San Francisco Bay Areaをベースに活動するAboutHerFilmsが、今年２月の”TOGETHER” でのライブパフォーマンスとともにインタビューをフィーチャーしてくれました。TOGETHERでのパフォーマンスは、ベイエリアのハウスダンサーとのコラボレーションという試みで、ダンサーの白のT-shirtsに、派手に赤で文字を書くというもの。実際のクラブスペースの中では、ハウスミュージックがガンガンかかってます。モデルとなってくれたSoul Nubian, Ten, Amy Nabong, Mocaの表情がまたいいのなんの。。Mocaに至っては、Hawaiiからこのショーの為に飛んで来てくれました。楽しくパフォーマンスさせてもらいました。
AboutHerFilms made a really nice video piece on my performance with Bay Area house dancers at TOGETHER in Oakland, back in February. I love the facial expressions of Soul Nubian, Ten, Amy and Moca when I’m painting on them! Moca flew all the way from Hawaii for this show. In the video, I explain my inspiration and passion for calligraphy in the interview. The video is feaured in HipHopIsCoolAgain.com!
Special thanks & big hug to Melinda James of AboutHerFilms.
Heist Wallには、新たなMural Project。
“Who You Are Defines What You Do.”
The wall is located on Leavenworth + Geary St. in TL district of San Francisco.
Video by Satoshi Terawaki
Limited “Life” T-shirts are available. We have size S / M / L.
If you’d like to purchase one, please email info@aoiyamaguchi.com.
Model: Shing02
Thank you all for coming to the opening – I was sick from two days before the opening, but warm energies from everyone cured my sickness really quick. It was amazing – thank you so much for your support, as always.
R/GA is one of the world’s most awarded full-service digital agencies. R/GA San Francisco office is hosting a creative lecture series called, “Creative Connect” starting Friday, March 25 at 4:30 p.m.
Creative Connect is open to the public and intended to provide a space for San Francisco’s creative professionals to speak, perform, or display groundbreaking work and ideas. The series will showcase architects, multi-media artists, curators, chefs, dancers, and even street artists to showcase their talents with the community at large. R/GA’s hope is to reach out and inspire San Francisco’s burgeoning creative community to come together across multiple disciplines to share their work and insights. I was invited as the one to kick off Creative Connect with a reflective presentation and a live large-scale calligraphy performance.
In this unique setting, the audience experiences calligraphy in its entirety and become immersed in the creative process that is usually hidden from public view.
Calligraphy Performance:
甦生 SOSEI (Regeneration)
“甦生 (regeneration)” – This piece is dedicated to Japan…
It has been really emotional days since the Japan earthquake and tsunami happen: I have been pouring all of my attention and energy into the series of fundraiser art exhibition RISE JAPAN. The night before the presentation & performance at R/GA, I began refining my plan for the live calligraphy performance and struggled with wiping chaotic fog off of my mind. Couldn’t decide what to write, and which music to play. I asked myself, what is the message I want to tell through this performance? What do I want to say, what do I want audiences to take home with? – then I heard, “it’s the nostalgia and love for my home country.”
This artist talk was planned from several months ago, and I had a different plan for the theme and music for this performance. Something has changed inside of me – I wasn’t feeling right about my initial plan. My heart wants to relax with these two songs when I’m working at home in the late night. Surrounded by the warm and emotional sound, I was touched and cried, then I thought that these were the sound my soul desired. Then I immediately knew what to do.
On the three large sheets of paper, I wrote lyrics of “Soshu Yakyoku” (written in Showa 15 = 1940), and wrote “SOSEI” (regeneration) with a big brush.
This performance and calligraphy piece is dedicated to people who are suffering from this tragic natural disaster and nations living and supporting the country to heal and rebuild. Praying for regeneration of the country, believing in our strength to do so. Thank you everyone so much for coming to see my presentation and performance. It was such a pleasure to share this amazing space and opportunity with you all.
