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Artist Decoded by Yoshino

"I started this series as a means for exploration, an exploration of self, and an exploration of the perspectives of other artists. This series is an unabridged documentation of conversations between artists. It’s a series dedicated to breaking down the barriers we tend to set up in our own minds. I want to inspire future creatives to have the courage to explore and experiment. This is about making dreams a reality and not about letting our dreams fall to the wayside. My intention is to give my audience a sense of real human connection, something that feels rich and organic. When I was thinking of a title I thought of the word “movement”. In relation to the Renaissance period in art, my goal for this program is to signify a rebirth of consciousness towards the way we look at contemporary art." - Yoshino (@yoshinostudios)
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Now displaying: Category: art
Mar 11, 2024

Iranian-American filmmaker Saman Kesh has the most Vimeo staff picks, ever. He attributes this accolade to excessive consumption of rocket fuel and a knack for combining the human experience with a healthy dose of controlled chaos.

After his music videos won him YDA Silver at Cannes and two Best Video at SXSW, his foray into advertising was an epic international Superbowl spot for Taco Bell. Since then, he has worked with major brands like Zoom, Google, Citibank, Uber, and most recently picked up a handful of Clio awards for his work with Toyota and Nintendo. Saman has written and directed two universally hailed short films, CONTROLLER and HIT TV, which are being developed into TV-shows, and he is currently working on two feature films.

On his off hours, he plays video games and trolls racists.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • Creating a sanctuary for yourself (00:03:20)
  • His short film Controller, DP’d by Isaac Bauman (00:10:01)
  • Saman’s definition of success (0015:43)
  • Celebrating small victories (00:22:28)
  • Working professionally with ADHD (00:26:59)
  • Knowing our strengths and weaknesses and how to work with them (00:35:40)
  • Martial arts and spirituality (00:43:22)
  • Saman’s advice for artists and creatives (01:11:16)

artistdecoded.com
samankesh.com
instagram.com/saman_kesh

Mar 4, 2024

Daniele Bolelli is a writer, martial artist, university professor, and podcaster. He was born in Italy and currently lives in Los Angeles.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • Daniele’s podcasts History on Fire and The Drunken Taoist (00:05:55)
  • Daniele’s writing practice (00:08:51)
  • Family and navigating personal struggles (00:15:03)
  • The origin of Daniele’s passion for history (00:30:59)
  • Reflections on legacy (00:35:02)
  • Unpacking success, values, and the nature of quality (00:40:46)
  • The complexities of meritocracy  (00:53:32)
  • Discussing personal values (01:08:19)
  • Thoughts on the impact of advanced technology (01:17:10)
  • Power and agency within decision making (01:44:50)
  • Daniele’s life advice (01:49:21)


artistdecoded.com
danielebolelli.com
danielebolelli.substack.com
historyonfirepodcast.com
thedrunkentaoist.com
instagram.com/daniele_bolelli

Dec 28, 2023

Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded.

Yoshino’s essay “Photo Roulette” can be read at Yoshino’s Diary on Substack.

Yoshino’s Links:
yoshinostudios.com
yoshino.substack.com
instagram.com/yoshinostudios
twitter.com/yoshinostudios

Dec 23, 2023

Wesley Stringer (b. 1985) was born in Oklahoma City and has worked as a photographer for the past 13 years. Stringer began photographing while a BFA student at the University of Oklahoma. His practice is concerned with the natural environment, both in its untouched state, as well as how it relates to the spaces people occupy. The printed image is as important to Stringer’s work as the physical and textural presence: his photographs frequently take the shape of handmade books or boxes. In addition, the artist prints many of his photographs on translucent gampi paper and mounts them by hand to heavier weight papers, giving each artwork evidence of its making. Stringer’s photographs and handmade books have been exhibited in museums and galleries in the United States and in France. In 2013, Stringer’s photographs were exhibited at the Museum of Art and Design in New York. In 2016, Stringer was a finalist for the Rudin Prize for Emerging Photographers, which resulted in a group exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach. Working in collaboration with artist Daniel Brush, Stringer’s photographs were exhibited at L’École School in Paris (2017) and L’École School in New York (2018). In 2019, his photographs were exhibited at Nailya Alexander Gallery, New York (2019), and in 2020, Stringer’s work was acquired by the library of The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2020). Stringer's work is represented by Michael Hulett at The Hulett Collection in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

 

Nov 30, 2023

James “Munky” Shaffer is best known as co-founder and guitarist for American rock band Korn. With a career spanning three decades, his latest project Venera ventures into experimental electronic territory.

