"Five Points Merchants"
Japanese Arts Network Commission for Denver Theatre District
Denver, Colorado, USA
Installed August 2021
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“Five Points Merchants, 1950s” (2021)
Lauren Iida
Hand-cut paper, watercolor
Billboard: 37.4 x 100 feet (11.4 x 30.5 meters)
Made possible by Japanese Arts Network & Denver Theatre District
Original photo supplied by Mary Jane Okatsu
Photo & drone by Third Dune Productions
“For this new work, I was very inspired by this photo provided to me by the Japanese Arts Network of a desegregated youth baseball team, the Five Points Merchants, in Denver, taken in the 1950s. I was fascinated by the team and the historical significance of seeing African American, Latinx, and Japanese teens playing together at this time; pre-civil rights movement, just after the WWII concentration camps for people of Japanese ancestry had been emptied. The team members look so relaxed and joyful, each with their own unique expressions, and I was very pleased to have access to this beautiful photo as inspiration for my piece. I decided to depict the team members in black and white, in their team jerseys and hats with their gear, as the photo was in black and white and then add color emanating into the background. I worked with Courtney Ozaki, Creative Producer of the Japanese Arts Network, to choose some plant life important to the region and created a cut paper tapestry. I chose Colorado Blue Columbine, the official state flower, and Matsutake mushrooms, a species prevalent to the region and important to the Japanese American community.
Thank you Japanese Arts Network and Denver Theatre District for this opportunity.”
Lauren Iida
Hand-cut paper, watercolor
Billboard: 37.4 x 100 feet (11.4 x 30.5 meters)
Made possible by Japanese Arts Network & Denver Theatre District
Original photo supplied by Mary Jane Okatsu
Photo & drone by Third Dune Productions
“For this new work, I was very inspired by this photo provided to me by the Japanese Arts Network of a desegregated youth baseball team, the Five Points Merchants, in Denver, taken in the 1950s. I was fascinated by the team and the historical significance of seeing African American, Latinx, and Japanese teens playing together at this time; pre-civil rights movement, just after the WWII concentration camps for people of Japanese ancestry had been emptied. The team members look so relaxed and joyful, each with their own unique expressions, and I was very pleased to have access to this beautiful photo as inspiration for my piece. I decided to depict the team members in black and white, in their team jerseys and hats with their gear, as the photo was in black and white and then add color emanating into the background. I worked with Courtney Ozaki, Creative Producer of the Japanese Arts Network, to choose some plant life important to the region and created a cut paper tapestry. I chose Colorado Blue Columbine, the official state flower, and Matsutake mushrooms, a species prevalent to the region and important to the Japanese American community.
Thank you Japanese Arts Network and Denver Theatre District for this opportunity.”