The unknown self - TOMOO GOKITA
The celebrated artist talks to Author about his enduring fascination with fabricated glamour
The respected artist Tomoo Gokita has carved himself a reputation as a somewhat controversial painter in the lexicon of contemporary art, producing work that combines abstract expressionism with a classic surrealist aesthetic resolving itself somewhere in a monochromatic landscape that might best be described as a world of almost airbrushed abstraction. To some his early works appear wilfully kitsch, initially taking as their source material shoots from fashion magazines or the soft porn imagery of Playboy. However, as his practice has evolved, the forms he creates have become stranger and increasingly non-representational in nature, occupying a unique universe of smooth curves and obscured faces that is very much his own.
Here, the artist speaks to AUTHOR about his enduring fascination with fabricated glamour and tells us why the painting process is unlike an out-of-body experience, in which the self is routinely obliterated.
AUTHOR: The British psychologist D. W. Winnicott famously stated that ‘artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide’ – what is your opinion of that quote?
Tomoo: I’ve never actually thought about it, but I suppose this notion is true in regard to certain aspects. While I have this desire as an artist for my works to be acknowledged and to receive praise, there are times when I just wish people would leave me alone. Also, speaking of the paintings themselves – there are particular parts that I want to communicate and hope for the viewers to look at, and, at the same time, there are other parts that I don’t want to be observed too closely.
AUTHOR: What draws you to portray archetypal figures and why does your work always obscure the faces of said figures?
Tomoo: In fact, I don’t have this so-called awareness of “concealing the face” of my figures. It is more of a sense of destroying status and identity in order to create a face that has never been seen before. Perhaps it’s more about this thrill of wanting to look at something that’s frightening or unpleasant – such as monsters, specters, and aliens. It’s easy to portray emotion through facial expressions and I often think, for instance, of how a mystical, elusive, and enigmatic face can make people feel uneasy, or how it could even verge on becoming comical if pursued to its extreme. What the viewers feel in response to these images is entirely up to them. In reality, there are people who feel frightened, and then there are others who simply laugh.
AUTHOR: Is there a point where fashion, pop culture, and art intersect, and is an exploration of that crossroad something that interests you?
Tomoo: regardless of whether it is good or bad, there is such a thing as art-like fashion, and conversely there is fashion-like art. I have produced numerous designs for t-shirts over the years, yet I am not interested in this crossover at all. In my mind, I consider (art and fashion) to be entirely different things. For example, if I transfer an image from my painting as it is onto a t-shirt, honestly speaking, it looks unfashionable. There are certain patterns and designs that are best suited for t-shirts, and this is precisely where I perceive the boundary between art and fashion to exist.
AUTHOR: What for you is the ultimate meaning of style?
Tomoo: I can’t say that I know much about the fashion industry, but one day in the streets of Tokyo I came across an abnormally cool-looking guy standing about twenty meters ahead of me. I found everything to be perfect from the color of his clothes, their form, and his hairstyle. I thought to myself, “Who is this guy!?” and I approached him to get a closer look only to discover that he was simply a filthy homeless man with a foul stench surrounding him. I don’t know why he had appeared perfect to me, and I feel that this very mystery itself is what I consider to be the ultimate sense of ‘style’.
AUTHOR: As an individual how do you differentiate between style and aesthetic? Which, for you, is the more authentic?
Tomoo: This is a really difficult question! No one’s ever asked me anything like this before! It’s hard to explain, but I think those who appropriate a particular style as a means for expressing their thoughts also seem to possess an aesthetic. you could say they are two sides of the same coin. I have no idea which one is more authentic. As an artist, I seek “beauty” day-to-day in all the works that I produce. I don’t consider myself to have succeeded if there isn’t even the slightest section or aspect of the work that I feel to be ‘beautiful’.
AUTHOR: Why is your art so often in the figurative vein? What do you seek to say about the female condition and the male gaze in your portraits?
Tomoo: I don’t know why, but I am drawn to this sense of “fabricated glamour” that is seen in figures such as showgirls and bunny girls. I suppose another reason for my fascination is due to the fact that I’ve been sifting through the pages of Playboy magazines since I was a child (laughs). I have, in fact, produced many abstract paintings, but I don’t exhibit them much because they tend to embody this sense of déjà vu, and end up looking like the works of someone else. Is there anything in particular that I seek to communicate? Truth be told, there isn’t.
AUTHOR: Does the process of painting itself guide the outcome, or do you have a set intention? how do you ‘feel’ when you are working?
Tomoo: I do to some extent have a blueprint within my mind. however, I often don’t succeed in completing the work according to plan. Most of the time the work develops in unexpected ways due to various accidents along the process, and the result is something that’s completely different from the initial blueprint. I’ve recently been referring to these various accidental occurrences as, “lucky accidents” and they are something that I welcome. during the actual process of painting, I am in a complete state of ‘nothingness’ – it’s a strange sensation as if my entire body has become a vacuum.
AUTHOR: If you can think of one artist or artwork, that inspired you more than any other in your lifetime what would it be and why?
Tomoo: There are so many artists who have inspired me that it would be impossible for me to list them all here. Wait! Although he’s not strictly speaking an artist, I have been greatly inspired by the professional wrestler Antonio Inoki. I’m not joking when I say this, but for me, Antonio Inoki as he used to be in the ’70s-’80s, was the greatest artist in the world.
CREDITS
Interview by JOHN-PAUL PRYOR
Pictures created exclusively to author magazine by Takaishi gallery