Venera
L.A.-based James Shaffer and Atlanta-based Chris Hunt converged as Venera in early 2022 in Downtown Los Angeles while working on songs for singer Xhoana X. Their kindred interest and backgrounds in dramatic texture, electronics, and experimentation inspired an improvisation-based recording process that seeks to explore a sonic universe defined by evolving atmosphere, cinematic noise, and select collaborations. Venera released their self-titled debut album on Oct. 13 via Ipecac Recordings. 

Topics Discussed In This Episode:
  • Treating everyone with kindness (00:04:34)
  • James’s newest project Venera (00:08:37)
  • Unexpected occurrences while making music for Venera (00:18:29)
  • How he experimented with new playing styles in Venera (00:21:34)
  • Switching studios or environments to channel into different ways of creating and experimenting (00:24:19)
  • Understanding one’s own strengths and weaknesses / working with producer Ross Robinson (00:26:29)
  • Exploring the origin of Korn’s unique sound (00:29:30)
  • Discussing alternate realities (00:31:26)
  • Creating time for creative practices (00:35:58)
  • James’s daily habits and rituals (00:37:23)
  • James’s struggle with addiction and how he overcame it (00:42:06)
  • Spiritual transcendence (00:45:00)
  • How James originally got into music (00:50:02)
  • The importance of having a creative outlet in one’s life (00:54:28)

artistdecoded.com
instagram.com/munky_korn

instagram.com/_veneramusic
veneramusic.com
kornofficial.com

Oct 9, 2023

Paul Yoon is the author of four previous works of fiction: Once the Shore, which was a New York Times Notable Book; Snow Hunters, which won the Young Lions Fiction Award; The Mountain, which was an NPR Best Book of the Year; and Run Me to Earth, which was one of Time magazine’s Must-Read Books of 2020 and longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, he lives in the Hudson Valley, New York.

ArtistDecoded.com
Paul’s Website
The Hive and The Honey

Sep 25, 2023

Johan Van Mullem (Belgian painter born in 1959) persisted in his youthful search for wrinkled faces, seeking the beauty he recognized in an experience engraved on the faces and in the hands.  Since then, the face remains the major subject of his work but over time reversing the imprint of it on his own face while these subjects seem to rejuvenate, disappearing or emerging in a halo of light in old-fashioned sfumato, offering the gaze an escape into the world of emotion, because Johan van Mullem's work is an invitation to introspection, to a journey whose omnipresent emotional charge cannot leave indifferent as the depth is often dizzying.  The superimposition and erasure of the many smooth layers of the diluted inks further accentuate this feeling of inexpressible presence on the canvas. The self-taught mastery of the specific and unique technicality of his work because only executed in etching ink (an extension of his experience as an engraver) gives his work an additional exceptional character.  Complete artist, designer, painter, and sculptor, (but also poet and musician) Johan Van Mullem strives to create a multiple, diverse but absolutely coherent work offering links and bridges to all our senses awakened by this work that projects as much into the past as into a contemporaneity.

artistdecoded.com
johanvanmullem.com
fine-arts-museum.be/en/exhibitions/johan-van-mullem
instagram.com/johanvanmullem

Sep 8, 2023

Jacqueline Castel is an internationally award-winning director, screenwriter, and curator based in NYC. Her short film work has been featured at more than fifty festivals worldwide, including Sundance, SXSW, Rotterdam, BAMcinemaFest, Sitges, and Fantasia. She has written for and directed cult auteurs John Carpenter and Jim Jarmusch, and collaborated on a film with David Lynch for his Festival of Disruption in 2018. Her most recent short film, a portrait of Cannes award-winning actor Caleb Landry Jones, debuted on NOWNESS in 2021. Castel’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The BBC, Dazed, VICE, Italian Vogue, Interview Magazine, and on AMC’s Shudder. She earned her BFA with honors at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. My Animal is her feature film debut.

