Interview
Takako Konishi
African American artist Takako Konishi (pseudonym) creates contemporary collages that are intent on co-opting the audience’s gaze. “I don’t want you to look at my paintings, I want you to look into them. Even though they are 2d compositions, there is a spatial dynamic at work in each piece.”
He calls them paintings, but he doesn’t use paint, and hasn’t touched a brush ever since he stumbled onto his art making process. They can be described as digital collage, yet they go beyond the traditional collage aesthetic. “I try to create recognition points for the viewer, so that the meaning and connotations associated with imagery play a role in one’s interpretation of the painting”.
Born and raised in Chicago, Takako is a product of intermingling between adjacent classes, cultures and neighborhoods around the city. “I was exposed to various cultures at an early age.” He attributes this as a factor that made him appreciate beauty in the contrast of differences, a key attribute of collage.
Formally trained as an architect, Takako was heavily influenced by his time in graduate school at the University of Cincinnati’s school of Design, Architecture Art and Planning. The school had a dynamic mixture of disciplines interacting within the same building. He fondly recalls attending lectures and critiques on Fashion, Art, industrial design and Architecture. It was during this time Takako became interested in collage.
Takako’s collage making process, simulates the environments many of us experience daily. We constantly go back and forth between our real environment and our perceived environment as filtered through our devices. His art strives to reside somewhere in between this tension of the simulated and the real. Often starting in the digital environment, he’ll make physical prints, collage them, photograph them and convert them back to digital. This back-and-forth process usually happens multiple times on any given piece, eventually blurring and adding a layered depth to the two-dimensional work.
One theme that has become apparent in his work is his fascination with the myriad of subcultures we simultaneously exist in, each one playing a role in shaping our identity. His art tries to reflect and exaggerate this phenomenon, playfully giving form to these invisible selves.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“My background is in Architecture. While doing my graduate school thesis at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Architecture, I was formally challenged to utilize collage as an organizing principle for thought. Although I didn’t know it at the time, this year long exercise was the beginning of my journey into the art world. This was where I began shaping my artistic philosophy and strategy for creating art.
While working as an architect, I began to realize that although architecture has a creative side, the profession is about understanding construction and business, which is an education unto itself. This left a void; I wasn’t being fulfilled creatively. And so, at night, I turned back to art. This is why I created a pseudonym. I wanted to fully express myself as an artist and not worry about the impact it would have on my professional career or the firm I was employed with. I needed separate worlds to be able to experiment and grow as an artist.”
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“I tend to focus on social issues because I’m fascinated by Contemporary culture. Many of my pieces attempt to explore some aspect of contemporary American life. One way this is reflected in my work, is through the intensity of the collage aesthetic. It is said that the average American is exposed to 5,000 to 10,000 ads per day, and this is so normal to us, it’s barely recognized. My pieces usually range from 200 to 500 images to create a single composition. I’m trying to capture this imagery bombardment we experience, and present it back to us. In some ways, the art acts as a reflection. If we take a moment, we can start to recognize ourselves.”
“Imagery makes the best paint. It comes dripping with color and connotations.”
- Takako Konishi
Which current art world trends are you following?
“Digital art has become a trend but it’s something I’ve been doing for a while. My interest in digital collage stems from wanting to create art that expresses what it feels like to be alive today. More than any other medium, except cinema, I feel digital collage is best for this because it appropriates the imagery of now, it also uses technology of our time to produce the art. I started as a painter, and in many ways, I still consider myself to be one. But the actual act of painting is an ancient practice that in no way reflects the hyper real, screen dominated world we live in today.
And now with the booming popularity of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), digital art is gaining attention from a whole new audience. This is fantastic but just like anything else in its infancy stages there’s going to be a distillation period to separate the exceptional work from the average. It’s an exciting time for art. Not only are there new waves of collectors, but there’s a new wave of creators. I compare it to the advent of rapping in hip hop. What rapping did was it liberated music. You no longer needed to be able to sing to be the lead vocalist. The individuality of the sound expressed in your speaking voice was just as valuable. Producing art without painting or drawing has been with us for a while but its value has always been considered as something less. I think the distillation process we are experiencing will ultimately elevate digital art so that it will be on the same level as the traditional methods.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“It’s both. Influenced by my architectural training, I start each piece by developing the concept first. What is the big ideal and how can that become a process that will generate the aesthetic? This is how I start but where I land is impossible to preconceive. The beauty of digital collage is when I add an image into the composition, I’m often not sure what effect it will have. That’s where the improvisation comes in. I’m often just as surprised as anyone. It’s kind of like cooking, but with a blindfold. When you add a new ingredient to the dish, you’re not sure what its going to do, you must taste it and adjust. This often leads you to places you didn’t anticipate, but it keeps the process fresh and exciting.”
“Cinema, fashion, Culture, pornography and mythology, these are some of the aspects frequently explored in my work. In other words, what we watch, what we wear, who we are, who we want to be, who we idolize.”
What process, materials, techniques, etc., do you use to create your artwork?
“I describe my process as painting with images. Like traditional collages, I’m interested in juxtaposition, contrast and irony but I also incorporate techniques that today’s technology offers the artist - like merging and blending imagery. This allows my instincts as a painter to emerge. You can also see my architectural design training at work. My philosophy toward composition and space are an ongoing conversation.
I pride myself as being the ultimate image thief. My friends have learned not to post images they don’t want stolen. My image collection is getting out of hand. I’ve collected thousands, some for-inspiration some for direct use, some for future projects. I then cut, blend, merge, slice, mash and manipulate the images until the composition rings at a certain visual tone.”
What does your art mean to you?
“Philosophically, there is no one meaning, but I do have an overarching theme. I seek to create an art that reflects the aesthetic, pace and ultimately sense of place we’ve created in contemporary culture. That’s why I like to work on my art in public spaces. You can literally feel the energy of a city in some spaces. But we also live on various platforms through our devices. We also exist there in that space. There is a blurring that’s occurred which has affected our understanding of which spaces are real. I want this blur to be reflected in my work.
On a personal level it means everything to me. It is me, literally. It is a manifestation of my thoughts, time and effort. My paintings take a long time to develop. Some I’ve worked on for years, others are on going and will probably always be. Paintings have different purposes, not all are meant to be displayed in public. Some are exercises to work out ideas, thoughts and effects. Some are forms of meditation. A never-ending Labyrinth that encourages my artistic soul to explore further.”
What’s your favorite artwork and why?
“Some of my work is influenced by the ancient Japanese erotica art called Shunga. Most shunga was overtly sexual but I really became interested in the abuna-e style (‘risky pictures’) which describes images that were more suggestive of sex but did not depict it openly. This is an attitude I find prevalent in American popular culture. Sex is used in everything, but we tend to condemn it if it’s overt. I’ve become fascinated with exploring the line between risky and overt. I explore this a lot in an ongoing series I’m working on called The Red Dress Series.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“In 2019, had the honor of displaying one of my paintings (BMAN3 REVISED 36x48 digital collage printed on letralux) in a group exhibition called Cultural Deconstructions: critical issues in collage at LeMieux Gallery in New Orleans LA. This was the primary exhibition of Kolaj Fest New Orleans, a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art culture and society. It felt good to be recognized in a city I love so much that is also home to many admired artists.”
