A sound set of field recordings for Ear Meal
Photographs and video stills that spell the word "OH"
Fireguide for Fire Station 128
There Here Now Then
OH...dinosaur
(Some of) My Inheritance
Artwork commissioned by the LA County Fire
Group Movement L.A.
Invisible Kitchen
Learning the art of Japanese synchronized group walking
Menus paying homage to under-represented eats, ingredients and untold culinary stories
Synchronized group walking, intangible inheritances and
art for a fire station
The beginnings of collaborative social practice and thinking
about underrepresented culinary sensibilities
Self-portraiture and June Jordan
Photographic 'how to' instructions on folding, counting,
and measuring with our hands
Café Kiss of the World
Kiss of the World Score for Ear Meal
Relief Café
Installation celebrating the mundane as cultural gold
A video contemplating the power of time, travel and place
The "Homesick Café" menu comes to life in this pop up food stand
A Tale of Fortunate Rest
Photos and video stills spell out the word "PAUSE"
Sound set of field recordings for Ear Meal
Readers Chorus, Krystal Krunch, Cristóbal and Cosme: Two
young lads born in Japan, and a 16mm love letter to L.A.
Experimentations with the group reading voice, art in public spaces and the Invisible Kitchen
Group Movement L.A.
2013
"Group Movement L.A." was a project conceived and realized for the group exhibition Home Away curated by Kris Kuramitsu for the Armory Center for the Arts. Over the course of a month, a group of intrepid volunteers gathered to learn the basics of the Japanese art of synchronized group-walking known as shudan koudou (group movement). The experiment culminated in a performance by L.A.'s first group movement troupe on the Isamu Noguchi Plaza at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles. The entire journey is documented on the dedicated blog:
Invisible Kitchen
2013
A continuation of the menu project "Homesick Café '92" from 2008 and food stand "Relief Café" from 2011, "Invisible Kitchen" is a project that pays homage to under-represented eats, ingredients, and untold culinary stories. Commissioned by the San Jose Museum of Art for the group exhibition Around the Table: food, creativity, community, "Invisible Kitchen" consists of 7 menus beginning with 'Homesick Cafe,' 'Mammno' and 'Mammano II' - American classics that non-American transplants find very, very scary, the new series includes menus such as American classics that non-American transplants find very scary, rice porridge the world over in 'Gohanz,' dumplings the world over in 'Momo Ya,' indigenous soups the world over in 'Sopa Tei,' and a menu of the only appetizing foods people could stomach while extremely ill in 'Le Petit Appetit- All You Can Eat.'
There Here Now Then
2013
Krystal Krunch is a educational psychic duo of artists (Asher Hartman and Haruko Tanaka) who see and respond to energy in the body, the psyche, architectural spaces, and artworks. They are dedicated to using intuitive reading to help people come in contact with their highest and best potential, discovering who they really are so that they might approach their lives and others with compassion, love and wonder. Since 2007 they have been giving intuitive workshops in universities and colleges across the U.S. and in art spaces and institutions around the globe. Krystal Krunch firmly believes that if we are to sustain radical change, we must invest in radical and fun ways of seeing each other and ourselves. www.krystalkrunch.com
Fireguide for Fire Station 128 is a public art project commissioned by the Los Angeles County Fire Department for Fire Station 128 in Santa Clarita, CA. The series of 17 photographs takes as its inspiration and subject matter the Los Angeles County Fire Department- its history, contemporary fire fighting practices, and fire culture overall. After a brief yet illuminating immersion into County Fire, the strongest impression I came away with was the orderliness, cleanliness, precision, diligence, and discipline of the fire fighters in their daily practice, work environment, and disposition. This was in stark contrast to the absolutely unpredictable timing and nature of the incidents that they would be called to serve. Using the many engineer's maps around the station and in the rigs as inspiration, I decided to use the grid as a symbolic aesthetic to organize the un-organizable; to chart the seemingly un-chartable. Each image in the series therefore is overlaid with a grid; representing the calm organization of fire fighters and their practice. The stenciled numbers are borrowed also from the engineer's maps as well as the stenciling that can be found on all fire equipment identifying which rig the piece comes from. All numbers relate back to an aspect of fire culture, practice, and/or history. The works serve as a fun puzzle for patrons visiting the fire station while also serving as launching pads for fire fighters to speak further about aspects of fire culture. The work can be seen on display at Fire Station 128 in Santa Clarita located at 28450 White Canyons Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91351
Fireguide for Fire Station 128
2012
OH...dinosaur
2012
51 photos and video stills spell out the word 'oh.' This 'oh' expresses quiet wonder felt traveling around the block and around the globe- driving in Santa Monica one evening and walking into a monastery in Tibet 72 hours later. Life is going on, everywhere, all the time. Oh.
OH...dinosaur is the sequel to Tale of Fortunate Rest (photos and video stills that spell out the word P A U S E) from 2009.
(Some of) My Inheritance
2007-2012
The 'Inheritance' series is an ongoing series of 'how to' instructional photographs. Inspired by the generous photographic instructions of Japanese cookbooks, the goal is to create photographs that viewers can literally 'take something away from.' Thematically the project is inspired by UNESCO's intiative to preserve intangible cultural heritages worldwide, but of course on a much smaller, mundane scale. Here the pieces of cultural treasures being preserved are everyday actions (folding, counting, measuring) that have been passed on over casual conversations between friends, family, and travelers. The ongoing project is indicative of my interest in people, the cultural beauty and significance of what they know, and the transmission of that knowledge.
Café Kiss of the World
2011
Made for the Armory Center for the Arts, Café Kiss of the World is an installation of instructional photographs, a wink emoji noren curtain, a row of cushions, and poetry. As a whole, Café Kiss of the World looks at the cultural treasures we already have, tucked inside us, amidst our existence between restlessness and comfort. It celebrates our ability to travel thousands of miles as well as traveling without moving, while past lives making appearances in this one.
Photo: Kevin McCarty
Photo: Kevin McCarty
Photo: Kevin McCarty
Photo: Kevin McCarty
Kiss of the World Score for Ear Meal
2011
A sound set of field recordings compiled into a composition for Alan Nakagawa's show "Ear Meal" and played live on the streaming webcast. Beginning in Los Angeles with the daKAH Hip Hop orchestra tuning up during rehearsal we travel to a monastery in Tibet where monks chant morning prayers and further to Sudan where an aid worker reminisces about the first time he got arrested in Los Angeles as a teenager, to mum and dad sharing their favorite tongue twisters.
Relief Café
2011
Relief Café was a food stand that was set up in the Fine Art Courtyard at Loyola Marymount University during a week long artist's residency. The food stand brought to life a menu created in 2008 for an imaginary cafe called "The Homesick Café '92." Students volunteered all week to help prepare and sell items from the menu. The most popular item was the 'Abogado Don' aka 'Lawyer Bowl' - rice bowl with avocado & ponzu dressing. For 1 week, Relief Café became a gathering point for the art school community. Almost $700 was raised and sent to Japan in order to help the relief efforts in Fukushima.
A Tale of Fortunate Rest
2009
A Tale of Fortunate Rest is a tale of meditation, reflection, and reconnection during a period of unexpected rest due to injury. The tale is told in 5 acts through a combination of video stills and photographs which spell out the word "Pause." P / Invocation, A / Supplication, U / Reflection, S / Inspiration, and E / Dedication. The 7 foot tall letters were originally made specifically for a set of windows on the bottom floor of an apartment complex in Pasadena, California. From afar, pedestrians were able to see the giant word "PAUSE," and up close people were able to see images relating to reconnecting with one's own values and inspiration.
