One Cut One Bow interviews:Tadasuke Jinno

Top: Tadasuke Jinno; [Device Red and Green] (2014); epoxy resin, pearl pigment, acrylic on canvas; 15 x 26 inches
Bottom: Tadasuke Jinno; [Gray Triangle#01] (2013); urethane, acrylic on canvas; 60 x 30 inches

Tadasuke Jinno; [untitled#01_version1] (2016); silk, wood lumber, acrylic; 610 x1300 x 300 cm

One Cut One Bow (Magdalen Chua and Ryotaro Hoshino)interviewed Tadasuke Jinno on 6 February 2016 inLeipzig. From the perspective of a painter, he experimentswith the properties of materials, setting up situations thatprovoke viewers to reconsider the objects and spaces
they encounter. He talks to us about his philosophy inmaking art, his influences, and his cats. Originally from
Nagoya, Japan, Jinno has been based in New York City
since 2010.

very much based in painting. I haven’t quite deviated fromhow I usually make paintings and I do hope that one day, I
will actually move away from this manner of working. If I
were a sculptor, perhaps my way of thinking might bedifferent. Right now, I add changes to my work
incrementally, by altering it somewhat to make it appear
like it is three-dimensional, while it actually isn’t. I guess
this is what I’m currently doing.
However, what has changed is my consciousness of theviewer, for example, how they stand in a space in relation
to the work, how they see the work, and what would
happen after they look at a certain point. In particular, I
wish that my works enable myself or viewers to become
more aware of the space around my works.

Altering a viewer’s consciousness
One Cut One Bow (OCOB): People can interact with yourworks such as [3x3x3] (2015) and [untitled#01_version1](2016) as 3-dimensional spaces. How does creating thesepieces as three-dimensional environments change yourworking method and the way you relate to your work?

OCOB: It sounds like how your work develops depends onthe materials you choose and how they have been used.

Tadasuke Jinno (TJ): I feel that my works haven’t changed
much, but are more of an extension of my twodimensional works. This is particularly so when I consider
that there haven’t been that many differences in myworking methods.
Previously, some of my works were made with a little dent
and I used a specific kind of pigment to coat the surface.
Because of this special pigment, depending on where youstand, how the work appears and the reflection of colours
are different. That has made me more aware of how
viewers see my work. However, the way I think about mywork is still pretty much as a painting. If you look at[untitled#01_version1] (2016), it is like a three-dimensional
object, but another way of seeing it is that it has one flatsurface, with another flat surface underneath. What isreflected on the lower surface is also flat. In my opinion,
there is no depth. In terms of my working method, it is still

TJ: Of course the materials do provide me with a different
kind of awareness. However, as from before, I am simply
interested in how to make a two-dimensional work into
something three-dimensional, though not in the sense ofcreating an illusionistic painting by altering the appearanceof a flat surface. While materials support my artistic
practice, they are not fundamentally important. I am moreconcerned with the experience someone has with mywork. How people see it and how they think about it is themost important. Actually, rather than how people think
about it, I would say that the most important thing is how
there is a change. As long as I can tackle this issue, I am
open to working with any material.
OCOB: So, what’s more important for you is the different
ways that the viewer can see or interact with the work inthe space around it?

2Tadasuke Jinno, [3x3x3] (2015); acrylic on wood; 72 x 74 inches

3Tadasuke Jinno; [Red and Stripe] (2011); acrylic on canvas; 48 x 36 inches

TJ: Yes, the space, and something else I am interested inis the transformation of an object into an art object.
Another way to put it is that this is about awareness —when you see something that you don’t consider anartwork, yet think about it as art because of a change. I
want to make people become conscious of something thatthey have not been aware of. For example, in[untitled#01_version1] (2016), there are two silk screens,which are rather like mosquito nets. When you overlay two
mosquito nets, there is a dizzying effect, and that effect iscreated in the work. When people see two mosquito nets,
they don’t see them as art. I think they wouldn’t think ofsuch a phenomenon as artistic, but I want to make people
feel that this is also art when they look at these works.

where the red and green overlaps shows your emotionalblah blah blah..,” but there is nothing there. The idea that“what can be seen there is there,” has influenced me a lot.

OCOB: Why is that so important for you and what
experiences make you prioritize this idea of a viewer andits environment?

OCOB: I’m curious. Can you give us an example about
the materials you found interesting while working on
something else?

TJ: I think that art is actualized because someone sees it.
Of course, this idea of art differs from person to person.
For example, one might have a formula for art that
includes factors like installing a work in a certain space,and having viewers see it, in order for art to be actualized.
If a work is put on a street somewhere, I don’t think that it
would work as art. That is how I see it. I think that art isactualized for the first time in a particular space, in aparticular condition, and if no one sees it, there is nomeaning. People’s reactions, and the changes in people
through the work, are the most important for me.

