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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: Page 1
Sep 30, 2024

Jia Sung is a Singaporean Chinese artist and educator whose practice spans painting, artist books, textiles, printmaking, writing, and translation. Drawing on motifs from Chinese mythology and Buddhist iconography, Sung uses the familiar visual language of folklore to examine and subvert conventional archetypes of femininity, queerness and otherness. Her recent work explores threads of ecofeminism, ethnoecology, the ecological capacities of the body, invasive species as family, and the potentials of collective and constant human transformation through interspecies dynamics. Her approach draws from that of the Chinese zhiguai tradition, that genre of ‘strange tales’ cannot be translated directly through the lens of horror. The supernatural, the monstrous, the spiritual, seep into the tidy confines of ordinary existence, often humorous, arbitrary, smearing at the boundaries of our reality and then slinking away just as rapidly. Here is shapeshifter, here is trickster, things that inhabit liminal space and refuse to be held in place or form; the profane invades the interior, wilderness enters the domestic space, phenomena defy causation and morality, creature refutes taxonomy.

Topics Discussed In This Episode: 

  • Jia’s childhood, early influences, and why she chose to dedicate her life to the arts (00:06:14)
  • Formative books, films, and mythologies for Jia, Jennifer, and Yoshino (00:08:05)
  • Art as a lifestyle and sketching/journaling as a form of expression (00:15:52)
  • Jia explains her experiences going to RISD (00:17:03)
  • Teaching art and guiding students – Jia shares her approach to teaching, focusing on personal expression over technique (00:18:46)
  • Returning to unfinished work (00:22:42)
  • Balancing chaos and creativity – reflections on how emotional turmoil can fuel or take away from creative work (00:28:11)
  • Identity, ego, and output in art – how artists' identities are tied to their creative output and the challenges that brings (00:33:32)
  • Discussing various levels of consciousness (00:40:44)
  • Challenges of art school and institutional expectations – Jia reflects on the pressures and baggage that come from a formal art education (00:43:48)
  • Breaking away from art jargon and structured critique to find a personal voice (00:54:27) 
  • Lightheartedly discussing astrology (01:04:04)
  • The Artist Decoded Tarot and Jia’s “The Trickster’s Journey” tarot (01:10:27)
  • Discussing the potential future of AI (01:18:17) 
  • Jia’s advice to her younger self (01:30:41)

Episode co-host: Jennifer Sodini

artistdecoded.com
jia-sung.com
instagram.com/jiazilla

Sep 22, 2024

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

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

Sep 9, 2024

“Born in the UK I now live and work in Los Angeles.

I studied fine art at UCA just outside London in the early 90s then moved to Italy for 7 years to immerse myself in classical art. On my return to London I started a successful fashion career that took me around the world, shooting for esteemed clients and magazines for 15 years.

In 2013 I decided to return to fine art. This coincided with a move to Los Angeles, where I built a studio practice that broadened my horizons to include sculpture, painting, installation and video works.

And this is where I’ve landed and feel comfortable, in that liminal space between art and commerce, recording the body clothed and unclothed using photography, video and 3 dimensional form making. The merging of these disciplines is what inspires me, creating immersive installations that ask questions of who we are and how we interact with each other, how our bodies are perceived in societal roles and how we can move past these structured ideas.” - James Mountford

Topics Discussed In This Episode: 

  • How Yoshino and James originally met (00:02:13)
  • The beginning stages of James’s artistic journey (00:04:10)
  • James starting his photography career in Rome (00:11:18)
  • How the role of a professional photographer has changed (00:14:41)
  • James starting to paint again after stopping for many years (00:20:16)
  • Creating sustainable homes and studios in the Mojave Desert (00:23:14)
  • James’s current photography practice (00:31:12)
  • James talks about his favorite artists (00:35:25)
  • Using social media and how it can impact one’s artwork (00:42:18)
  • Photography, nostalgia, and James’s collaborations with NOH/WAVE (00:44:20)
  • Finding a balance between personal and professional pursuits as a full time artist (00:48:43)
  • Staying athentic to oneself (01:01:42)
  • Yoshino’s experience doing The Camino de Santiago (01:06:36) 

artistdecoded.com
jamesmountfordstudio.com
instagram.com/jamesmountfordstudio/

Aug 27, 2024

Justin Tyler Close (b. 1984, Toronto, Canada) is an award-winning director, photographer & visual artist.

