The organic and synthetic forms within Sakamoto’s work are enigmatic. Rendered in deep saturation, often deep red and green, the entities recall the folds and creases of renaisance robes and cloaks, except more plastic. Elsewhere, coral-like filigree structures grow with lace-like delicacy. Exploring the paintings deeper reveal all manner of suprises, deep oceanic caves, sperm-like rock clouds, molecular tubes and brain-like dwellings for unimaginable presences.

The refinement of Satoshi Sakamoto’s painting has been noticed by others:

In the Serious Artworld of International Fairs and Biennales…the word “Visionary” seems to have the pejorative stink of unsophistication. Many artists carrying this torch admitedly deal in a currency of formula and cliche (or maybe the word is “kitsch”)..but I feel like it would be unfair to dispense wholesale artists who are inspired by the fantastic. Artists such as Satoshi Sakamoto seem unconcerened with the self-conscious ironies of paintings recent history..and more energized by the fertile fields of their own imagination… (his) work might be able to appear comfortably in both Juxtapoz, Art in America….and maybe in a not so far fetched future…Artforum. Not that any of this matters to these artists, who seem enthralled enough with their own muses.

Jacques de Beaufort

In this revealing and inspiring interview with Daniel Mirante, Satoshi Sakamoto kindly offers his thoughts on the artistic process and the state of visionary art in Japan.

Daniel Mirante :
I was very interested, watching your photographs of the progress of one painting over a year, how it seems you start with a very abstract expressionist style of working, and then you draw from this potential the shapes and forms of your composition. This reminds me of the working method of Max Ernst, and also HR Giger, to draw a kind of order out of chaos. I have sometimes thought that such a technique is similar to divination and mediumship, allowing more subtle energies and patterns to come through. How did you develop such a way of working ?
　　　

Satoshi Sakamoto:
I tried to show the progress of the painting UNAWANG　because people wouldn’t know unless it was recorded day by day. People can appreciate the final details on the surface that hide so many improvisations behind it. But actually the progression is more meaningful for the artists themselves, I think.

I would like to expose something that already exists in potentiality. Although I dislike math, my operation is similar to math that which seeks the strict structures in a blank field. Mathematical theory even exists potentially, though nobody knows that.

Also my work is like mountain climbing with two movements of up and down. Actually climbing up to the top is much more important than descending. Imagine an exploration to reach the goal without a map or compass and it wouldn’t be necessarily a pleasant hike. Sometimes it goes through some kind of madness and uneasiness as if a small child is roaming alone in the intricate vast forest. In fact to depict the details, to finish the canvases is not a big issue for me. Because after the discovery of the top and seeing the whole perspective, it would be a safer route to the end. So I have two kinds of goals concerning my art to reach the top of the mountain and to get back onto the flat ground to make people understand with the details. If I had a clone assistant, and I wanted to leave the rest of my job to him for boring finishing work. I would say “ OK. I have found the top and caught a prospect to finish. I will let you work on it. I will move on to a new mountain soon, bye.” Sometimes depicting the details on the surface demands slavery from painters, meanwhile I know it is unavoidable labor.

Indeed Max Ernst was the first master who reminded me of profound memories of nature. But I have to say that my art working started around 1987 when HR Giger came to Tokyo and the unusual popularity arose among Japanese young generation. At that time we could buy his Necronomicon everywhere at book shops nation wide

Apart from such enthusiastic followers, I had been singly considering the nature of Giger’s art. When I was an art university student once I said to a teacher “ My master is Giger.” He replied “ It ’s not a good idea, you should stop it.”

I knew that superficial followers easily would come to a nonsense exposing their personal abnormality. But I believed Giger had established a quite fundamental principle of formative art such as Cezanne. I thought most of all descriptions about Giger’s art were not enough to explain his universal method. Those morbid themes like biomechanoid or black magic strike people and sometimes such an unusual eccentricity overshadows his genuine artistic formation of more truly abstractive level. I appreciated Giger’s art concentrating on the form itself rooted to certain archetypes resonating to each other like music.

In 1992 I began to use airbrush and oil paints to carry out my ideas. I thought it must be possible to visualize archetypes in an abstractive level without figurative shapes. Instead of psychological symbols I have been using more direct vivid colors than Giger’s. Now that many years have already passed, I still feel my trials were far from enough.

Inspirations on my art works are not such a dramatic experience, rather it is very subtle even sometimes tiny rubbish that people wouldn’t notice. Hands and paints are exquisite device to magnify the neglected senses into a grand scale. Yes, it is similar to divination and mediumship.

Stages in the evolution of the painting ‘Unawag’ by Satoshi Sakamoto

Daniel:
Does your painting combine with any meditation practice ? It must require much concentration to work on such detailed compositions.

Satoshi Sakamoto:
I have never tried any practice of meditation. I think nothing is better practice than painting for me. But as you suggested, everything is up to my brain state. I like walking and watching the skies to relax, also I won’t avoid talking with people to share the current social problems. Totally it depends on how to build my usual life in order to concentrate on the canvases, maybe as many artists know.

Also I read books a lot about spirituality like Rudolf Steiner to keep working, on the assumption that an invisible world exist. But I do not have a spiritual constitution which lets me see any invisible entities.

Daniel:
How has your work been received in your homeland ? Is there a strong visionary art community in Japan ?
 

Satoshi Sakamoto:
In my town some people may recognize me as a painter who is making peculiar images that ordinary people wouldn’t understand. And some friends are looking forward to seeing my next exhibit. But my family doesn’t like my art.

I have joined many competitions and held some exhibitions. They have ended up with a very small practical reaction. So a few years ago I decided to concentrate on the internet not to waste efforts.

In 2006 the Japanese visionary art group IFAA was established. As far as I know this is only community to exchange information about the international visionary art movement.

