Artist Decoded by Yoshino

Emilio Villalba is a Mexican-American painter living in San Francisco. Born in Chula Vista and raised in Southern California, he grew up interested in drawing and art. He created a career in Los Angeles as a visual effects artist where he animated television commercials and films. After 2 years in the industry, he left for San Francisco to study fine art. He's now focused on exploring painting figuratively, pulling inspiration from both old masters and contemporary artists—from Velázquez to Alice Neel and Basquiat. Emilio's latest exhibition, "People and Things" will be on view at Hashimoto Contemporary in New York from Saturday, July 17th to Saturday, August 7th, 2021.

Show Notes:

• 00:03:12 - Emilio's latest body of work
• 00:06:50 - Exploring new visual avenues
• 00:13:33 - Self-awareness of one's work
• 00:20:30 - Saying vs. doing
• 00:32:42 - The psychology of reward systems
• 00:36:03 - Identity / fitting in
• 00:42:40 - The conceptual basis of Emilio's newest body of work
• 00:53:37 - Owning who you are
• 01:03:33 - The painter's alphabet
• 01:25:42 - Wrap up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.instagram.com/emilio_villalba/

www.emiliovillalbaart.com/

Stuart Biddlecombe is a director of photography for The Handmaid's Tale. Biddlecombe graduated from the National Film and Television School in 2003. He has also worked on Doctor Who, Call To Midwife, and Cold Feet.

Show Notes:

• 00:02:53 - Adapting to an environment on set
• 00:07:26 - Stuart's creative process
• 00:12:28 - Collaboration within the filming process
• 00:17:06 - The continuity of filming television shows
• 00:19:24 - Artistry vs. Craftsmanship
• 00:21:22 - Inspiration through different types of art
• 00:23:47 - Observing the world through the lens of cinematography
• 00:25:23 - How he sees his role as a DP
• 00:28:18 - Spontaneity while filming
• 00:33:40 - Stuart's journey as a cinematographer
• 00:50:00 - Stuart's best piece of work / working in TV
• 01:02:51 - Wrap up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.instagram.com/stuartdop

www.stuartbiddlecombe.co.uk

For the first episode of AD's Movie Club, Justin will be discussing Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2008 Film Tokyo Sonata with three of his close friends.

First, we are joined by photographer and podcast host, Yoshino. Yoshino uses his photography to draw out deep lingering emotions while seeking to unveil a psychological truth embedded within all of us. He attempts to create a dichotomy and a confluence between his observations, molding them together between varying ideas and disparate elements. With these images, he invites the viewer to enter his world and to give space for the contemplation of their own personal framework and reality. Yoshino is also the host of the Artist Decoded podcast. Amirtha Kidambi is a composer, performer, and professor currently living in New York City. Kidambi earned an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University, an M.M. in Voice and Musicology at CUNY Brooklyn College, and a B.A. in Voice from Loyola Marymount University. She currently serves on the faculty for the New School, teaching music history courses and heading a large-scale curriculum development project. She has also served on the faculty at Brooklyn College. Ru Storey (They/Them)is a Los Angeles-based queer skater, graphic designer, and editor. Ru and Justin are currently working on a short film to be premiered this summer. Justin Daashuur Hopkins is an internationally exhibited artist and award-winning director. Show Notes:

• 00:01:47 - Tokyo Sonata's plot
• 00:04:39 - First reactions/thoughts on the patriarchy
• 00:09:03 - The historical context of duty and shame
• 00:14:00 - Structural issues of society and power dynamics
• 00:24:00 - Questioning your reality and moving towards self-actualization
• 00:35:38 - Reflections on the conversation
• 00:39:04 - Elements of a sonata
• 00:50:12 - Relinquishing of authoritarian control
• 01:00:58 - Wrap up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.mubi.com/artistdecoded

Jan Hopkins is a master at creating sculptural vessels and figurative sculptures from unusual natural materials such as citrus, melon and pomegranate peels, lotus pods, fish skin, leaves, and seed pods. Each piece is a marriage of deep sensitivity and reverence to materials with a heavy emphasis on concept and innovation. Jan studied basketry with indigenous and contemporary artists, learning the art of meticulous construction, the basics of how to gather and prepare materials, and understanding new concepts in design beyond traditional construction. In the early 90s, challenged with the depletion and unavailability of many of the natural basketry materials, she began experimenting and innovating new ways of processing organic materials that she successfully uses in her work today. Her initial aspiration was to preserve the beauty of the materials she began to by constructing vessel forms. Jan's work evolved to more figurative work with narratives sewn into each intricately designed piece.