TJ: One example I can think of is when I bought a chair. It
had this structure on both sides with cloth, like a net, andthe chair could be rotated. I put my cat on it and starting
rotating the chair. Then I saw a moiré pattern. There wasa change in the appearance of the chair, and it made me
think of translating it into a work.

OCOB: Do you choose materials based on an idea you
have in mind? Are there occasions when you decide to
make a work using a material and experience from yourdaily life?
TJ: It’s half and half. There are times when I look formaterials with a visual image already in my mind. There
are also times when I am working on something, andcome across a material that makes me think about using itin future.

OCOB: Poor cat.
TJ: No, no, no, no, no…he was having a lot of fun. That
was an experience that gave me the inspiration for[untitled#01_version1] (2016). As an artist, how one looks
is very important. Looking at a chair and thinking that it isa chair, is not what an artist does. Referring to Frank
Stella once again, when he looked at Jasper Jones’works, what he saw was a bit different from what a lot ofpeople were discussing. The general discussion was on
the fact that Jones used the national flag and the focus
was about the national flag being used as a work of art.
But what Stella looked at was the repetition of stripes andhe realized its effect. So when I heard about this andthought about what he saw being different from others, itmade me want to always see something different fromwhat other people are seeing.

Artistic influences and studying in New YorkOCOB: Do you look up to any artists who work withenvironments or materials that are not generally regarded
as art, and placed within a gallery environment?
TJ: I don’t know much about artists who do such things,
but someone close is Marcel Duchamp and also, FrankStella who said something along the lines of, “what can beseen there is there,” and this is something that speaks tome. Previously, when I did paintings, I was trying to see
more than necessary in there. People may say, “This part

4

OCOB: You studied art in New York at the Art Students
League and it seems that a lot of your references are fromAmerican artists.

TJ: This is just an idea, but what I’m thinking about now isa helmet. Of course, I will do something to the helmet. I
think it’s the smallest space and enclosure that someonecan experience. I got the idea when a friend told me thatmy current series was like looking through 3D glasses. It
made me aware of the distance between a person and 3D
glasses, which is very small, and I started to think about
making small spaces and going through small spaces. I
also wonder how it feels for people to go through a wall. I
told my wife about this idea of going through the wall. She
told me that if people are dirty and go through the wall,
she wouldn’t want to go through after. She said that itshould be something I have to be concerned about.

TJ: I only started my involvement in art when I came toNew York. I didn’t know much about art before then andmy life in New York has been crucial to my development. I
don’t know about Japanese art and have been influenced
by American art, from pop art to modern art.
OCOB: Why did you study art?
TJ: When I first came to New York, I was under a lot ofstress as I didn’t have a job or money. My wife was very
worried and suggested that I enrol in art school to take mymind off things. She didn’t expect me to continue in art. Itturned out that there were many American artists in theschool that I went to. I met an artist, a teacher, from theArt Student League. I love his works and his thinking, andhe was why I continued.

OCOB: You can make a big wall with perfume.
TJ: Then for the helmet, I’d have to make a big one too.
OCOB: And one for your cat.

OCOB: Who was your teacher?
TJ: Charles Hinman. I think he is about the same age asFrank Stella. But he never teaches about techniques. Hejust talks about art, materials, art history, etc. I couldn’t
paint well and one day, I asked him how I should paint. Hetold me that I should buy a good brush. It made me feelthat he is a good artist, but he doesn’t teach. It was very
interesting for me.
Initially, I had another teacher in a mixed media class. I
made a work with wood pieces of the same height. He
said that my work was not art because it could bemeasured and because one would know the total height. I
didn’t agree with him. I told him I was a graphic designer
and he said that I should use digital printing and docollage. He was so boring — I don’t have to do that! So, Iquit his class after one day.
OCOB: That’s a good story. So you moved from mixed
media to painting?
TJ: Yes, but my teacher, Charles Hinman’s works are
three-dimensional paintings that play with shadow andlight.

Tadasuke Jinno; [Black and line] (2012); acrylic, wood on canvas;
30 x 30 inches

OBOC: Talking about all this and your history sheds a lotof light on your work.
Ideals and the future
OCOB: You were saying that are interested in thechanges that happen when someone sees a work. Whatkind of changes do you have in mind?
TJ: For me, art happens at the moment when someone
sees a work and a change takes place. However, I am
buying “insurance”, in the sense that I am still trying to
make work that looks like art. This is something that I
would like to get out of.
OCOB: So, you’re not quite living up to your ideal?
TJ: My ideal is for people to change their values when
they see my work. If that happens, then my work is art.
However, if it doesn’t, then it is just an object. At this point,
I am afraid that people don’t feel anything, so, well, I add
to it, using colours or shapes, such that it looks like art.
OCOB: What kind of art do you really want to make?

Tadasuke Jinno; [Gate#06] (2014); epoxy, resin, acrylic on canvas;
28 x 28 inches

5