For the first time I participated in IFAA for the annual exhibition in Tokyo and Kyoto 2008. It was a pretty interesting show by around 40Japanese members and two foreign guests, Leo Plaw and Luigi La Speranza. This was a rare occasion to make me think as to what is the visionary art. As you know, because there is no strict definition for this genre.

Personally I think the Japanese prime visionary artist is Hayao Miyazaki the animation creator, but his works won’t be categorized as visionary art movement. Also, a very eminent Japanese artist like Tadanori Yokoo has been obviously standing by visionary and spiritual possibility. But his works should be categorized as New Painting movement.

The Japanese cultural scene is progressing in chaos involving various genres like anime or manga, and both contemporary art and traditional paintings without definite category and system. So it is hard to imagine how the Japanese visionary art movement will develop in the future in a very different climate from western civilization. Of course I am not familiar with the western situation though.

[Show as slideshow]

Daniel:
You say you like to ‘expose something that already exists in potentiality’… do you feel that these ‘existents in potentiality’ relate to what people describe as the world of spirits ?

Satoshi Sakamoto:
The phrase of “The world of spirits” indicates many aspects for each individual or group. So concerning theology or occult science, it is beyond me. At least “exists” did not mean entity like ghost or angel. “Existence” that I feel on my working is a quite normal sense to distinguish meaningful characters from senseless chaos. And subconscious body working gives me a little bit of trigger to start paint.

Sometimes I find spiritual doctoring to escape from body into what is called “the world of spirits”. But I believe that my corporal eyes are enough to find potentiality. The invisible world and the visible world are not separated. Actually potentiality already embodies in presence. Everything is up to the attitude of the observers.

Daniel:
Have you worked with psychedelics ? If not, how do you explain the sympathy between your work and psychedelic visions ?

Satoshi:
Definitely never. I have never regarded myself as a psychedelic artist. However I know my art shares with psychedelic vision in some ways. I am not familiar with the history of psychedelic culture.
But I think we should not care a lot about style or phrase, rather should go back to the original reason why we needed psychedelic style.

I think because we needed to find a vision by ourselves purely independently not as a slave. But psychedelics have a slight trick to harm our independence. We have to care about who made it. If we made it by ourselves for us, it would be no problem, I think.

A reason why I am making a kind of psychedelic is… I feel a necessity to stand on for those social collapses. Maybe it is close to the situation when the psychedelic movement began.

Other than that, I believe my vivid colors come from both Asian tradition and the Renaissance. I haven’t investigated on the cultural history of the world. But sometimes I imagine humankinds has been fascinated by the magical effect of vivid colors, maybe sometimes for rituals since the beginning. Vivid colors easily get faded over time. So we tend to imagine ancient worlds with monochrome. But it is not living history. Even if we imagine vivid old Asia, vivid old Europe ,vivid old Middle East, it wouldn’t be wrong.

Strong saturation effect overwhelms self-awareness also it stimulates our emotion. Red can change anger into mercy. Blue can change sadness into hope. About yellow, I am not sure yet. I think there is still much room to develop color techniques for the future.

Also I attempt to create images which will be able to deconstruct the self-image of human body into something unknown. I hope it would stimulate people’s desire to dance spontaneously. However I don’t like dancing by myself.

Daniel:
Thankyou very much for sharing your amazing work on Lila!

Short bio of Satoshi Sakamoto

“I was borne in Aomori prefecture in 1970. I learned oil painting in university in Tokyo. Since 1996 I live in Hirosaki city in Aomori prefecture.”

I was born in the northern Japan in 1970. The culture of Aomori prefecture where I raised is different from the typical well known Japanese culture from Kyoto. The most popular summer festivals, Nebuta and Neputa represent primitiveness in such vivid colors and dynamic movements.

In high school, I was inspired by a book of paintings by HR Giger and the ideas of Rudolf Steiner. In art university I studied classical techniques and tried to use an airbrush and oil paints in exploring my own style; Sur-naturalism which is based on the primary colors and abstract archetypes..

My faith has been shaped by exploring the internal realms of creation; not relying on outer influences or the past. It might share the motivation of the artists who tried to develop abstract art in the early 20th century. The work to continue gazing at the darkness has been extremely difficult. In the mean time, I feel uncomfortable about the landscapes standardized by modernization. The beauty of tradition in?the artificial has been becoming too inferior due to commercialism and industrialism. This is the reason why I keep my images independent of outer environment as a conservative reformism.

Ultimately 2 dimensional art should help create blue-print for 3dimesional objects which could be realized in the future. Art is laid between the natural and the artificial. It is unavoidable that art carries a role in directing the shape of manmade things and nature. My ambition is not to be in galleries or museums but to be in the fundamental places where we live, like our houses and offices, or the shrines and the festivals.

. I am curious about the artworks of the past, like ancient Japanese earthenware. It suggests to me that immortal archetypes in chaos could show us a mythology far beyond our words. I believe that primitive art works already achieved higher states than any other modern art. I think that the designs by ancient people were implicated to karma with the shapes of duality which meant woman and man, killer and victim. Those are reflected in my paintings subconsciously as well.

I chose red to recreate the experience of initiation into a place where all living things are activating our souls. Red also means anger and mercy, or destruction and creation. In this area we can’t distinguish the boundary between the inside and the outside. I have imagined that Japanese red shrines intimate our red blood which contrasts against the green forest. I thought red and green means a reversible relationship between internal nature and external nature.

Sur-nature and Super-nature are not the same. Sur-naturalism is a method of possibility to deal with primary phenomena within nature including the self of humankind. The sense for the archetypes is a key to open the secrets. As opposed to the supernatural, it can be perceived and understood in its entirety.