artistdecoded.com
jacquelinecastel.com
instagram.com/jacquelinecastel
myanimalfilm.com

Sep 4, 2023

Internationally acclaimed, prominent contemporary artist and social media Influencer; Dan Lam is an artist based out of Texas, US. Lam’s sculptural work expresses and plays with sensational dichotomies by combining unconventional materials, organic forms, and bright colors. With contrasting themes verging on beauty and grotesqueness at once, Lam’s art provokes its viewers to ponder meaning and existence while inspiring feelings of familiarity and wonder. Curiosity, play, and fun are the foundation of where Lam’s work begins. Her experimentation results in beautiful sculptures created with various materials such as foams, polyurethanes, resins, acrylics, and polymers, which defines her style. She has exhibited worldwide, and celebrity clients include Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, The Game, and Lily Aldridge. Notable art collectors, such as the Tisch family, have acquired her work. In addition, Lam has collaborated with prominent companies, including Facebook and Virgin, and renowned art producers, Meow Wolf. Her pieces have been featured in Architectural Digest, Travel and Leisure, and Forbes, amongst many other international media outlets.

artistdecoded.com
bydanlam.com
instagram.com/sopopomo

Jun 23, 2023

Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded.

Yoshino’s short story “The Inner Symphony” can be read at Yoshino’s Diary on Substack.

Yoshino’s Links:
yoshinostudios.com
yoshino.substack.com
instagram.com/yoshinostudios
twitter.com/yoshinostudios

Jun 12, 2023

Christine Kuan is President & Executive Director of Creative Capital, a nonprofit grantmaking organization funding artists creating experimental and groundbreaking new work in the visual arts, performing arts, film, technology, literature, socially engaged, and multidisciplinary forms. Before joining Creative Capital, Kuan was CEO & Director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and held roles as Chief Curator & Director of Strategic Partnerships at Artsy, Chief Curatorial Officer & VP for External Affairs at Artstor, and Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Art Online/Grove Art Online at Oxford University Press. She has also worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and taught at the University of Iowa, Peking University, Rutgers University, and Stanford University Arts Leadership program. Kuan holds an MFA in Creative Writing Poetry from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a BA in Art History and English Literature from Rutgers University.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • Intuition (0:09:49)
  • How Creative Capital fosters the careers of multi-disciplinary artists (00:13:43)
  • How Creative Capital supports diversity and equality within the arts (00:16:30)
  • How Creative Capital is often the first organization to fund artists (00:21:18)
  • The “Wild Futures” grant cycle (00:22:23)
  • Jordan Weber’s “4 MX” project (00:25:11)
  • Early funded projects including Lynn Hershman Leeson‘s “Women Art Revolution” (00:28:08)
  • Christine encourages people to pursue a career in the arts (00:33:24)
  • Creating harmony between the arts and institutions (00:36:18)
  • Focusing our attention towards quality time and experiences (00:40:11)
  • How artists are selected by Creative Capital (00:48:36)
  • Christine’s advice for artists and creatives (00:58:04)

Books Referenced:

  • “Deep Work” by Cal Newport
  • “The Kybalion” by The Three Initiates

People Mentioned:

