson’s School of Design
1959 – Founds Estudio G in Rio de Janeiro
1961 – Returns to New York as assistant to Marvin Israel at Harper’s Bazaar
1963 (62?) – Named art director at Harper’s Bazaar (with Ruth Ansel)
1965 – First to hire black model in popular U.S. fashion magazine, Harper's Bazaar
1971 – Named art director of startup magazine Ms.
1972 – Left Harper’s Bazaar, transitions to full-time at Ms.
1976 – Left Ms. to start her own company
1982 – d Rio de Janeiro, April 8
1989 – AIGA Medal awarded, posthumously
1991 – Inducted into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, posthumously

Andre, L. T. (1976, Oct 08). Eye® view. Wwd, 133, 36. 

Bea Feitler, Magazine And Book Designer, 44. (1982, April 11). The New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/11/obituaries/bea-feitler-magazine-and-book-designer-44.html

Bruno Feitler on Bea Feitler (2014, March 18). Hall of Femmes. http://halloffemmes.com/2014/03/bruno-feitler-about-bea-feitler/

Bea Feitler. (1991). ADCglobal. org http://adcglobal.org/hall-of-fame/bea-feitler/

Chetty, D. (2019, February 1). Black History Month: Trailblazing black models who broke barriers. Zoomer. http://www.everythingzoomer.com/style/2019/02/01/black-models-broke-barriers/

Gavin, T. (2017, September 8). The Pioneering female art director you’ve never heard of. AnOther. http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/10134/the-pioneering-female-art-director-youve-never-heard-of

Meggs, P. (1989, September 1). Bea Feitler. AIGA.org https://www.aiga.org/medalist-beafeitler

Norman, D. (2018, February 2). Black Excellence: The legacy of Donyale Luna. V Magazine. https://vmagazine.com/article/black-excellence-donyale-luna/

Ren, M. (2018). Steinem, Gloria. In S. Bronner (Ed.), Encyclopedia of American studies. MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 

Sherin, A. (2006, October 20)  Feitler, Bea(triz). Grove Art Online. Ed.   

Steinem, Gloria. (2001). In H. Rappaport, Encyclopedia of women social reformers. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. 

Stevenson, A. (2016, December 18). “Peace on earth good will to people”: holiday reflections on Ms. Magazine. Australian Women’s History Network.  http://www.auswhn.org.au/blog/peace-earth-good-will-people/

The Editor’s Guest Book. (1964, February). Harper's Bazaar, 97, 93.

Varvara Stepanova was a leader of the constructivist movement and co-author of the constructivist manifesto. Described as “a frenzied artist,” she designed books, magazines, posters, advertisements, as well as textiles, clothing, and costumes. On top of that, she was an author and poet. Her design style and aesthetic was avant garde, modern, and often characterized by simplicity and geometric forms and patterns, but Varvara was never content with stasis. She constantly evolved her style and worked to develop new concepts and ideas. As a co-founder of the Constructivist movement, her work typifies the aesthetic and philosophies of Constructivism. While Varavara worked on many of her own projects, she also did many together with her husband, Alexander Rodchenko, another well-known Constructivist designer. Her work often gets linked to Rodchenko’s, and it’s Rodchenko who gets mentioned in histories of graphic design and credit for designs that should be attributed to Stepanova as well. At a time when women were largely still expected to be no more than wives and mothers, Stepanova was a woman who made an unmistakable mark on art and design.

1894 – b Kovno [now Kaunas, Lithuania]
1910-11 – Attended Kazan’ School of Art (meets Aleksandr Rodchenko)
1913-14 – Attended Stroganov School, studied with Konstantin Yuon & Il’ya Mashkov
1920-30 – Taught at the Vkhutemas design school
1921 – Work included as part of the 5 x 5 = 25 exhibition
1922 – Co-wrote the Constructivist Manifesto with Alexander Rodchenko & Aleksei Gan 
1922 – Designed the set and costumes for The Death of Tarelkin
1923 – Worked at the  First Textile Printing Factory designing fabrics
1924 – Vladimir Lenin dies, marks the beginning of the end of the Soviet Avant Garde
1925 – Costume designs for the play The Death of Tarelkin were exhibited in the Soviet Pavilion at the International Exhibition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris
1932 – Independent artist groups are banned by Josef Stalin
1958 – d Moscow, May 20th

Adaskina, N. (1987). Constructivist Fabrics and Dress Design. The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, 5, 144-159. doi:10.2307/1503941

Aspden, R. (2009, Jan 26). Constructing a new world. New Statesman, 138, 40-43. Retrieved from 

Cunningham, R. (1998). The Russian women artist/designers of the avant-garde. TD&T: Theatre Design & Technology, 34(2), 38–51. 

Fer, B. (1989). Tatlin; Varvara Stepanova: a Constructivist life. Art History, 12, 382–385. 

Goldman, W. (2002). Women at the gates gender and industry in Stalin's Russia. Cambridge, UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Jenkins, S. (2014). Russia’s dynamic duo. Art Newspaper, 24(263), 32. 

Lavrentiev, A. (1988). Varvara Stepanova: A constructivist life. London; Thames and Hudson.

Nazarov, Y. (1996). Can Man Live Without Wonder? by Varvara Stepanova (review). Leonardo, 29(1), 79.

Vkhutemas. (2004). In G. Julier, The Thames & Hudson dictionary of design since 1900 (2nd ed.). Thames & Hudson. Credo Reference: 

Wolanksi, M. (retrieved on June 25, 2020) “The Role of Women in Soviet Russia”. Guided History: History Research guides by Boston University students. Blog. https://blogs.bu.edu/guidedhistory/moderneurope/molly-wolanski/