Jan and her husband Chris have also embarked on a deeply personal collaborative project about a part of her family's history, The Japanese American incarceration during WWII. Piece by piece, Jan is puzzling together family stories that are both heartbreaking and inspiring. Jan states, "This project has changed the essence of my work and has challenged me to innovate new ways of construction and storytelling." Their two-person show was exhibited at the Schack Art Center, Everett, WA in 2018. A future exhibit is scheduled to open at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art on Bainbridge Island in 2022, The timing of this exhibit marks the 80th Remembrance anniversary of the first Japanese Americans taken away from their homes on Bainbridge Island and sent to Manzanar Concentration Camp. An award-winning artist, Jan has exhibited across the United States and featured 8 years at SOFA International Expos, held annually in New York, Chicago, and Santa Fe. Her work is included in museum permanent collections across the country including the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA, Museum of Art and Design in New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Racine Art Museum in Racine, WI.

Show Notes:

• 00:04:27 - Jan's experience being a part of a family of artists
• 00:10:48 - Jan's journey towards artistry
• 00:17:12 - Great ideas finding us
• 00:20:15 - Results-oriented thinking, taking you away from the process
• 00:22:23 - Intuition and spirituality
• 00:26:34 - The elements and materials that guide Jan's art practice
• 00:31:27 - Jan's focus on narrative artwork
• 00:39:15 - The inspiration behind Jan's exhibit "Americans Interned"
• 00:58:56 - The power of cultural art
• 01:03:27 - Wrap Up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.janhopkinsart.blogspot.com

www.instagram.com/janhopkinsart

Mitch Horowitz is a historian of alternative spirituality and one of today's most literate voices of esoterica, mysticism, and the occult. He is among the few occult writers whose work touches the bases of academic scholarship, national journalism, and subculture cred. Mitch is a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library, lecturer-in-residence at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles, and a PEN Award-winning historian whose books include Occult America; One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life; and The Miracle Club. The Washington Post says Mitch "treats esoteric ideas and movements with an even-handed intellectual studiousness that is too often lost in today's raised-voice discussions." He has discussed alternative spirituality across the national media and is collaborating with Emmy-nominated director Ronni Thomas on a feature documentary about the occult classic The Kybalion, shot on location in Egypt. Mitch received the Walden Award for Interfaith/Intercultural Understanding. The Chinese government has censored his work.

Show Notes:

• 00:05:50 - Mitch's approach towards his craft
• 00:09:52 - The origins of thoughts and ideas
• 00:17:17 - The brain within the metaphysical
• 00:20:57 - Tapping into an imaginal realm with art
• 00:29:35 - Being honest with your desires
• 00:36:10 - Artists going unrecognized
• 00:42:42 - Being uncompromising in our desires
• 00:50:06 - Depression and anxiety
• 00:59:58 - Navigating dark energy
• 01:06:43 - Free will
• 01:10:52 - Hypnagogic state
• 01:18:47 - The pathos of death
• 01:29:46 - Wrap Up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.instagram.com/mitchhorowitz23

https://www.mitchhorowitz.com/

Damon Davis is a post-disciplinary artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. His work spans across a spectrum of creative mediums to tell stories exploring how identity is informed by power and mythology. He is well known for his body of work, Darker Gods, which explores Afro-surrealist manifestations of Black culture. Davis is a Firelight Media, Sundance Labs, TED, and Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. He is the founder and creative director of St. Louis-based music label/ artist collective FarFetched and his work is featured in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Show Notes:

• 00:03:18 - Reflections on George Floyd and 2020
• 00:09:55 - Power dynamics in American society
• 00:14:35 - The soulful impact of art
• 00:17:40 - America's amnesia & the complexities of blackness
• 00:20:49 - Value systems
• 00:29:56 - Damon's intention with the mythology he created for "Darker Gods"
• 00:33:39 - Power, wisdom, and empathy
• 00:39:15 -The desensitization and fetishization of death
• 00:45:07 - Critical thinking
• 00:49:46 - Wrap up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.heartacheandpaint.com

www.instagram.com/damondavis

Born in Beijing and raised in Singapore, Jingna Zhang is a fashion and fine art photographer and director based in New York City and Seattle. Imbued with love for the Pre-Raphaelites and Japanese anime, Jingna's work interweaves Asian aesthetics with western art styles, bringing unique visions of painterly and fantastical images to fashion and fine art photography. Before photography, Jingna was a world-class air rifle shooter representing Singapore at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup. She was the only female founder of a North American esports team in StarCraft 2; and was once a concept artist and illustrator's agent, with clients including LucasArts, Amazon Publishing, and Sony Online Entertainment.

