Interview with Kohei Akiba

q)What is your earliest art-related memory?

a)My earliest art-related memory is when I was 19 years old, when I met with

Marittes' art work.

It gave me a great shock back then.

q) Who has had the greatest influence on your work?

a)Van Gogh gave me a great influence on my

works.

I wish I could be able to express my feelings as genuinely as Van Goh on my

wrt works.

q) What are the main tools of your craft?

a)Most of my wrt works are made by oil paintings.

q) Is a formal education important?

a)havn't had much art education my self, but I think that the basics are

important to learn.

So I should say that "some" education are important.

q) What is the biggest misconception about art?

a)I think the biggest misconception about art is that many people believe that

art is sublime.

Art should be, and is, more close to our everyday lives.

q) Which is more important in art - concept or execution?

a)I think that talking about art through context and logical thinking is

nonsense.

Art should expressed more intuitively, more directly to your senses,

staright to your eyes.

q) What is your favorite piece of art in your home?

a)I love Albert Camus' books and Van Gogh's collection of pictures.

q) If you could collaborate with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

a)Yayoi Kusama

q) Which emerging artist do you think more people should know about?

a)Yayoi Kusama, although he(she) might be already famous.

q) What has been your greatest achievement to date?

a)I won a prize at a big competition in Toyko.

q) What has been your biggest roadblock?

a)Exceeding my limits, and it sill keeps on appearing in front of me.

q) How do you define success?

a)My meaning of success is creating a completely new way of expression, and

letting the world know about it.

q) What will be the name of your autobiography?

a)I don't have plans on publishing my autobiography yet... it would probably

change until the last moments.

q)What is the best piece of (art-related) advice you’ve ever been given?

a)"draw arts that rub people the wrong way"

q)what theme or aesthetic are you most drawn too?

a)I am drawn to beauty inside devilish emotions and insanity and those sorts

of feeling.

It seems that in every eminent art works, there is insanity somewhere.

q)your contacts..

a)e-mail: goroneko22@gmail.com HP:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/koheiakiba/