Search
Skip to main content
Luteva insolida, from the series Insect Immigrants, after Zimmerman (1948)
Luteva insolida, from the series Insect Immigrants, after Zimmerman (1948)

Luteva insolida, from the series Insect Immigrants, after Zimmerman (1948)

Artist/Maker (American, b. 1961)
Date2009–10
MediumHand embroidery on found doily and pins
DimensionsDiameter: 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Driek (OC 1965) and Michael (OC 1964) Zirinsky in honor of Ruth Tschumi (OC 1965)
PortfolioInsect Immigrants
Object number2023.1.56
Status
On view
Copyright© Lynne YamamotoMore Information
The term “insect immigrants” refers to the arrival of American missionaries to Hawaii in the early 1800s, bringing with them new insect species. The title of this series, Insect Immigrants, After Zimmerman (1948) , references the 1948 volume compiled by entomologist Elwood C. Zimmerman who cataloged more than 5,000 insects native to Hawaii.

The front side of these embroidered doilies is turned to face the wall, leaving the back, with loops and knots, facing the viewer. This display reveals the work’s elaborate and messy construction, rather than the deceptively neat result. Yamamoto thinks of these insects, and her renderings of them, as metaphors for the complexity of Hawaiian multi-ethnic identity.
Exhibition History
Border Crossings: Contemporary Art from the Zirinsky Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 10, 2025 - June 1, 2025 )
Collections
  • Modern & Contemporary
  • On View
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.
Kentronothrips hawaiiensis, from the series Insect Immigrants, after Zimmerman (1948)
Kentronothrips hawaiiensis, from the series Insect Immigrants, after Zimmerman (1948)
2009–10
Psylloneura williamsi, from the series Insect Immigrants, after Zimmerman (1948)
Psylloneura williamsi, from the series Insect Immigrants, after Zimmerman (1948)
2009–10
Swarm of Red Ants, from the portfolio Insects
Swarm of Red Ants, from the portfolio Insects
1972
New York City at Night by John A. Ferrari
New York City at Night by John A. Ferrari
1968
Image Not Available for #3392, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
#3392, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
2001
Postcard from Vic Mazoro, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Postcard from Vic Mazoro, Yale University, New Haven, CT
postmarked July 4, 1958
Medal to Commemorate the Visit to New York of the French and British War Commissions: Recto, Head of a Woman Encircled by Inscription; Verso, Gallia and Britannia greeting Columbia
Medal to Commemorate the Visit to New York of the French and British War Commissions: Recto, Head of a Woman Encircled by Inscription; Verso, Gallia and Britannia greeting Columbia
1917
Image Not Available for #1486, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
#1486, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
2001
Image Not Available for #3373, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
#3373, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
2001
Image Not Available for #2579, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
#2579, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
2001
Image Not Available for #2803, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
#2803, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
2001
Image Not Available for #0879, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
#0879, from the series Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
2001