Interview
Takuro Kishibe
Takuro Kishibe was born in 1982. He studied fashion styling and graduated from Tokyo Mode Gakuen located in the Nishi-Shinjuku district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. He lives in Kanagawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan, which is famous for its hot springs, centered around the town of Hakone in the far southwest.
Takuro tried to start a career in the field he studied to no avail. He later managed to secure a job as a cook in a restaurant and was even able to start a café in Nagasaki with friends he met at a vocational school in Tokyo. He then returned to Kanagawa Prefecture where he began to feel inspired, and started making collages of his art in 2012.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“My journey in the art world started in 2012 after I returned to Kanagawa prefecture in Japan. One day, I had an empty poster frame at home, so I decided to make something and put inside the frame. I came up with a collage of copying and pasting covers of magazines and my father's records at home. I liked the cover of George Harrison’s (from the former Beatles) album ‘All Things Must Pass’.
I made many black-and-white copies with my home printer and cut and pasted them in combination with various patterns. The result was a picture-like Mandala. I posted the completed collage on a social networking service, and it was well received by friends around me. So I immediately started making more collages.”
“I think the result of various events accumulated in my memory is subconsciously appearing as my current expression - paint and collage.”
What inspires you most?
“There is no specific thing that inspires me. I think it's everything I like from the past to the present. For example, my favorite natural scenery, my fashionable friends, my favorite paintings and music.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work has no plan at all and changes from time to time. Without knowing how the completed form will look, I aim for the goal while going to the right or left, relying only on my preference. Sometimes it's straight, whereas sometimes the shortest goal will take time to turn back or get lost on the way. I aim only for my honest ‘likes’ without any lies.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My work does not really have a theme or message. I can put a clients’ feelings into the requested work, but it is not the work I create from scratch. When the piece is done, the finished work is completely left to the viewer to visualize what the art work is. What you feel when you see the work is up to you.”
What is your creative process like?
“As I said earlier, I start running without seeing the goal. If you can't see the goal, it may be difficult to start, but any starting method is just fine. First of all, it is important to move your hands as you like, so as to put the color on the paper appropriately. I then draw it straight, draw a circle, draw it like I am hitting it, whatever! It doesn’t really matter.
Previously, the collages I had been making for a long time used vintage magazines and old books as materials. The materials I used were scissors and glue. Now, I mainly paint with acrylic paints. I often write on paper, but I plan to start writing on canvas and panels as well. I also produce drawings using colored pencils and oil pastel. I make collages using paper that I paint myself. In the future, I would like to use watercolors and oil paints as well.”
When creating, I try moving my hands as I like, in my current mood at that time. I will then hear a ‘voice’ from the canvas. According to that voice, I decide the color and move the brush in the direction I want to go. The ‘voice’ I hear from the canvas is the voice of my heart. I will obediently follow the voice of my heart and aim for the goal.
Which artists influence you most?
“I have many favorite artists, famous and unknown, but I dare to mention but a few. The first one I like is Tadanori Yokoo's graphic posters. When I started making photo montages and analog collage works, I think I was influenced by Mr. Yokoo's collage work.
I often make abstract painting works, but in terms of abstract paintings, I like Raoul De Keyser, Ilse D'Hollander, Cy Twombly, Kenzo Okada, etc. There are still many artists that I like so much but I can't write them all here.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I honestly don't know. However, I think that it is enough if I can move the feelings of another person with what I express. I don't think, "I want to influence the world" in my work. It is enough if someone's life is enriched as a small stimulus or a small essence in everyday life.”
Website: www.takurokishibe.wixsite.com
Instagram: @tkrksb1
