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Motomichi Nakamura Motomichi Nakamura is a Brooklyn-based digital artist who has worked in as many different media as he has different countries. His animations and paintings, each crafted from a palette of black, white and red, portray playful and bizarre characters who confront the dangers and pleasures of their abstract landscapes.
With exhibitions in France and New York, a screening at SONAR, and new commercial work fresh off the hard drive, Moto has started summer 2005 off with a bang. He recently met up with us to tell us a little more about who he is and why he makes what he makes.
 PIXELSURGEON: Your portfolio site is titled, Motomichi – Japones Hasta La Madre. What does "Japonés Hasta La Madre" mean to you?
MOTO MICHI: The reason I use "Japonés hasta la madre" is that when I started doing VJ work as VJ Moto, I needed some kind of set title. I had come across the phrase "Mexicano hasta la madre", meaning "Mexican by mother", in a song I liked when I listened to a lot of Chicano Rap music, mostly from the West Coast. The Chicanos have grown up in the States, yet they’re very conscious of their origins. I have been living in the States for over ten years. And the longer I live, the more conscious I become of my background too. But the Japanese language is no longer the first language it used to be to me. Somehow saying "Japonés hasta la madre" described how I felt about my identity.
You have lived in many corners of the globe: Japan, the US, and Ecuador. How have your travels affected your work?
Well, one of the things I’m very inspired by is the street sign and mural art in South America. They have street signs, wall paintings, political slogans, ripped-off Mickey Mouse characters, junk food ads, auto shop signs painted everywhere. They paint all this by hand. Graphic art and street art is popular in the west, but these people are craftsmen who paint the murals as a job rather. I am influenced by the graphicness and how they aren’t self-conscious about creating art, but it still comes out artistic. I have a whole set of pictures from when I used to ride my bicycle around Quito, Ecuador.
The earliest work on your site is Qrime. Did the work before that have a palette and style similar to your current work?
Qrime was the one I began focusing on the graphicness. I did this in 2000. That was the one I began using my three main colors: black, white, and red. And, it’s the one I started animating with. So, that’s really the beginning of what I’m doing now.
So... that was the first to show your current style and palette of black, white, and red. Is this something you plan to stick with for a long time?
I’m not necessarily planning to stick with anything for a long time, but maybe I should explain my reasons for using the three colors. I think of the colors not necessarily as colors, but as elements. If you have black and white flashing back and forth, it is very annoying, but it creates a distinct feeling. Black is the darkest level and white is the lightest. That’s the flashiest thing you can see. When you have black and white right next to each other, that’s your maximum contrast. Everything is defined as much as possible. Then, when you have red, it creates a feeling that is overwhelming. I like that very raw feeling: the tension and the balance in the colors.
Your site is geared mainly to your animation and VJ work. But, your News section shows a lot of one-of-a-kind paintings and drawings that aren’t showcased in the body of the site. Is this a new development?
I think experimenting in different media is always essential for an artist. The more you see your work in different places and different media, the more you feel capable of saying what you want to say. For me, animation, VJ work and painting all have the same goal. I’m going to add the paintings to the site soon, but I’ve been waiting to see how I really feel about them. Many times, I wait to show my work because I have to think about whether or not I want to show a work or not. But, the painting I’ve decided I definitely want to show.
What is your process in creating these works?
I use a sketchbook and Sharpie markers. I draw the image on paper, whatever comes to my mind. I sometimes draw the same image over and over until I get it right. Then, I bring it into the computer and refine the lines in Illustrator. Over the years, I’ve gotten very used to Illustrator, and the reason I use Sharpie markers is that it feels to me like the closest thing to Illustrator. Then from there, I project it, trace it, and paint it. Part of what I like about painting work is all the steps it takes. You draw it first with the marker, trace it, project it, and paint it. I like the combination of digital and physical elements.
What about your animation? What is your process there?
I come up with the characters and have certain ideas in my mind. Then, when I hear the music and talk to the musicians, I say, “Oh. These characters will be perfect.” Then I can animate from there. But, the music has a lot to do with it. It helps me storyboard and give it direction. In recent projects, the characters have more and more to do with it. I personally enjoy developing the characters and then developing what happens around them.
Do you create the animations entirely in Flash?
Mainly Flash. I use Illustrator because of the vector drawing tools. And then for certain things with the editing and sound, I’ll use After Effects. But, I’m happiest working with Flash because you can render it right away. With After Effects you have to wait to render it, and that is frustrating.
You recently did a commercial for a cell phone service provider in Poland. How did this come about?
Very simple. They e-mailed me. They said, we have this project and we like your work. Then, they called me from Poland. I didn’t work directly with the client, but through an advertising agency. The creative director at the agency had been watching my work from my web site for a while.
Do you ever worry that your work is so stylistically defined that it might overshadow the musicians you collaborate with? Will people see a video you make and say, "That’s a Moto project" rather than recognizing it as a video for the artist it is promoting?
I think it depends on how you look at it. When I work on a project, I consider it a collaboration. Music and video help each other. I hope the artists I work with and I have a mutual respect for what each other is doing. I don’t think either party should compromise. When it’s a good match, it should work together seamlessly.
You just participated in a show in Bordeaux, France called Digit no Digit. And you currently are in a show in the New Museum in New York called Rhizome Artbase101. What new experiences have these shows brought you?
I have been showing my paintings to people for a few years, but I have mainly shown my work in the digital world. Many times you can use FTP, sometimes you have to burn a DVD and FedEx it. But with painting, everything is analog, meaning that it has to be physically shipped out. It’s a crazy process that I had to learn for the Bordeaux show. The painting has to be taken off the canvas and then rolled. Then, it has to be shipped. Also, they don’t use inches there. They use the metric system. So, even to the last minute I was nervous about it. I ended up going to Pearl Paint at the last minute because I wasn’t sure about what kind of stretchers I would find in France. I shipped the stretchers myself and then built the canvases there just before the show.
What about the Rhizome Artbase101 show currently at the New Museum? Is this new work?
Rhizome.org started as an online platform for the global new media art community in 1996 and they recently formed an affiliation with New Museum of Contemporary Art. It is an interesting show because Rhizome has exhibited its art online. Net art was designed to be shown on the computer. But, now it’s being shown at the New Museum and other art spaces. I find that interesting: taking net art and new media art and bringing it to the museum. It’s a good step for the community. It brings it to another level.
Your work uses some strikingly violent and sexual imagery: genitalia, blood, decapitations. What is it that is alluring to you about this?
A lot of my work is about exploring human nature. In particular, fear is something we all have. A lot of the time, I’m asking myself what is it that we are really afraid of? There are a lot of things in society that we try not to see. And, I think it’s important for us to bring those in the open and know more about them.
Is there anything else to tell us before we turn off the tape recorder?
I think the art and design fields are just now catching up with what artists have wanted to do. A lot of artists like to work in various media. Some do videos, design, and music too. And now, we’re finally able to bring these things together, a lot of times in places we hadn’t previously thought... like on the cell phone. It is a very exciting moment for artists, no matter where you come from – music, design, or whatever. Especially in terms of technology, when everything has become so portable and reproducible.
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