  • James Baldwin
  • Angela Merkel
  • Spike Lee
  • Jibz Cameron
  • Titus Kaphar
  • Cassils
  • Jordan Weber
  • Jesse Krimes
  • Lynn Hershman Leeson
  • Samora Pinderhughes
  • Simone Leigh
  • Lorraine O'Grady

artistdecoded.com
creative-capital.org
instagram.com/kuannyc

Jun 5, 2023

Mitch Horowitz is a historian of alternative spirituality and one of today’s most literate voices of esoterica, mysticism, and the occult. He is the PEN Award-winning author of books including Occult America, One Simple Idea, The Miracle Club, Daydream Believer, Uncertain Places, and the forthcoming Modern Occultism. Mitch hosted, co-wrote, and produced a feature documentary about the occult classic The Kybalion directed by Emmy-nominee Ronni Thomas and shot on location in Egypt. The movie premiered as the #3 documentary on iTunes. Mitch plays a newscaster in the forthcoming Paramount feature thriller My Animal directed by Jacqueline Castel, an official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Mitch’s books have been translated into French, Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese. His work is censored in China.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • Mitch’s currently unreleased book, “Modern Occultism” (00:04:33)
  • Mitch’s concept, “The Ten Day Miracle Challenge” (00:07:00)
  • Having an obsessive intellect (00:09:53)
  • Nurturing one’s intrinsic nature (00:11:19)
  • Positive lessons Mitch learned while working in publishing (00:13:41)
  • Learning from suffering (00:17:17)
  • Emotions informing memories (00:20:31)
  • Anton Lavey’s teachings (00:24:03)
  • Truth comes in the form of a lie - G. I. Gurdjieff (00:26:34)
  • Finding one’s personal truth (00:31:49)
  • The films of Ruben Östlund (00:35:19)
  • “The Wish Machine” in Andrei Tarkovsky‘s film Stalker (00:38:39)
  • The effects of technological information overload and Anton Lavey’s “The Augmentive Principle” (00:42:32)
  • Fear and a wish being one and the same (00:47:27)
  • Building character through difficult situations (00:54:23)
  • Mitch’s fascination with the work of G. I. Gurdjieff (00:57:09)
  • Separating the art from the artist (00:59:42)
  • Limiting judgments against others (01:06:38)

Books Referenced:

  • Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel)
  • Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)
  • The Third Mind (Brion Gysin and William S. Burroughs)

Films / TV Shows Referenced:

  • The Square
  • Force Majore
  • Stalker
  • Anti-Christ
  • The Last Ship
  • The Last of Us
  • Alone

People Mentioned:

  • Jacqueline Castel
  • Carlos Castaneda
  • Jack Parsons
  • Brion Gysin
  • William S. Burroughs
  • G. I. Gurdjieff
  • Vernon Howard
  • Ruben Östlund
  • Andrei Tarkovsky
  • Anton Lavey
  • Emily St. John Mandel
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Napolean Hill
  • Grant Morrison
  • Alan Moore

ArtistDecoded.com
MitchHorowitz.com
Mitch’s Twitter
Mitch’s Instagram

Apr 11, 2023

Cj Hendry (b. 1988) is a New York-based artist originally from Brisbane, Australia. Hendry transforms her fascination with contemporary material culture into large-scale, hyper-photorealistic drawings. Cj Hendry’s exhibits aren’t intended to be passively observed but, rather, actively experienced through engaging, fun, and thought-provoking exhibits. For her exhibit Monochrome, Hendry and her team built an entire multi-room “home” inside a warehouse with each room entirely monochrome-colored from floor to ceiling and everything in between. For Rorschach, guests jumped through a gigantic bouncy house maze in order to reach and finally view the impressive series. Each Cj Hendry exhibit, from Miami to Melbourne, draws massive crowds with attendees waiting in line for several hours - and, in the end, everyone leaves more enriched than when they arrived. With her celebrity clientele – and many works in private collections - Hendry’s waitlist is now well over 3,000 collectors with a wait time of up to five years to get their hands on a piece.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • CJ’s mindset shift after university (00:03:41)
  • The beginning of CJ’s art practice (00:06:35)
  • What led to CJ’s first sale (00:08:32)
  • The 10,000-hour rule (00:12:49)
  • Creating great concepts and ideas (00:10:46)
  • Success leading to complacency (00:13:59)
  • Her recent project “Cheese” (00:18:28)
  • Thoughts on losing fire and passion over time (00:20:37)
  • Sustaining a playful mentality (00:23:58)
  • Valuable lessons learned creating an art business (00:26:54)
  • CJ’s “Copyright Infringement” series (00:37:22)
  • CJ’s decision to not work with a manager (00:42:33)
  • AI art (00:46:38)
  • Her upcoming exhibition “Plaid” (00:52:27)

artistdecoded.com
cjhendrystudio.com
instagram.com/cj_hendry

Apr 7, 2023

Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded.

