Bruce and Norman Yonemoto

Who is Bruce and Norman Yonemoto?

Bruce Yonemoto and Norman Yonemoto are two Los Angeles, CA - based video/installation artists of Japanese American heritage.

Bruce and Norman Yonemoto's family was among the 120,000 incarcerated Japanese Americans during World War II. Their mother, Fumiko Rosie Hitomi, was placed with her family at Tule Lake in Northern California. Their father, Tak Yomemoto, had been drafted into the United States Army. When Rosie's uncle was brutally murdered in the internment camp, Tak sent condolences and rekindled the relationship. Soon after, Rosie was given permission to marry Tak and leave the camp. She was then allowed to relocate to Chicago. Norman Yonemoto was born in 1946 in Chicago. Once the war ended and Japanese Americans were released, the family relocated to Northern California. Bruce Yonemoto was born in 1949 in San Jose.

Growing up in the 1950s, the two brothers were actively a part of the post-war idealism and the culture of movies and television shows. 8 mm home movies, projection screens, and television sets became a part of everyday life.

Norman Yonemoto's training was in film. After Santa Clara University, University of California, Berkeley and UCLA; Norman attended the American Film Institute for two years where he earned his MFA in 1972. Bruce Yonemoto, however, sought his training in the visual arts. After UC Berkeley, he went to Tokyo studying at the Sokei Bijitsu Gakkō. Once he returned to California, he obtained his Masters in Fine Arts at Otis Art Institute. He is currently the chair and professor of the Art Department at the University of California, Irvine.