Jingna majored in fashion design before dropping out of school to pursue photography. She is an alumna of Stanford's innovation and entrepreneurship program Ignite and a Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 listmaker. Jingna's works have appeared on multiple editions of Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar. Her clients include Mercedes Benz, Montblanc, and Lancome. Jingna's fine art works have exhibited at Leica Gallery Milan, Tsinghua University, and Japan Creative Centre in Singapore, and she has spoken at Laguna College of Art and Design, Monterrey Institute of Technology, and Square Enix.

Show Notes:

• 00:00:00 - Introduction
• 00:05:24 - Self-Expression
• 00:11:54 - Jingna's start in art
• 00:16:20 - Competition
• 00:18:12 - Working with certainty and uncertainty
• 00:22:08 - Resources for growth
• 00:29:39 - Jingna's work with creative writing / the beginner's mindset
• 00:37:31 - Childlike naivety
• 00:39:20 - Jingna's relationship with video games
• 00:47:00 - Wrap up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.zhangjingna.com

www.instagram.com/zemotion

Graham grew up in Ojai, a small ranching town in Southern California with pink sunsets dipping below the mountains. He spent his childhood exploring Europe and the Southwestern United States with his travel writer father and family. His upbringing informs his photography, which is largely based in simplicity, nostalgia, nature, and the truth of a moment. Graham lives in Los Angeles with his wife, a kindergarten teacher, and his son, an extremely inventive whippersnapper. Show Notes:

• 00:00:00 - Introduction
• 00:04:55 - Teaching all aspects of history
• 00:08:53 - Homogenization of culture
• 00:12:22 - The importance of community
• 00:15:56 - The confluence of non-sequiturs
• 00:18:36 - The shifting landscape of commercial photography
• 00:25:00 - Human psychology within photography
• 00:33:16 - Graham's projects during covid
• 00:42:45 - Having a "jack of all trades" approach
• 00:48:15 - Personal values influencing the way you approach your career
• 00:54:54 - Having a balanced life
• 00:56:51 - Learning and adapting from experience
• 01:06:00 - Mentorship
• 01:08:00 - Technical learning vs practical learning
• 01:14:32 - Wrap up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.instagram.com/grahamdunn

http://www.grahamdunnphoto.com/

AD Non-Weekly Round Up #8 with artist, Jesse Draxler, and Yoshino. Jesse Draxler was born in rural Wisconsin, studied in Minneapolis, MN, and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. A formal mixed media & inter-disciplinary artist, Draxler has exhibited extensively both domestically and internationally. Draxler collaborates with brands including Hugo Boss, McQ Alexander McQueen, and Ferrari, with original artwork appearing in Elle, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among other publications. Show Notes:

• 00:00:32 - Seasons in life
• 00:07:18 - Focusing on the process instead of the result
• 00:12:05 - The confluence of running and creativity
• 00:16:32 - Self-reflection
• 00:22:16 - Personal values
• 00:34:35 - The practical reality of art
• 00:39:53 - Creativity thorough destruction
• 00:47:56 - Jesse's personal growth throughout the years
• 00:53:05 - Life and death
• 00:57:09 - The importance of being conscious of one's physical and mental health
• 01:13:20 - Perspective shifts
• 01:26:14 - Understanding guilt
• 01:42:34 - Wrap up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.jessedraxler.com

www.instagram.com/jessedraxler

Nadia Waheed, BFA 2015 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is a Pakistani-American painter who makes partially autobiographical allegorical figurative paintings that explore selfhood, choice, and cultural trauma. Exhibition history includes shows with Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami, BEERS London, Thierry Goldberg in New York, and Gallery 1957 in London. Upcoming exhibitions in 2021 include shows with Andrea Festa Fine Art in Rome, Lawrie Shabibi in Dubai, and Aicon Gallery in New York.

Show Notes:

• 00:04:18 - Being aware of your youth
• 00:05:52 - Having numerous perspectives
• 00:09:40 - Nadia's childhood
• 00:16:40 - Cultural nuances
• 00:23:07 - The core language approach and inner generational trauma
• 00:27:54 - The influence of mentorship
• 00:31:12 - Politics within the art world
• 00:37:46 - Telling someone who you are, through your actions
• 00:39:30 - Dating and relationships
• 00:46:39 - The loss of community and connectivity
• 00:53:01 - Intentionality and being vulnerable
• 01:00:45 - Being comfortable with who you are
• 01:08:33 - Engaging with emotions and understanding the context
• 01:20:16 - Nadia's hesitance towards talking about her work
• 01:27:54 - "The curse of the expert"
• 01:34:23 - Commitment
• 01:42:45 - Wrap up

www.artistdecoded.com

www.instagram.com/nadiakwd

www.nadiawaheed.com