Justin founded the internationally distributed arts publication The Lab Magazine and was the active editor-in-chief/creative director from 2010-2018.

The interview magazine featured artists, designers, filmmakers, and activists such as Marina Abramovic, Wes Anderson and Noam Chomsky.

In 2020, Justin created his audio-visual installation titled The Fifty Eleven Project, which was exhibited at the prestigious Copenhagen Contemporary Museum.

Soon after, Justin wrote and directed two award-winning short films, Like Father Like Son and Where The Time Goes. 

He is currently developing several projects, and set to direct his debut his feature film in the fall, 2025.

Topics Discussed In This Episode: 

  • Justin’s life in Athens, Greece (00:02:07)
  • What Justin has been focusing on recently (00:05:09)
  • The beginning stages of Justin’s painting process and nostalgia (00:08:45)
  • Being nomadic, defining a home, and socially imposed ideals (00:12:26)
  • Justin’s daily process and finding a flow state (00:22:06)
  • Justin’s thoughts about turning 40 and what he learned in his 30s (00:27:49)
  • Finding a balance between personal and commercial work (00:28:20)
  • Finding our artistic voice (00:41:07)
  • Justin’s advice to his younger self (01:00:02)

artistdecoded.com
jaeclose.com
instagram.com/justintylerclose

Aug 12, 2024

Rose Ides is an artist from San Diego specializing in veristic surrealism, and a writer exploring the sociology of the arts in the United States. With a background in sociology, education, public health, and art, her work aims to participate in creative liberation and artistic compassion. She has published two illustrative projects with Running Press, the Oracle of Pluto deck and the illustrated astrological compendium The Cosmic Symposium, which you can pick up at all major book retailers. You can connect with her on Instagram at @idesofrose.

Topics Discussed In This Episode: 

  • Why Rose decided to pursue art full-time (00:02:08) 
  • Artistic insecurities developing in childhood (00:04:49) 
  • The history of the word “art” (00:11:15) 
  • Breaking through illusions to simply “be” (00:15:24)
  • Using our emotions to fuel our creativity (00:25:34)
  • Translating the dreamworld (00:29:47) 
  • Working through educational trauma and Rose wanting to begin her PhD program in Indigenous Rights (00:40:43) 
  • Rose’s advice for the audience (00:47:50)

Episode co-host: Jennifer Sodini

artistdecoded.com
roseides.com
roseides.substack.com
instagram.com/idesofrose

Jul 15, 2024

Erik Davis, PhD, is an author, award-winning journalist, sometimes podcaster, and popular speaker based in San Francisco.

He is the author of 6 books which include:

  • Blotter: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium (MIT Press)
  • High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the 70s (MIT Press/Strange Attractor Press).
  • Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica (Yeti, 2010).
  • The Visionary State: A Journey through California’s Spiritual Landscape (Chronicle, 2006), with photographs by Michael Rauner.
  • Led Zeppelin IV (Continuum, 2005) - 33 1/3 volume.
  • TechGnosis: Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information (Crown, 1998; republished by North Atlantic Press).

Topics Discussed In This Episode: 

  • Erik’s work and his areas of interest (00:04:37)
  • Deciding what projects to dedicate his time to (00:06:36)
  • Finding his authentic voice (00:13:27)
  • The transformation of subcultural movements into mainstream cultural (00:13:18)
  • Trying to make sense out of confusing times (00:24:22)
  • Learning to appreciate banality, and simplicity in an increasingly more technologically focused world (00:36:33)
  • Separating yourself from devices and giving yourself the space to allow the muse to enter (00:46:15)
  • The consensus trance and becoming more conscious (00:49:38)
  • Having good “epistemological hygiene” (00:57:04)
  • Getting back to basic joys (01:05:09)
  • Erik’s new book “Blotter: The Untold Story of an Acid Medium” (01:07:09)

Episode co-host: Jennifer Sodini

artistdecoded.com
techgnosis.com
x.com/erik_davis
burningshore.com

Jun 18, 2024

Explore the intersection of tarot, artistic creativity, and technical innovation in The Artist Decoded Tarot, a first-of-its-kind deluxe deck and guidebook set from author of Amenti Oracle Jennifer Sodini and artist Yoshino.