_
Performance 甦生 SOSEI
Music score:
1. Last Emperor / Ryuichi Sakamoto
2. 蘇州夜曲 / Ann Sally
Mixed by Kento Tanaka
Photos by Akko Terasawa / Akira Okawa
Flyer & Poster credit:
Flyer designed by Francisco Tavares (R/GA)
Photo credit:
Calligraphy x Beauty Project w/ Taichi Imai
Model: Crystal
Photography: Taichi Imai (http://taichiimai.com/)
Calligraphy facial painting: Aoi Yamaguchi
Make up: Tomoya Motegi
Hair: Kanako Ito
Special thanks to:
Min Hu, Shagane Barsegian Launey, Brett Rampata, Francisco Tavares, Mauro Cavalletti, all R/GA staff, Akira Okawa, Akko Terasawa, and everyone who attended Creative Connect.
As a founder of Surreality In Reality aka S.I.R. collective, as a Japanese calligrapher, as an artist, and as a girl born and raised in Japan, I would like to thank you all the amazing artists, galleries, vendors, local businesses and friends for your generous support to make “RISE JAPAN: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fundraiser” come into a shape.
One email. Everything starts from one email.
S.I.R. teamed up with Gallery Heist (Julianne Yates, the owner) and Kokoro Studio (Keiko Kuramoto, the owner), and we are putting our effort to raise fund through the creative energy and the power of art to help our home country, Japan. We are working on a series of fundraising art exhibitions & performances in San Francisco, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Give2Asia: Artists Help Japan – Earthquake&Tsunami 2011 http://give2asia.org/artistshelp
Our eyes hurt because we can’t take our eyes off of the news stream, and are blurred from the endless tears. Our minds are filled with fear, confusion, anxiety and sympathy. We encourage communities to be united with love, and attempt to transform our sleepless nights into tangible support for people in Japan. Please, please join us to help Japan, if we do this together, we can make a big change.
I launched the website for RISE JAPAN last night, we will be adding updates everyday. Visit www.risejapan.us for more details, and contact us at info@risejapan.us for any suggestions, questions regarding donation and support.
– Love, Aoi Yamaguchi
Japanese Calligrapher, Founder of Surreality in Reality.
I have been watching CNN Live streaming to catch up with the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plants’ meltdown in Japan. Not only to pray for the situation to get better, I am here alive, I do what I can do to contribute. 自分に出来ないこともたくさんある。けれど、自分にしか出来ない事がある。自分に出来る事を、一つ一つ、精一杯。
As one of the 32 Campbell’s Soup Can artists, I reworked on Onion Soup taking the approach to combine traditional Japanese aesthetic and style into the Warhol’s refined imagery, using diluted sumi ink and Japanese gasen paper for calligraphy.
作品作りはサンフランシスコに居る間に始めたけれど、２月半ばにはDCとNYに出発した為に仕上げはNYに居る間にすることに。全て素材をスーツケースに詰め込んで、Brooklynに滞在中に仕上げ、サンフランシスコまで郵送。無事にProject One Galleryまでたどり着いたようで、一安心。
We all had a month to work on the piece. Due to the trip to DC and NY, I finished my piece while I was staying in Brooklyn, and shipped it to San Francisco. I was relieved to hear that my piece made it to Project One Gallery. Phew.
And of course, at NYMOMA, the actual Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans!
(My iPhone did its best to get this grainy picture… Please forgive.)
NYMOMA had a featured exhibition of Warhol’s motion picture series on the top floor. It was very inspiring… I loved how they designed to have large projections on all the walls in the gallery space, so that you are 360° surrounded by black & white motion picture portraits of well-known faces. Especially, I loved the motion picture piece titled “kiss” in the secluded room all the way back in the gallery space: the walls on both sides crops the horizontal projection image into a tall skinny rectangle image, so you can only peek the lovers kissing if you stand far from the entrance of this room. I had more than enough Andy Warhol in my February 2011, although I didn’t intend to.
Life is full of surprises and lots of unexpected coincidences. When you think of someone or something strongly, you’re somehow destined to come across with them. This New York trip convinced me to believe this our life’s ironic yet enjoyable philosophy.
