About the Families

Japanese American Family: The Family of Yachiyo Uchida

These paintings are of the family of Yachiyo Uchida. Yachiyo moved to San Francisco forty years ago bringing with her two children, Joko and Hideki (Richard). She left Japan after the war to be reunited with her mother, Toshi (who had come to San Francisco, leaving Yachiyo as a baby in Japan) and to escape an abusive relationship with Hideki’s father, her second husband. Still unable to speak English comfortably, Yachio’s oral history was taken by the artist on videotape with Hideki acting as translator. The paintings in this exhibit were created from black and white family photos that had been taken mostly by Yachiyo’s stepfather, a dentist and avid photographer. His collection of photos includes images of the SF World Expose and the 1909 Earthquake in San Francisco. Incidentally, the artist is married to Hideki.

Anglo-Americans: The Family of Scott Madison

These paintings are made from hundreds of slides that Scott Madison’s father took from 1950 to 1975, which chronicle entire seasons of family events. The family settled in South Bend, Indiana, where both his parents were born, met and married. Scott and his sister, Patricia, grew up in the family home seen in the painting at the introduction to the exhibition. Scott moved to San Francisco in 1977 "to escape the profound boredom of the Midwest." Scott’s dad, Don, and his mother, Mary were married for more than fifty years. Mary passed away several years ago and Don now lives in Redwood City, CA and is under the loving care of his son, Scott.

Latin Americans: The Family of Leslie Aguilar

Leslie Aguilar was born in South Central Los Angeles, California in 1957. He has two brothers and one sister. His mom and dad met there and were married for fifteen years. Leslie was raised in the house that his father was born in. His parents divorced when Leslie was five. His mother describes herself as a single working mother. Leslie moved to San Francisco in 1977 pursue his career as an artist away from his family. The photos, from which the paintings of Leslie’s life were created, span from 1958 to the present. Leslie is an artist and he is gay. His life has been a journey to expand and explore his abilities as an artist—including, dance, design, architecture, carpentry, teaching, drawing, ceramics and textiles.

African Americans: The Family of Shelley Bradford Bell

Shelley Bradford Bell’s family grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Shelley has one sister living in Chicago, Marcia (whose daughter is Binta), and one brother, Quentin who currently lives in Atlanta. Her parents are Yvonne and Eugene Bradford Jr. Her paternal grandfather is Eugene Bradford Sr. Her paternal grandmother is Gertrude Jefferson. Her maternal grandfather is O.C. Buckner Sr. Her maternal grandmother is Elizabeth Badon. She grew up with her husband, James Bell Jr., from kindergarten. Her son’s name is James, III. Her parents were divorced after 31 years of marriage. She came to San Francisco in 1986 in order to pursue a childhood dream of living in the City by the Bay.

To have your family participate in the Human Family Tree project, please email.