[ARTIDE After Talk④] Yohei Sugita

ARTIDE recently released the project's first item, ``Multi-Compact Wallet,'' through crowdfunding Makuake.

TIDE director Utsumi visited the participating up-and-coming artists and shared their feelings and memories during the process of this project, which was based on the theme of ``fusion of art and local industry,'' and at times, their true feelings leaked out. I will send you the details of the conversation.

The fourth person is Yohei Sugita. This time, we visited Mr. Sugita's home/atelier and spoke to him. He spoke to me in a gentle and warm manner.

Please enjoy it together with the ARTIDE page and note (Mr. Sugita's interview) .

Photographer: Shuhei Kubo Interview/Composition: Keisuke Kishimoto *The interview was held in November 2020.


Photographer: Shuhei Kubo Interview/Composition: Keisuke Kishimoto *The interview was held in November 2020.

Index
　　　　　　　　　　　

Talk
　　　　　　　　　　　

#idling talk

Utsumi: Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to work with us! I'm really grateful.

Sugita: No, that's outrageous! Thank you very much. ARTIDE was a great honor for me as well.

Utsumi: I visited his home/atelier this time, and as far as I could see, there were lots of paints and works in progress, and I couldn't stop feeling excited and excited when I thought that this was where the works were born. Right... (lol) Oh, and there are actually a lot of plastic models that you mentioned in the note lined up in this room. It seems that there are some rare items from quite a while ago, but how do you buy old plastic models? Are you selling online? Or do you buy it at your favorite store?

Sugita: In my case, when I go to a local area, I look for model shops in each area, stop by, and if I find something rare, I buy it as a souvenir and take it home. I also have a lot of things left that I have collected since I was little (lol).

Photographer: Um, excuse me from the side! There is also a good model shop in my hometown of Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture, so please stop by Sugita-san when you come to Nikko!

Sugita: Eh, sudden advertisement (lol)! I understand, thank you (lol)!

Utsumi: I hear that you also like fishing.

Sugita: I'd like to go fishing too, but I don't have much time to go...but I'm just preparing to go!

#Main story

—— Once again, thank you very much for your participation in the ARTIDE project and for working with us until its release. This time, I would like to look back on ARTIDE and give a candid interview that focuses on Mr. Sugita's humanity.

Utsumi: I was very impressed when I was approached for this project. Mr. Sugita told me, ``I have a dream in brand initiatives.'' As someone who started a brand, I was very happy to hear that, even though we are just starting out. However, I think Mr. Sugita was working on this project while he was really busy, and I didn't have the time to visit him midway through the project, so I was wondering if he would have looked back on this project again.

Sugita: Thank you very much. Working with brands was something I wanted to do myself, so it was fun. But it wasn't just fun; there was also fear and a sense of responsibility. This is because I was participating alongside some great artists, so I felt conflicted about whether I would be able to produce work that was worthy of everyone's work and how it would be received by the world. There are many wonderful writers. I was honored to be chosen among them, but at the same time, I think there were other artists who wanted to be part of this project. I felt that I had to do my best for those people. This is the honest truth.

Mr. Yohei Sugita

Multi Compact Wallet-SUGITA YOHEI

Utsumi: Mr. Sugita, what were your impressions when the multi-compact wallet was actually completed? Was it the way you originally imagined it to be, from Mr. Sugita's point of view?

Sugita: I think this is not the end of being sold and bought, but the beginning. In fact, customers may be using it as a daily wallet or displaying it, and I think there are various uses for it, but I feel that the real life begins after it is used. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of flowers will bloom for each customer as the fluff spreads.

To be honest, at this point I can't really feel that customers are using it yet, as it has only just arrived in their hands. But I think this is amazing. I think the story is different from the normal mass production of products. After all, each wallet has a breath of life inside it, making it a very special item. Not only is it functionally beautiful, but it also has a lot of flavor. I believe that customers not only appreciated the functionality and design, but also had a strong attachment to the product when they purchased it. Again, I think that's amazing. Honestly, I think that in this era of coronavirus, people are becoming more and more unwilling to pay for luxury items that are not essential or part of their daily lives. I am truly honored that someone put their heart and soul into this wallet and picked it up, and I am glad that I worked on this project.

Utsumi: Thank you very much. As someone who is making the product, of course I want the artists who are participating in it to be happy, but my primary goal is to make the people who use it happy. It was really great to be able to share this feeling with the artists and reach places that we couldn't reach on our own.

TIDE Director Utsumi

----I would also like to ask Mr. Sugita about his humanity and way of thinking.

Utsumi: Well then, let's change the topic. For Sugita-san, this ARTIDE must have been a new challenge, and I think participating in that program was also a big challenge. The other day, a mutual acquaintance said to me, ``Mr. Sugita is a challenger.'' For Mr. Sugita, are challenges always based on your own determination and readiness, or is it out of curiosity? What is your reason for trying new things?

Sugita: I guess it's like a code of conduct. Well, if it's something I can improve myself on without having to put on any backing or armor, I'll work on it.

First of all, I think that small pride is meaningless. This may be true in any profession or world, but questions like "What company do you belong to?" and "What kind of backing do you have?" People who say that the brand they belong to is cool, and if it's cool, then the person is cool too. If it were true, they should be evaluated based on their output, but sometimes they are evaluated based on their backing. In my case, I was once asked, ``What gallery does Sugita-kun belong to?'' For me, I benefit from having a lot of support, but it also puts limits on me. Rather than that, I would like to give priority to gaining the trust of a large number of people far away by pursuing my own individuality, so I do not adhere to any particular gallery.

When I act while thinking about things like this, the people around me ask, ``Why are you acting like that, Sugita?'' and treat me like a wonder-kun... (lol) From my point of view, I also wonder, ``On the other hand, why is everyone like this?'' I don't seem to be interested in things like backing and armor. Rather than clinging to a brand, I would like to become the brand myself. If you think like that, you will be able to utilize your potential.

Utsumi: Because you have a firm decision-making system within yourself, you are able to make the correct choices even though you receive various offers every day.

Sugita: However, I try not to judge myself. I try not to think that I won't do something because I'm this kind of person and this is my job, or because there's no precedent for it. Even when I participated in a certain program, there was a lot of criticism at first, like, ``Is it really necessary for a painter to appear?'' and ``Why is Sugita-kun appearing like this?'' I had mixed feelings because the recording had already been completed and I knew the results... When taking on challenges, I think it is important not to judge yourself or limit your potential, and to have the courage to trade things up for something.

The reason behind my decision to participate in a certain program is that up until now, artists have often been seen as special by the world. I felt like I was being kept at a distance. So, although I didn't know how long I would be able to stay, I decided to participate in the hope that it would be an opportunity for people to get to know the artist, to get to know him better, and to get closer to him.

Utsumi: As you said, until ARTIDE started, the profession of a painter was not familiar to me, so I felt like I couldn't touch it. When I had the opportunity to connect with them this time, I felt like we were from different worlds even though we were the same person, but that's not the case. Everyone is the same, and I'm also an artist, so I was looking at it too much as something sublime. He calls me a teacher, so I can't help but feel a sense of distance, but having Mr. Sugita participate this time has changed my image considerably. It has become familiar and familiar to me in a good way.

Sugita: Thank you.

Utsumi: It's almost time... Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule today. I really enjoyed talking to you.

Sugita: Thank you very much!

Profile
　　　　　　　　　　　

Yohei Sugita

Born in Mie Prefecture in 1983. Graduated from Musashino Art University's Department of Art and Design in 2008.
He rose to prominence while attending art university and won numerous awards.
His style is ``inventive'', and he thoroughly considers the various uses of painting materials and uses expressions that utilize the possibilities to create a wide range of ambitious works, including abstract paintings and figurative paintings, and transports the viewer into the world of the work. Pull in.

In recent years, the number of exhibitions overseas has increased, and the artist has been featured in many media outlets, including the Amazon original program ``Bachelorette Japan,'' and the artist's objectivity toward art has captured the hearts of many people.

Multi Compact Wallet-SUGITA YOHEI
　　　　　　　　　　　

Related Contents

● ARTIDE page
● ARTIDE note (Mr. Sugita interview)