今夜はVIP Opening, 明日は一般公開レセプションです。
Come join us to tonight to witness San Francisco’s renowned and emerging artists’ unique interpretations paying homage to our timeless hero, Andy Warhol. It will be one of the historic events!
Warhol Reimagined: The New Factory
March 10th, 2011 – April 19th, 2011 Opening night (All welcome, no cover): March 10th, 2011 – 7pm-2am
Project One Gallery | 251 Rhode Island, San Francisco, CA 94103
Daytime Gallery and Cafe Hours: Mon. – Friday – from 8am – 5pm
Gallery Happy Hour every Thursday & Friday 5pm – 8pm
Gallery Evening Hours every Wed. – Sat. until 2am
Phone: (415) 938-7173 | Website: http://p1sf.com
My friend Kev, one of the organizer of Oakland’s favorite, “TOGETHER” party, invited me to perform live calligraphy at this party next Saturday February 12th. Dedan of Brothers & Sisters, Cali, Jayvi, and Soul.Profess will be spinning and mixing genres from hiphop, house, afrobeat, to dancehall seamlessly, and make you dance & dance until you sweat! I will be on the stage painting on people!!
Invite your friends, and I will see you all there ;)
TOGETHER -LOVE&LUST-
::SPECIAL GUESTS::
Dedan
(Brothers and Sisters)
Live Calligraphy Performance by Aoi Yamaguchi
+ your resident artists of seduction Cali
(thePeople)
Sketch Tuesdays is “live sketching/art making by local artists. Artwork is available for sale to the audience. Artists to be announced on Sketchtuesdays.com & Fecalface.com” (www.111minnagallery.com)
I will be making small calligraphy pieces with other artists, and you can purchase them on the spot for unbelievably inexpensive price. This will be fun!
Please come by with your sketch books, meet artists and get inspired!
SKETCH TUESDAYS @111 Minna
111 Minna Street, San Francisco, CA
6PM- | 21+ | FREE
My Japanese calligraphy works, the series of “When Birds Disappeared from the Sky,” is exhibited on the wall of a new Japanese restaurant, Shalala in Mountain View since December 2010. The installation is now extended for one more month until February, and all works are available for purchase. Their gyoza and ramen are strongly recommended! It’s worth paying a visit!
「空に小鳥がいなくなった日」
詩：谷川俊太郎
When Birds Disappear from the Sky
Calligraphy Art Work: Aoi Yamaguchi
Poem by Shuntaro Tanikawa
RAMEN SHALALA
689 W Dana St. Mountain View, CA 94041
+1.650.965.8001
Nujabes tribute event is just around the corner! I will fly to DC to participate in this event. All the Nujabes fans, I look forward to see you there and together we will remember and celebrate his soul…
POP SHOW JAPAN PRESENTS: PEACELAND: A World Without Words
A Nujabes Tribute Event
February 17, 2011 BOBBY McKEY’s NIGHT CLUB
172 FLEET STREET,
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD
(Just steps away from the Gaylord Hotel)
Featuring Live Performances by MCs & DJs who worked with Nujabes:
BOP ALLOY (SUBSTANTIAL & MARCUS D)
PASE ROCK
APANI B
A NIGHT OF JAZZ HOP, HIP HOP, AND OTHER ENTERTAINMENT DESIGNED TO PAY TRIBUTE & CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF A GREAT PRODUCER, DJ, AND INSPIRATION THAT HAS HELPED SPARK A NEW MUSICAL REVOLUTION
New catalogue of my calligraphy works for “KANGEN -Reunited with Nature-” is now available. Please take a look from the link below:
VIEW CATALOGUE
For inquiries: info@fivepointsarthouse.com or aoi@glamourousmonochrome.com
We took the exhibition down at the gallery today – time to say good bye to this memorable space.
Life is the cycle of creation, destruction and reconstruction – you repeat it countlessly.
Aim high, stay humble, and one step up.
