We encourage everyone to celebrate Ruth Asawa’s centennial by hosting their own Dough In! The recipe and helpful tips, as well as an audio guide with more information about Asawa’s public commissions around the San Francisco Bay Area can be found on RuthAsawa.com.
Don’t forget to tag Ruth Asawa on Facebook and Instagram (@ruthasawaofficial) using the hashtag #ASAWA100.
It’s been a very moving experience to come together as a group to consider the lasting impact of Asawa’s legacy on our families and friends, our neighborhoods — in our city and beyond.
Our amazing volunteer crew – TEAM ASAWA – is an incredibly generous and talented group. In the spirit of learning, sharing and creative expression of collective gratitude, please enjoy this beautiful musical gift composed by Galen Yuen aka Galenphonic.
“WOVEN: A Tribute to Ruth Asawa”
Galen offers this song, “as my gift to Ruth’s spirit, her family, her students, and all of Team Asawa.
Just as she transformed a single line of wire into something eternal, I hope we all stay ‘woven’ in her spirit of selfless giving, service, and radical creativity. May her memory continue to inspire us to build beauty out of the everyday.”
“It is truly a privilege to play a part in celebrating one of my favorite local artists.
As I’ve been delving deeper into Ruth’s life and legacy in preparation for the event, I found myself deeply moved. I recently returned to songwriting, and her story inspired me to compose a tribute in her honor.”
Lyrics: Woven — A Tribute to Ruth Asawa
(Verse 1: The Foundation)
They drew a line in the dust of the Rohwer sand,
But they couldn’t cage the motion of a restless hand.
From the Disney ink at the track to the Arkansas heat,
She found a pattern in the pain that she wouldn’t repeat.
In the shadow of the towers, where the fences were tight,
She hollowed out the center just to find the light.
Not a victim of the history, but a student of the soul,
She took a wire-wrapped world and she made it whole.
(Chorus: The Anthem)
Oh, she didn’t just paint, she defied the floor
Through a woven gate and a wire-mesh door!
She’s the patron saint of the public square,
In the fabric of the very air we share.
From the classroom floor to the museum wall,
She built a ladder of courage for one and for all.
Ruth, you’re the visionary spirit and the golden arc,
In the heart of the city, you’re forever woven.
(Verse 2: The Discovery)
South of the border in a Toluca breeze,
She saw the baskets breathing from the local eaves.
A loop, a twist, a galvanized vine,
Defying every gravity with a heavy line.
Back at Black Mountain, under Albers’ eye,
She taught the metal how to mutter and the steel how to fly.
Transparency in motion, a ghost in the air,
She braided the silence and she left it there.
(Chorus: The Anthem)
Oh, she didn’t just paint, she defied the floor
Through a woven gate and a wire-mesh door!
She’s the patron saint of the public square,
In the fabric of the very air we share.
From the classroom floor to the museum wall,
She built a ladder of courage for one and for all.
Ruth, you’re the visionary spirit and the golden arc,
In the heart of the city, you’re forever woven.
(Verse 3: The Legacy)
She took the city’s children and she kneaded the clay,
Because a school without a spark is just in a world of grey.
At the Alvarado workshop, she ignited the fight,
To keep the hunger of the maker burning bright.
Now her name is on the building where the dreamers go,
Where the cellos find their voices and the painters grow.
She didn’t just sculpt a fountain or a bronze design,
She cast the future, one student at a time.
(Bridge: The Centenary)
A hundred years of seeing what the rest of us missed,
A century of beauty that the oxide has kissed.
Though you’ve returned to the earth and the infinite line,
Your math remains a miracle, intricate and divine.
Happy Birthday, Ruth, in the gallery of space,
We still feel the callouses and the warmth of your grace.
(Outro Chorus)
Now we lift up the wire, we honor the weave,
For the legacy of wonder that you didn’t just leave—
You threaded it deep in the hearts of the young,
In every bold lyric that’s ever been sung.
Thank you for the vision, for the strength in the bend,
A century of brilliance that’ll never quite end.
The world is more open, and we are forever woven to you.
Galen also created another version of his song, inspired by Ruth Asawa’s lifelong mission to make art accessible to everyone—just as she did with her public collection at the de Young.
“My hope is that Ruth’s Japanese-speaking friends and fans can enjoy this tribute in her native language. Please feel free to share it with anyone who might find it meaningful!”
(Verse 1)
ローワーの砂地に引かれた 拒絶の線 けれど しなやかな手の動きを 縛れはしない 競馬場のディズニーのペンから アーカンソーの熱気まで 彼女は苦難の中に 繰り返さぬリズムを見つけた 監視塔の影 張り詰められた有刺鉄線の中で 彼女は余白を見つめ 光を見出すことを学んだ 歴史の犠牲者ではなく 魂を学ぶ者として 壊れた世界を手に取り ひとつに繋ぎ合わせた
(Chorus)
ああ 彼女はただ描くのではなく 重力に抗った 金網の扉を抜け 空気を解き放ったのだ 彼女は街の広場の 守護聖人 アートは特権ではなく 分かち合う空気だと証明した 教室の床から 美術館の壁まで 誰もが登れる 創造の梯子を築いた ルース あなたは鉄の鼓動 先見の輝き 人々の心と サンフランシスコの闇を照らす灯火
(Verse 2)
国境の南 トルーカの風に吹かれ 軒先に吊るされた 籠の群れに出会った ひとつの輪 ひとつの捻り 亜鉛メッキの蔦 重たい線の概念を 塗り替えてゆく ブラックマウンテンに戻り アルバースの眼差しのもと 金属に呼吸を教え 鋼に空を飛ばせた 動的な透明さ 空中に浮かぶ亡霊のように 彼女は静寂を編み込み そこに残した
(Chorus)
ああ 彼女はただ描くのではなく 重力に抗った 金網の扉を抜け 空気を解き放ったのだ 彼女は街の広場の 守護聖人 アートは特権ではなく 分かち合う空気だと証明した 教室の床から 美術館の壁まで 誰もが登れる 創造の梯子を築いた ルース あなたは鉄の鼓動 先見の輝き 人々の心と サンフランシスコの闇を照らす灯火 (Verse 3) 彼女は街の子供たちを連れ 粘土を与えた 歌のない学校は ただの灰色の世界だから アルバラードのワークショップで 彼女は戦い始めた 作り手の火を 絶やさぬために 今 その名は夢追う者たちが集う校舎に刻まれ ダンサーは足場を見つけ 画家たちは育ってゆく 彼女が形作ったのは 噴水やブロンズだけじゃない 一人の生徒を慈しみ 未来そのものを彫り上げた
(Bridge)
我々が見落としたものを 見つめ続けた百年 鉄が口づけをした 美しき一世紀 あなたは大地と 無限の線へと帰ったけれど その幾何学は残り続ける 緻密で神聖なままに 誕生日おめでとう ルース 宇宙という名のギャラリーで 今もあなたの手の温もりと 気品を感じている
(Outro Chorus)
さあ 針金を持ち上げ その編み目を讃えよう あなたが残したのは ただの遺産ではない 若者たちの心に 深く植え付けられた種 力強く歌われる すべての歌詞の中に その先見性と しなやかな強さに感謝を 終わることのない 百年の輝き 世界はより開かれ より真実へと近づいた あなたが編み出した 輪と光のおかげで