Yoshino’s short story “And Then Awoke The Butterfly” can be read at Yoshino’s Diary on Substack.

Yoshino’s Links:
yoshinostudios.com
yoshino.substack.com
instagram.com/yoshinostudios
twitter.com/yoshinostudios

Apr 6, 2023

Brett Amory’s multidisciplinary practice is based on the intersection of quotidian and habitual engagements with the everyday world. His works consider moments of visual perception that precede interpretation. Working primarily in painting and installation, he uses the ordinary as a vehicle for extending the familiar into the realms of the unfamiliar.

His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including at the National Portrait Gallery, London; the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh; the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Indiana; Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco; and de Young Museum, San Francisco.

Brett Amory earned an MFA from Stanford University and a BFA from the Academy of Arts
University. He lives and works in Oakland California.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • Introduction (00:00:00)
  • Brett’s introduction to art through skateboarding (00:11:42)
  • Using experiences to inform one’s creative process (00:21:45)
  • Honing into instincts (00:26:27)
  • Being challenged to draw better (00:30:22)
  • The combination of aesthetics and meaning (00:37:35)
  • The evolution of Brett’s work over the course of 25 years (00:41:33)
  • “The Waiting Series” (00:43:33)
  • Getting his MFA @ Stanford (00:48:31)
  • Conclusions Brett has come to after completing his MFA @ Stanford (00:51:23)
  • What the MFA application process is like @ Stanford (00:56:47)
  • Phenomenology (01:01:08)
  • Brett’s recent work regarding duality and technology (01:04:00)
  • Stoicism (01:09:40)
  • GANs / AI (01:12:27)

Artists / People Mentioned:

  • William Strobeck (Skateboard Film Director)
  • George Romero  (Director)
  • Marshall McLuhan (Writer)
  • Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Philosopher)
  • Paul Cézanne (Painter)
  • René Descartes (Philosopher)
  • Martin Heidegger (Philospher)

Books Mentioned:

  • Techgnosis (Erik Davis)
  • The Singularity is Nearer (Ray Kurzweil)

Article Read In Episode Intro:
"What is Embodiment? Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Philosophy of the Body" by Moses May-Hobbs

artistdecoded.com
brettamory.com
instagram.com/brettamory

Mar 27, 2023

Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded.

Yoshino’s essay “Wandering and Wondering” can be read at Yoshino’s Diary on Substack.

Yoshino’s Links:
yoshinostudios.com
yoshino.substack.com
instagram.com/yoshinostudios
twitter.com/yoshinostudios

Mar 17, 2023

Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded.

Topics Discussed:

  • Living with love and compassion (00:07:48)
  • The journey into understanding (00:11:56)
  • Making impactful decisions (00:15:27)
  • Yoshino’s creative life (00:19:41)
  • Manifesting future outcomes (00:25:35)
  • Napolean Hill’s concept, “The Definite Chief Aim” (00:27:51)
  • The psychology of money (00:32:02)
  • Yoshino’s life as a martial artist (00:36:07)
  • Breaking through a consensus trance (00:42:00)
  • Toxic productivity (00:50:53)
  • Seeking balance (00:53:21)
  • Yoshino’s recent revelations (00:59:06)

Artists / People Mentioned:

  1. Mac Miller (Rapper)
  2. Thundercat (Singer/Songwriter/Bassist)
  3. Michel Legrand (Composer)
  4. Mitch Horowitz (Writer)
  5. Phoebe Bridgers (Singer/Songwriter)
  6. Justin Daashuur Hopkins (Director/Artist)
  7. Erik Davis (Writer)
  8. Charles Bukowski (Writer)
  9. Jack Kerouac (Writer)
  10. William S Burroughs (Writer)
  11. Aldous Huxley (Writer)

Yoshino’s Links:
yoshinostudios.com
instagram.com/yoshinostudios
twitter.com/yoshinostudios

Mar 9, 2023

Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded.

