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Susan Yamagata

Susan Yamagata is an American artist.

Born in National City, California in 1958, Susan Yamagata was raised in nearby Chula Vista. She attended Southwestern College (1976-78) and received a BA degree in Applied Arts and Sciences at San Diego State University in 1982. In 1984, she was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree from University of California, Santa Barbara where she studied printmaking.

With Michael Schnorr, Yamagata created monumental murals 'Death of a Farmworker' mural which portrays the enslavement and plight of the farmworker and 'Coatlicue, la Diosa de la Tierra Earth Goddess' that cover the pylons holding up the Coronado Bridge rising overChicano Park in San Diego, California.

With fellow members of the Border Art Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo (BAW/TAF) and invited guest artists, Yamagata participated in the exhibition "Whitewashed" in 1991 at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park

Yamagata participated in a 2009 exhibition installed at the U.S.-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana, in opposition to Operation Gatekeeper. She painted a skull motif on giant papier mâche boots and shoes that were displayed along the Tijuana airport road, with one shoe emblazoned with the words “¿Cuantos mas?” ("How many more?") There have been numerous installations on the south side of the border fence, including a large painting of a skeleton drinking the last drop of water from a water jug and a traditional Mexican altar for the dead and three paintings of “doors” — the only open one leading into a depiction of the desert — created by Yamagata and San Diego artist Todd Stands.

Another prominent, cross-themed work, was a massive cluster of crosses done by Yamagata and Schnorr in collaboration with the Coalición Pro Defensa del Migrante, a Tijuana-based migrant aid organization. The installation included 5,100 white crosses strung together and suspended from the top of the fence, symbolizing the estimated number of people who have died from crossing the border in the previous 15 years. The display took six months to put together, with help from volunteers, including those who resided at the migrant shelter and was installed in time for Mexico’s traditional Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday Nov. 2.

In the autumn of 2015, Yamagata also participated in another exhibition centered on the theme of Dia de los Muertos. The exhibition "Re-membering Our Ancestors: Discovering Ourselves, curated by David Avalos, was on view at the Museum at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido