Jason Teraoka

ARTIST   INTERVIEW1

Things start to happen like that one started off as movie picture.

Do you have the models for each piece?

Most of them actually are from old films, from 1950s, some 1933, or early1960s. We have a channel in Hawaii that only shows old classic movies. Most of the characters start from there. This movie, that one specifically is a boxing movie, it was about this fighter, the prize fighter.

Do you exactly copy them?

No, they are usually pretty loose.

installation view at Tomio Koyama Gallery, 2007
L to R : "The Final Round"、"Ankle Biter" / acrylic and polyurethane on wood panel /
© Jason Teraoka, 2007

More like your imagination.

Yeah. When I see a movie, and if there is a character I really like, I'll even take a photo off from the TV. But then I don't try to render it directly. I try to change the compositions, and, actually the character just naturally changes as a painting anyway. It's never a complete copy of whatever. Things start to happen like that one started off as movie picture, for some reason his teeth came out like a dog teeth. So then it just changes in this other character with whole different context.

Is there any story or relation among all of these paintings?

No. They are all individual paintings. But like in these pieces, they are similar size. I do that more frequently usually. They tend to turn out to be like storyboards sometimes, but over view of something, they are just sort of little snippets.

These works are similar to the pieces shown at Hara Museum.

Yeah. That whole series I did at Hara museum is a continuation for series I've been doing for really long time. Sometimes I will just do a bunch and they all have to be permanently with a same dimension. I try to stay in one frame, as far as the size of paper and everything. It's almost like a diary sometimes, because I paint more frequently.

"Pops" / acrylic and polyurethane on wood panel /
© Jason Teraoka, 2007

"Cheeeese!" / acrylic and polyurethane on wood panel /
© Jason Teraoka, 2007

Why did you want to hang that（"Pops"） painting separately?

That painting is of my father in the World War�U. He passed away this April. So, I just did a painting. I had old photos I was going through.

So, it's very intimate.

I want to give it to my mother after the show. She doesn't know that yet.

Did you paint your mother and all the family?

Yeah. I did, because when somebody passes away, we ended up going through a lot of old photos. I ended up doing the whole series of family members. It was really nice to do that. It helped me process the whole thing. I feel lucky that I had painting, our work at the gallery. Cause I sit there and I'd be able to think through a lot of stuff while I was working. So it was really cool.

How about this("Cheeeese!") girl?

She was the character in an old photo as the background of CD cover, there this girl was standing the way back, back in the corner, and she was interesting. It is weird those people come out of the crowds sometimes. I find them in old photos or advertising or whatever. Sometimes I really wonder why did I paint her. Cause there was whole bunch of kids on this cover and it was her that stands out.

Have you done any larger paintings, like group portrait?

I've never done that yet. The problem is, the space that I work in is really small. I have a hard time. It's hard to get good perspective when I am working even the pieces like the small heads are getting big. So um… yeah, I totally would love to do it because they are very cinematic with lots of scenes. I want to create whole vignettes in which the little scenes are going on and characters are playing with each other. The problem is just a space right now. I know that's not a good excuse.

It's ok. We understand. (laughs)

Thanks man, thanks for putting me on the spot, man. (laughs)