Densho Digital Archive - Rose Niguma Interview (denshovh-nrose

<Begin Segment 12>

MR: I would like to talk about your art and how you progressed through the years, the styles of art that you've used. Could you talk about that?

RN: Well, just had Louis Blunt. He was my first painting instructor. He always mentioned Jackson Pollock because he knew Jackson Pollock. At that time, Jackson Pollock was considered a new rule thing here. He didn't understand it, but I was influenced by his work because of his freedom. You don't have to use a brush. You could take a paint and drip it on this canvas. That's what he did. But he didn't just drip it like anybody else. He knew what he was doing, and he layered it, see. At that time, they didn't think much of his work. But now, his artwork is worth millions, and I think my parents' province, they own a Jackson Pollock. So I thought if I ever go there, I'll go to their museum and look up, see if I can find his artwork. I saw the freedom in that, see. First I like Mondrian work. I didn't understand all those squares, but then I realized that paint can recede and come forward, see. So he takes his blocks of square, he lays them like that together. They don't, I found that out. I didn't know at first. So I told Mr. Blunt, Louis Blunt, "It looks like a handkerchief." He looked at me so shocked. He knew, but I didn't because I'm a beginner painter. Then after I saw that look on his face, I went home and I began to study it, and I realized what it was. And see your colors can jump in and out. Average people can't see it, but we can see it, you know. So I think art is very fascinating. You're working on two-dimensional plane. You're trying to make it three dimension, give it another dimension, see. So there's so many things that I don't think you'd learn in a lifetime, all these little things. And I think I have a feeling towards art because I understand, and it's not too difficult for me. It's easy for me. But I don't know what is inside of me that comes out toward it. I know Jacky call it an obsession but almost like it because even if I stop, something pulls him back into it again. It's on my mind. So I decided when I'm a little better, I have the huge canvas there, I got the thick paint there, I'll see what happens. I don't know what will happen because art is like piano playing. You have to practice every day, see, so I don't know what will happen. But I hope it will be something nice because the frame part is expensive, and the canvas, very expensive, see, so I can't make a mistake. That's what I'm thinking. But I think anyone who goes into art will understand what I'm feeling because they themselves have the same feeling that I do. Otherwise, they won't enter into art because I'm into fine art, fine arts. You don't make money like that like you would if you're in commercial graphic art. They paint for money. We don't. We paint what we want to, express and put it on the canvas or paper or whatever, what our feelings are, you know. That's why fine art artists' work are expensive, come out of time and effort put into it. And in my case, it's not for money. You can't take money with you. The older I grow, the more I realize it.

MR: When you're not painting --

RN: What?

MR: What you're not painting, do you see the next painting in your head?

RN: Well, when I was painting, it just came right on. It's always there. For whatever came out, I paint it right out. But right now, I've been away for a year or so, I don't know. I think about it, but it's not that much because I'm older, plus I have physical pain and that dominates my time. But through that, something may come out of it, probably it's negative, but something may turn positive because my negativity things have turned positive in the long run. It gave me strength. Before I was very sensitive. Even when I came out of camp, I really was very assertive for the kids and for the people in there because I felt for them, the situation they were in. So I have become very assertive. But after I came out, I have to do other things. But all these things that have occurred, it's part of life. And from some of the negativity things like my brother George, he was in the nursing home care. The young doctor that took care of him saw that I spent too much time, that I lost weight and he saw, so he told me you're giving too much of yourself. He says, "Put him in the nursing home. They'll give him personal care." But when I did that, I heard, read so many negative things about them. I checked. I went to the State building and checked about an hour, going through that. I read complaints. Some of them were sick, and then others got very few complaints. That's the one I sent him. So I sent him to the Village. It's on 181st near Gresham. They had a very nice head teacher at that time. They have assistance now, but they really have the RN, registered nurses, so there was Miss Odella (sp). She was a head nurse. She had an assistant registered nurse, and others who worked there were registered nurses. So you can see, he's really getting good care because now there are nurse's aide or they're not registered nurses. There aren't many of them now.

MR: Well, he was lucky to have his sister --

RN: What?

MR: He was lucky to have a sister like you who took such good care, your brother.

RN: Well, my sister --

MR: No. I said your brother was fortunate to have a sister like you.

RN: Oh, like me, yes I did because he's so vulnerable. He couldn't hear completely. Then he had a stroke that made him mentally little, you know, deficient. There he was in a situation like that, and so I consciously looked after him. And my, Miss Chase, registrar at the art school, Miss Kennedy was the ceramic design teacher, they thought I was very idealistic, very sensitive, that I may have very difficulty coping with life because you know. But because of my brother, I fought for him. One of the advantages that he deserved I fought and he got it, and I really became a tough woman. It changed me. Because of his unfortunate situation, it toughened me because I was helping him, and so I'm no longer that sensitive person that those two people worried so much about me. But you could see the negativity had turned to positivity for me, see, so I'm a little tough now.