Jennifer Sodini is an artist, writer, speaker, and producer whose creative endeavors span various realms of art and spirituality. She is the author of Amenti Oracle Feather Heart Deck and Guidebook and Everyday Amenti, and the co-creator of the Modern Nirvana Oracle. Jennifer explores the intersection of esoteric philosophy and cutting-edge technology, bridging the gap between ancient wisdom and modern innovation. Her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Oprah Daily, Rolling Stone, Vice, Sounds True, and Maxim. She splits her time between Los Angeles and Mexico.

Yoshino is an art polymath with a direct focus on image-making, writing, and interviewing. He uses photography as a medium to capture poetry within an image, and attempts to create a confluence between his internal and external observations. Within the image, he invites the viewer to enter a space of contemplation and self-reflection. Conversation and curiosity are cornerstones of Yoshino’s creative practice. In 2015, he created Artist Decoded, a podcast that explores the practices, lifestyles, and psychology of artists from various mediums.

ArtistDecoded.com
The Artist Decoded Tarot - Hachette Book Group 

Apr 14, 2024

John Wentz is a contemporary artist whose work is an exploration of process and technique. Working within the classical idiom of the human figure, his goal is to reduce and simplify the image to its core fundamentals: composition, color, and mark-making. Paint application and brush strokes are broad and simplified as a means to connect and convey these ideas to the viewer with an abstract sensibility.
 
John was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. His interest in art began at the age of 6 when he first discovered Batman and Spiderman comic books. After years of copying comics panel by panel, he worked in the commercial arts as a muralist, billboard creator, and freelance illustrator. After learning to paint by doing airbrushed billboards, he decided to pursue Fine Art and work in oils. Since then, he has had 5 solo exhibitions in San Francisco and numerous group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His works have appeared in many publications and have won multiple awards.

artistdecoded.com
johnwentz.com
instagram.com/johnwentz

Mar 22, 2024

Tim Bettinson is a 27-year-old singer-songwriter and producer most recognized for creating and living behind the lustful, ambient guise of Vancouver Sleep Clinic. Across his catalogue, elements of anthemic indie rock, intimate R&B, and sophisticated folk provide a sweeping film soundtrack for Bettinson’s gentle vocal and expansive storytelling. Emerging from his native Brisbane, Australia on the strength of a series of singles including “Someone To Stay," “Middle of Nowhere," “The Wire,” and the bedroom-produced viral cover of “As It Was," Tim now roams the world with a laptop and headphones in pursuit of adventure and creative inspiration for his ever-evolving project.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • Leaving Los Angeles (00:12:19)
  • How Tim and Yoshino originally met (00:14:04)
  • Lesson’s Tim has learned throughout his journey in music and the industry (00:17:31)
  • The feeling of making music (00:23:34)
  • Yoshino’s journey into martial arts and photography (00:26:47)
  • The first song Tim released on Soundcloud called “Vapour” (00:30:19)
  • Tim’s decision to start singing and using falsetto (00:35:22)
  • Natural talents vs. achieving abilities through hard work (00:40:39)
  • Anxiety and self-imposed pressure (00:52:25)
  • Advanced technologies (00:57:45)
  • Finding balance and joy within the creative process (01:04:06)
  • Dealing with anxiety, self-doubt, and negative thoughts (01:09:36)
  • Navigating feedback and trusting your instincts (01:18:38)
  • Defining one’s purpose (01:25:16)
  • Finding perspective on past work (01:30:49)
  • People who inspire Tim and Yoshino (01:36:57)

artistdecoded.com
vancouversleepclinic.org
instagram.com/vancouversleepclinic

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

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