Topics Discussed:

  • Dealing with negative thoughts and emotions
  • Yoshino’s perspective shifting while running
  • “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu
  • Living in a productivity-focused world
  • Giving ourselves permission to step deeper into ourselves
  • Sufi mysticism
  • Thich Nhat Hanh

“Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Yoshino’s Links:
yoshinostudios.com
instagram.com/yoshinostudios
twitter.com/yoshinostudios

Feb 6, 2023

Raymond Lee stars as Dr. Ben Song on the new NBC drama “Quantum Leap.” Ben is a brilliant quantum physicist leaping through time to put right what once went wrong. Lee also stars in the AMC series “Kevin Can F*** Himself,” which begins its second season Aug. 22.

Previously, he was a series regular on Alan Ball’s HBO series “Here and Now.” Additional recurring roles include the HBO Max series “Made for Love,” Fox’s “Prodigal Son,” Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle” and ABC’s “Scandal.” On the film side, he is currently appearing in the box office smash “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Theater credits include the world premiere productions of “Vietgone” at Manhattan Theater Club, for which he was awarded the Theatre World Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Debut; “Office Hour,” opposite Sandra Oh, and “Cambodian Rock Band” at the South Coast Repertory.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • Raymond and Yoshino being Cal State Long Beach alums (00:06:31)
  • Raymond dropping out of high school and how that affected him psychologically while growing up (00:07:27)
  • Problems with the education system (00:010:05)
  • Finding a love for performance in his youth (00:13:07)
  • Discovering acting through theatre and deciding to become a professional actor while he was in college (00:14:49)
  • Raymond’s approach to acting (00:18:37)
  • The importance of having discipline and maintaining solid habits (00:22:53)
  • Embodying characters and manifesting roles (00:25:59)
  • Yoshino shares a personal story highlighting the impact art can have on its viewers (00:36:05)
  • The impact art has made on Raymond’s life (00:39:02)
  • The Kybalion and embracing polarities (00:43:56)
  • The Rashomon Effect (00:47:32)
  • Manifesting goals (00:51:18)
  • Honing into and practicing intuition (00:59:22)
  • Raymond and Yoshino speaking about acquiring skill sets (01:10:56)
  • Final words of advice from Raymond (01:22:11)

Artists / People Mentioned:

  • Sandra Oh (Actor)
  • Joseph Lee (Painter / Actor)
  • Akira Kurosawa (Film Director)
  • Rubens Charles Cobrinha (BJJ Practioner)

Books Mentioned:

  • The Kybalion

Films / TV Series Mentioned:

  • Dopesick (2021)
  • Rashomon (1950)

artistdecoded.com
Raymond Lee’s IMDB
instagram.com/raymomomo

Dec 17, 2022

Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded.

Topics Discussed:

  • Making good use of your observations
  • The cop-out of not feeling inspired
  • Observing people’s body language and the way they treat animals
  • Yoshino’s perspective on street photography
  • The artist’s duty
  • “Our hearts all beat for something.” - Yoshino
  • Following one’s own personal interests
  • Being honest with one’s self
  • The Daemon
  • Building one’s perspective

Yoshino’s Links:
yoshinostudios.com
instagram.com/yoshinostudios
twitter.com/yoshinostudios

Dec 13, 2022

Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded.

