We have various exhibitions that address the various media taught here. Who Was James Kaneko? If any one human could exemplify the qualities of kindness, fairness and insight, which we hope, flourish inside all teachers, James Kaneko was that person. To us in the Art Department he was not just a ceramics teacher. Jim was more like an icon. His tenure at American River College was 43 1/2 years, one
year less than the age of the college itself. Born Susumu Kaneko (Go Forth Golden Child) in Sacramento on November 26, 1923, Jim and his brothers were all renamed by a local matriarch who couldn't pronounce their Japanese names. Growing up in the rural pastures of nearby Linccoln, he graduated from Lincoln High in 1941 and Placer Junior College in 1942. Shortly after, however, Jim, like thousands of other patriotic, law abiding Japanese-Americans, was interned by the U.S. He was first sent to the Tule Lake encampment near Klamath Falls, then to a facility in Stockton. Stripped of his freedom, his possessions, his family, but not his personal respect, he never showed any bitterness. Jim wound up settling in Stockton to attend the University of the Pacific, earning a bachelor's degree in 1951 and his master's in 1953. After a short tenure teaching math at Lincoln High, Jim was hired to teach ceramics at American River Junior College, then just a fledgling complex of buildings on the rural edge of Sacramento. With Jim's guidance, the ARC Art Gallery put on countless exhibitions throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Each year he held student art shows and provided awards for the outstanding entries. He brought back alumni and gave them shows. He gave shows to full time and adjunct faculty. Jim showed out-of-town artists, traditional artists and emerging artists, demonstrating the spirit of cultural diversity. During his breaks from ARC, Jim taught other teaachers ceramics at his Abingdon, Virginia studio. Considered an expert at glazes, his pieces sold at Tiffany's, Marshall Fields, Nieman-Marcus, and Gumps in San Francisco. He was part owner and designer of Iron Mountain Stoneware. He showed works at the famous Candy Store Gallery in Folsom, at the Crocker Art Museum, the Davis Art Center and Jennifer Pauls Gallery. His pieces are in the Smithsonian's permanent collection. He was also a consultant for elementary art for the University of Virginia, and wrote a book on children's art. To celebrate the college's 40th anniversary, Jim created and gave to ARC the huge ceramic mural, entitled "Ecology", 1999, that currently rests on the theatre arts building. In characteristic modesty, Jim had to be tugged out from the shadows so the college paper could get a photo of him with the mural at its opening ceremony. Jim loved ARC. In 43 1/2 years of teaching he never took a day of sick leave. In the end, when sickness got the better of him, he took a leave of absence. He loved his students and his colleagues, often in spite of ourselves. That's why we want his name to grace this gallery.
