Joshua Hagler (b. 1979, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho) is a first-generation graduate with a graphic design degree from The University of Arizona. A 2018 grant recipient of the Roswell Artist in Residence Program, Hagler has since made New Mexico his permanent home. Currently, he lives with his wife and daughter in the high desert village of Placitas at the foot of the Sandia Mountains. In recent years, his practice has been guided by an approach he calls Nihil, a set of nine self-imposed principles that have grown out of solitary excursions throughout the state. These principles determine all aspects of the work from its imagery and process to the media and objects comprising it. Concept and meaning, as such, naturally unfold out of synchronistic experiences occurring over time.

Topics Discussed In This Episode: 

• Romanticizing solitude and isolation (00:05:53)
• Joshua describes his meditative practice (00:09:06)
• Yoshino reflects on how names and labels impact our perception of reality (00:14:15)
• Joshua discusses his project “Nihil” (00:17:24)
• How Joshua’s personal grief has shaped his work (00:23:28)
• Joshua and Yoshino share personal anecdotes and experiences with encountering spiritual signs (00:29:41)
• Yoshino discusses the challenge of describing spiritual experiences. Joshua adds that people often exist in a projected reality, shaped by narratives and labels, which sometimes diverge from actual reality (00:46:21)
• Exploring ideas around purpose (00:51:23)
• The danger of equating success with self-worth (00:58:39)
• Joshua shares his experiences about how his project “Nihil” began and ended (01:17:45)
• Yoshino uses the metaphor of the “Easter egg” in video games to explain an artist’s desire for others to understand the depth of their work (01:25:41)
• The benefits of living in simplicity and not being attached to outcomes (01:30:47)
• Joshua shares a recent interaction with a younger artist, offering advice on handling the pressures of age and expected timelines (01:37:59)

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