Topics Discussed:

  • Questioning illusions
  • Envying what others have
  • Finding a deeper understanding of ourselves
  • Brutal honesty with oneself
  • Dealing with trauma
  • Healing
  • Building your intuitive muscle
  • Being conscious of what we give our time to
  • Writing from a place of honesty
  • Embracing paradoxes

Yoshino’s Links:
yoshinostudios.com
instagram.com/yoshinostudios
twitter.com/yoshinostudios

Dec 7, 2022

Elly Smallwood is a figurative and portrait artist living in Canada. She works primarily in acrylics and oils.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • Elly moving from Ottawa to the woods
  • The energetic differences she notices between living in a city versus being in the woods
  • Modern-day false prophets and gurus
  • The power of questioning dogmatic principles
  • Art capitalism
  • Trying to seek balance in the need to live a peaceful life, while simultaneously wanting to seek progression in one’s career
  • Elly’s experiences working with galleries
  • Growth through vulnerability
  • Her perspective of creating portraits of other people in contrast to creating portraits of herself
  • Model vs. muse
  • Elly’s bone collection
  • Tarot and its influence on Elly’s artwork
  • The Hermit and The Tower in the Major Arcana in Tarot
  • Elly training Muay Thai
  • Working through uncomfortable experiences

Artists / People Mentioned:

  • Nina Menkes (Film Director)

Books Mentioned:

  • The Richest Man In Babylon (George Samuel Clason)
  • The Kybalion (Three Initiates)
  • The Vegetarian (Han Kang)

Films / TV Series Mentioned:

  • Wild Wild Country
  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire
  • Brainwashed: Sex, Camera, Power

artistdecoded.com
elly.ca
instagram.com/ellysmallwood

Nov 8, 2022

With the release of Black Magnet’s debut album ‘Hallucination Scene’ in 2020 a new Industrial Metal power emerged from the unlikely landscape of Oklahoma City. After anxiously waiting out the pandemic Black Magnet returned to the road in late 2021 and has now dropped ‘Body Prophecy’ the second full-length burst of machine-driven mayhem and electronic deviance.

On ‘Body Prophecy’ mastermind, James Hammontree welds the frenetic vitality of post-punk and metal energy with driving synthetic club beats, factory force physicality, and alluringly stark melodic pulses. Tracks like ‘Floating in Nothing’ and ‘Violent Mechanix’ feature both intensely catchy hooks and hammering brutal noise. ‘Sold Me Sad’ is a quietly deranged lullaby that takes an atmospheric turn. The throbbing drug-addled lurch of the Manson / Reznor-esque ‘Incubate’ is, at the end of the album, treated to a completely re-imagined and extended club-style remix by scene legend Justin K. Broadrick (Godflesh, Zonal, etc).

For all its harsher, scraping atmospheres and pummeling aggression ‘Body Prophecy’ always remains an eminently tight, memorable album molded for the stage and constructed to keep bodies in motion and listeners transfixed.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • How The Kybalion impacted James’s life/creative practice
  • Hermeticism and the 7 Hermetic principles
  • Folklore behind “Ring Around The Rosie”
  • Draxler’s visual contribution to Black Magnet’s newest album “Body Prophecy”
  • Recording “Body Prophecy” during the early stages of the pandemic
  • James working with Justin K Broadrick
  • Suffering through challenging material to grow one’s creative perspective
  • Looking past genres to develop a deeper relationship with artworks
  • Tapping into your highest vibration, frequency, and energy
  • Creating art with absolute honesty
  • Embracing the paradox
  • Transforming negative outlooks into positive perspectives
  • “The Pregnant Void” in Taoism

Artists / People Mentioned:

  • Salvador Dalí (Surrealist Painter)
  • Francis Bacon (Painter)
  • Max Ernst (Surrealist Painter)
  • Mitch Horowitz (Author / Occult Historian)
  • Jay Cheel (Director)
  • Andrei Tarkovsky (Director)
  • Alejandro Jodorosky (Director)
  • David Lynch (Director)
  • Alan Watts (Writer)

Bands / Musicians Mentioned:

  • Justin K. Broadrick
  • Godflesh
  • Jesu
  • Vatican Shadow
  • Killing Joke
  • The Birthday Party
  • Big Black
  • Meshuggah
  • Blood Incantation
  • Greg Puciato

Books Mentioned:

  • The Kybalion
  • The Lord of the Rings
  • The Occult: A History
  • Man, Myth, and Magic Series
  • The Hellbound Heart
  • I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

Films / TV Series Mentioned:

