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July 9, 2010
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INTERVIEW | Takashi Hara

ARTAK1 – ‘Sneakerart’ is Takashi Hara’s first solo exhibit. Currently living in Regina, Saskatchewan, Hara is working under the mentorship of Victor Cicansky. His first exhibit is a culmination of his passion for street life, influenced by graffiti and calligraphy. Check out the photos and interview below…

M: I know you love sneakers, so it only makes sense that you start creating sneaker art, but what finally pushed you to go into making ceramic sneakers?
Tak: At first, some people asked me why I buy shoes for display. They would say that it was wrong to buy shoes and not wear them. Actually, I wear most of my shoes even if I display them. I felt this was ironic because I know many people who buy pottery just for display. There are many expensive pieces, but nobody wonders why they buy them. People see beauty from different things.

Also, I believe sneakers are very realistic objects for me and many people. I know there are tons of people who love shoes. We check news about sneaker almost everyday and buy magazines about sneakers. We see personalities through shoes too. As artists used to make paintings about religion or landscape, this is an object I see very often in my daily life. Actually, I was reading art theory books at that time, and it encouraged me to make ceramic sneakers.

M: When making them, do you always think about what to do with a pair, or do you have ideas just including one shoe? Do you favour one foot over the other?
Tak: Usually, I try to make a piece with a pair because that is how I usually see sneakers. A pair is like a human couple, and each side requires the other side. I like that relationship. But sometimes I don’t care about that, it totally depends on the theme. I try to keep it flexible because ceramic sneakers are like canvas to me.

M: What inspires the creations? Do the ideas come to you beforehand or do you start the pieces hoping that the idea will come to you?
Tak: Including my paintings, many ideas are from my own experiences. I remember and take notes of what I would like to make next. I also get new ideas when I’m working on other sneakers. I think about what I could do differently, and it gives me some flashbacks from my life experiences. I get one blurry picture in my imagination and explore ideas from that. And sometimes, some words come to mind, and I try to picture them. Of course, I’ve had to change my ideas when things don’t work well.

M: How much time do you spend on each piece?
Tak: Hmm, time… It is very hard to keep track of how long I work on each piece. There are many processes I have to go through, and I may have to keep repeating similar processes sometimes. If the piece didn’t turn into something I wanted, then I would add more work. I assume at least 10 hours without firing and preparing for each piece. Some pieces takes much longer than that, some don’t take much.

M: How many different methods do you work with to create your ceramic sneakers?
Tak: For firing, I have about three kinds of styles, which I use often. For creating shapes, I don’t know how many methods I have. There are many different ways, and it might be different for each person. Some people may say they are different, and some may say they are similar. For myself, it’s always one. I’m just creating art pieces from my heart.

M: Being in a smaller city not too well known for art, do you think it’s helped you stand out?
Tak: I’m not even sure I’m standing out now or not. However, I feel being in an urban city would be easier for my art style. People in a small city have more classic tastes for art, and they tend not to appreciate new things. But I came to a small city (Regina) to study art from a huge city (Tokyo). I define this as my training time now. If it were easier to get more people to support my art in an urban city, then I’d still pick a small city and stick to having a hard time making people understand my art. I believe this experience will help me a lot in the future.

M: I’ve noticed that both your sculptures and paintings have had Japan and Regina as an influence. Would you say one place is more influential than the other? Or rather, the training you had in either place (calligraphy in Japan and university in Regina) is more dominant than the other?
Tak: I think it is not just about which places are better. Actually, many people have asked me which one is better. To me, each city has a different character, and there are many good things and bad things from all the places in the world. Each place influences me a lot, and I try to sense what is going on around me in each one. In addition to that, I don’t like to make art pieces about somewhere I don’t really know. It’s hard for me to create something I don’t know well because, as I said, my art pieces are mostly from my own life experiences.

M: You’ve got another exhibit coming. What can we expect from that?
Tak: Different side of me…? I feel my paintings go deeper in my mind. Paintings might show my personality more. I’ll also have a live art performance at the opening reception, which might be pretty interesting. This time, I tried to separate paintings and ceramic pieces; but I will mix them together in the future. One thing, I always try to satisfy people who come to see my works, and all I can do for that is do my best on each piece.

M: I’ll be looking forward to that live performance.
Tak: Thanks!

M: Thanks for taking the time in between your shows to answer our questions!