This is an audio clip from a cell phone tour by Guide by Cell to accompany the exhibition The Sculpture of Ruth Asawa: Contours in the Air at the Japanese American National Museum from March 10 - May 27, 2007. Ruth Asawa is a well-known and talented artist, specializing in woven wire art pieces. She is one of the most influential women artists of the 20th century.

This clip was narrated by Karin Higa, Senior Curator of Art at the Japanese American National Museum, and Aiko Cuneo, Ruth Asawa's daughter, in March 2007.

Transcription
The immediacy of drawing was central to Ruth Asawa’s practice as an artist, for her wire was like a line, and wire sculptures functioned as three-dimensional drawings in space. As such, her calloused and often bloody fingers, wrapped in tape to protect them, were her tools. Aiko Cuneo, Ruth’s daughter, talks more about how she created these sculptures.

The looped wire sculptures are formed by hand using only wire, a wooden dowel, and Ruth’s hands. She did all the looping and shaping herself, and the sculptures take shape as each new row of loops is added, much like knitting or crocheting. Sometimes she worked from the bottom, upwards, and other times she started at the top, and worked her way down.