Episode 56: Koichi Yamamato - Making A Mark

Author: Scott David Gordon
Published: Mon 11 Feb 2019
Episode Link: https://www.austinarttalk.com/56

"Failure or success is really subjective, and it’s conditional. The one moment I might consider a failure, I learned something so I guess since I learned something maybe it wasn’t a failure. By having those prints I will open up another possibility that I didn’t even consider thinking of. I think those are fertilizer. Probably it stinks in the beginning but it will eventually become part of a very important fuel for the creativity. Then try to solve the problem from the difficult condition in a way. I think the failure is extremely important."

Bio courtesy of Koichi's website

Koichi Yamamoto is an artist who merges traditional and contemporary techniques so as to develop unique and innovative approaches to the language of printmaking. His prints explore issues of the sublime, memory, and atmosphere. Koichi has worked at many scales, from small and meticulously engraved copper plates to large monotypes.

He completed a BFA at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon and then moved to Krakow, Poland, later he studied engraving at the Bratislava Academy of Fine Arts in the Slovak Republic. Koichi also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland and completed an MFA at the University of Alberta, Canada. In addition he has worked as a textile designer in Fredericia, Denmark.

Koichi has exhibited internationally. He has taught at Utah State University and the University of Delaware and is currently an Associate Professor at University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Some of the subjects we discuss:

Introduction

Wyoming/ceramics

Gyotaku/Japan

Art school in Portland

Myrna Burks/Printmaking

Communal art

Clay, Prints, Drawing

Light & atmosphere

Dr. Gordon Gilkey

Move to Poland

The Artist union

Improvisation/adaptation

Economic optimism

Letter to Liz Ingram

MFA in Alberta

Large relief printing

Drawing/human body

Move to Denmark

Immigration/language

Utah State University

Starting Intaglio

Knoxville,Tennessee

The physical mark

Kite surfing

Making kites

Japanese gods

Symmetry/faces

Monotype/light

Making decisions

Failure and fear

Sketchbooks

Good shoes/health

Sports/decisions

Risk/safety

Traveling/story

Kite with history

Role of artist

Communicating

Final words