  • Midsommar
  • Cursed Films
  • Serpent and the Rainbow
  • Twilight Zone Movie
  • The Birds
  • The Exorcist
  • Poltergeist
  • Stalker
  • Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
  • Hereditary
  • The Witch
  • The Crow
  • The Wizard of OZ
  • Weeds
  • Hellraiser

artistdecoded.com
blckmgnt.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/bl4ckm4gnet

Oct 30, 2022

Oliver Johnson aka Dorian Concept will release his new album What We Do For Others on 28th October on Brainfeeder Records. It’s the third studio album by the Austrian producer and synthesizer savant, famed for his singular, beautifully detailed sonic tapestries and wild, utterly joyful live keyboard jam videos.

What We Do For Others is a relaxed, quietly confident and intimate record, founded on delightfully loose arrangements, feedbacked soundscapes and blessed with snatches of cryptic vocals that are presented more as additional instrumentation rather than lyrical phrases. All the elements and layers were recorded without interruptions and deliberately not edited. “I think that's why this record has something of a ‘band sound’” says Oliver. “It's me playing all kinds of different key- instruments, singing and using fx-units to create these freeform compositions.”

The title came to Oliver in a dream and stuck with him. “One thing I often find interesting about my creative process is that when I believe to be making something that others could like, it tends to not really connect with people,” he says. “Whereas when I get to that special place and just work from my gut – the music tends to often speak to the outside world naturally.”

Johnson says that he tried questioning his internal voice of self-judgment and temper his constant urge for improvement during the making of the album.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • Dorian’s earliest memories of being introduced to music through film soundtracks such as Batman Returns (1992)
  • Sound synthesis
  • The earliest influences on Dorian
  • Dorian being influenced by Dj Spinna’s “Heavy Beats Vol. 2” in his youth
  • Experimenting and improvising with Micro Korgs
  • Dorian learning how to play the piano around the age of 6
  • Prepared piano
  • The importance of having teachers that can nurture one’s individual creativity
  • Connections between music and video games
  • 8 to 16-bit music used in early console games
  • Psychedelics
  • Set and setting
  • Questioning one’s perspective on using time
  • The intentionality of decisions made throughout one’s life
  • The compulsion for creating art
  • Dorian’s reasons for choosing to become a professional artist
  • His new album “What We Do For Others”
  • His track, Survival Instinct being the “heartpiece” of his album
  • Drawing parallels between creating a sculpture and creating music
  • Presenting complex points of view to a wider audience
  • Commercialization vs. arthouse creations
  • Breaking rules and questioning the process
  • Paradigm shifts in one’s own unique consciousness
  • Dorian creating lo-fi music videos for himself with the use of archival footage and processed through Blender

Artists Mentioned:

  • Dimlite (Musician)
  • Mike Slott (Musician)
  • Tupac (Rapper)
  • DJ Spinna (DJ)
  • John Coletrain (Saxophonist)
  • Edgard Varès (Composer)
  • Aphex Twin (Musician)
  • Little Snake (Musician)

artistdecoded.com
dorianconcept.com

Oct 20, 2022

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • Discrimination against women in the film industry
  • The Weinstein investigation
  • 94% of women working in the film industry experiencing sexual assault
  • How film objectifies women through the use of camera angles, camera movement, and lighting techniques
  • Updating the narrative point of view
  • Predatory perspectives within filmmaking
  • Portraying love and intimacy in film in more nuanced ways
  • Addressing the male gaze
  • The need for more government funding for the arts in the U.S.

Artists / People Mentioned:

  • Iyabo Kwayana (Cinematographer)
  • Jeffrey Martin Zacks (Psychologist)
  • Sandra De Castro Buffington (Producer)
  • Catherine Hardwicke (Filmmaker)
  • Laura Mulvey (Film Theorist)
  • Eliza Hittman (Filmmaker)
  • Werner Herzog (Director)
  • Claire Denis (Director)

Films Mentioned:

  • Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
  • Sleeping Beauty (1959)
  • Blonde (2022)
  • Blade Runner (1982)
  • The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
  • Titane (2021)
  • Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

artistdecoded.com
ninamenkes.com

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