The School of Art + Art History + Design is sad to announce the passing of 3D4M Professor Emeritus Akio Takamori. He joined the School faculty in 1993 and taught until his retirement in 2014. His ceramic work had become well-recognized by then, including his first exhibition in France in 2013 followed later that year by a show at the Musée Ariana in Geneva, Switzerland. Takamori was recognized with the Seattle Mayor's Arts & Innovation Award in 2015. After retirement, he focused on creating artwork, despite being initially diagnosed with cancer in the second half of 2014, and he was working right up to the day of his death on January 11, 2017. The Seattle Times published an obituary article a few days later. Pottery Northwest sent a message with several lovely tributes to Takamori.
We know that Takamori's teaching and mentorship touched the lives of many of our alums. If any want to share stories about him, email them to us, and we will pass them along to his family.
A celebration of Takamori's life will take place in the spring. We will share the details once they have been determined. In the meantime, plan on seeing Takamori's final body of work at a James Harris Gallery exhibition, which opened on February 16, 2017. It remains open through April 1. You may also read about this show in CFile Daily and Northwest Asian Weekly.
Update
April 2017
The memorial celebration for Akio Takamori takes place on Saturday, April 22, 2017, in his studio at 3107 W Government Way, Seattle. It starts at 2pm and ends at 5pm, with remarks beginning at 3pm.
His wife and children ask that, in lieu of flowers, donations be directed to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Update
October 2017
An article about Takamori was published in Crosscut, and it includes a 3-minute KCTS9 video about him.