A creative attitude and lifestyle that has not changed
-Although the exhibition has already ended, it was a valuable exhibit that sublimated a vast archive into a graphic work of art. Once again, I would like to ask you a little about your past activities here, and what was your first encounter with graphic design?
When I was a child, in my computer class at school, I saw a row of Windows desktops with screensavers in the computer room, and the sight seemed like the entrance to a new world. I remember how excited I was. Now I think that was my original experience. Radial Graphics Bio" was also exhibited on the first floor of the venue with multiple monitors as an installation. The other thing is that I have been into music, street art, and fashion since I was in junior high and high school. I tried drawing graffiti while skateboarding and silk-screening T-shirts. I think my interests expanded from playing around.
-I see. Will you go on to a graphic design school after that?
I went to a design school, but at that time, I was more influenced by the outside world than the school. At the time, the area around Nakameguro and Ebisu, where the school was located, was home to art spaces such as "Dai Zu Jikken," "GAS BOOK STORE," and "DEPOT. In the area around Nakameguro and Ebisu, where the school was located, there were art spaces such as "Daizu Jikken," "GAS BOOK STORE," and "DEPOT," used bookstores specializing in design and photography, and "MILK," a mix of live music club and club. Everything I saw and touched was stimulating and full of inspiration for my creative work. I went to school during the day, visited bookstores and galleries on my days off, and spent my nights playing in clubs. I repeated these days and before I knew it, my community in Tokyo had expanded.
-He said he encountered a stimulating community and lifestyle, and his world expanded at once.
That's right. At the time, my friends and I were making flyers for events and designing T-shirts, but it didn't feel like work. Then I saw a job opening at a vocational school for an internship at a record company, and I thought, "I can do the kind of music work I like! I thought, "I can work on the music I love! One day, I showed my work to the creative director and was asked to create the logo for Keisuke Kuwata's solo tour. I was about to graduate when I visited the design company "POSITRON" to deliver color proofs, and when I went to the office, I found that it was filled with the culture I liked. Surrounded by a vast collection of records and figures, I intuitively knew this was the place! I asked Mr. Doi, the representative, to let me join the company.
It was around the time when, after becoming independent from "POSITRON", I launched the design office "RALPH", the predecessor of "YAR", together with an art director and a fashion designer friend who are still company members.
This photo was taken at a commemorative photo release party for an album produced as the music unit YATT, which he formed with TAKAKAHN, a close friend of his from his student days.
This is a valuable piece with Chaki Zulu and others from "THE LOWBROWS" (now "YENTOWN"), with whom YOSHIROTTEN himself had been working since the beginning of his career.
Before he launched "YAR", the creative studio he represents. At the time, the studio was located in a vintage apartment in the Sendagaya area.
This is a photo of the office of "YAR" when it was just launched. It started in a room of an apartment in Nakameguro, the same area as today, and has now expanded to include his own atelier and gallery.
A photo taken when he and stylist TEPPEI modeled for the 2010 AW season tie-in page of "STUSSY" in the men's fashion magazine "Samurai" published in 2010.
-How long have you been with "POSITRON"?
I guess about 5 years in real life. I did a lot of graphic work for music artists, but I also created logos, designed corporate packages, and did a variety of other things. I also taught myself how to make videos, so I did some VJ work for live shows. It was valuable that I was able to experience a lot of work that would not have been possible without POSITRON, but more than that, I learned the basics of design and culture, which is a great asset for me now.
-And at the age of 24, he became independent. Finally, this is the starting point of your career as an individual, isn't it?
That's right, after I became independent. I started with three friends without a clue, renting a room in a vintage apartment in Sendagaya as a studio, and two years later we moved to Jingumae. There were various creators such as fashion designers and stylists in that apartment, and it was a good stimulus to meet such a community, and most of them are still related to me today, so I feel the importance of such connections again.
