Finding Beauty in the Ordinary: A Conversation with Yuko Kyutoku
Yuko Kyutoku is a contemporary artist based in New York. She was born in Gifu and grew up in Aichi, Japan. Having grown up next to both nature with mountains and rivers, and urban areas, her love of nature and the outdoors grew tremendously. Throughout herlife, Yuko has always been fascinated by images and how the world is represented through the eyes of others. Also, she was born into a doctor’s family that appreciates art, and her grandmother was also an artist who exhibited her works throughout Japan. Naturally, she was drawn to drawings and paintings. The interest was cultivated during her childhood and further developed when she opted to complete her associate’s degree in visual arts at Westchester Community College in 2016, her bachelor's degree in fine art, painting, drawing, and printmaking at SUNY Purchase College in New York in 2019, and her master’s degree in art therapy at New York University in 2022.
Growing up in both natural and urban settings in Japan, how have these contrasting environments influenced your artistic style and thematic choices? How do these early experiences manifest in your work today?
Growing up in both urban and natural environments has had a significant influence on my artistic style, such as appreciating the environment and finding value and beauty in everyday life.
I was born in a relatively rural area with good access to the city by public transportation. Even though I lived in a relatively rural area with a lot of nature, there are still many accesses to museums, theaters, workshops, and communities that work in the city. Looking back, I realized that it helped me to appreciate both the nature that always surrounded me and to always be able to experience high art, such as shows, exhibitions, etc. Both environments helped me to gain my artists tis styles and I often depict both scenarios, mixtures of urban and nature yet depicting them. My work also reflects my experiences of visiting museums and theaters. I also often write down some lyrics or poems that I have learned in my artwork, which you can find in some of the backgrounds of my paintings. I find beauty in everyday life, and I paint subjects that make me feel beautiful, whether they are people, places, or other subjects. Growing up in both natural and urban environments has taught me to find beauty in the ordinary and to find meaning and appreciation for what I have and the things that surround me. My artwork is about finding beauty in the ordinary and celebrating it. Furthermore, what I want to express through my work is to create paintings that can have some kind of positive influence on people, such as being able to empathize with them as they go through real life, encouraging them as they go through life, giving them positive feelings and refreshing them, so I find meaning in sharing the beautiful things of everyday life with the viewers.
Your grandmother was an artist, and you were raised in a family that appreciates art. How did your family's influence shape your decision to pursue a career in visual arts, and how do you see this legacy reflected in your work?
I was born into a large family of doctors who appreciated art, and my father especially enjoyed seeing and creating art. He collected many paintings from around the world and displayed them in our home. My grandmother also had her studio, and I often visited her and enjoyed the smell of oil paints, seeing her painting in progress and how she enjoyed making art. She also had many solo shows. I visited her solo show several times and saw her talking to her visitors during the show, having dialogues and friendships, which was a pleasure for me to watch.
My parents often took me to many exhibitions, music concerts and theater performances and often talked about the importance of experiencing these arts in life. My father also enrolled me in many art classes such as painting, collage, and ceramics in the city center when I was young, and he believed that I was good at it. He also saw that I enjoyed creating art as a form of communication with others. He saw that I enjoyed expressing my inner worlds through art forms, and I also received several awards for flyers I made for the Acai Hane, Central Community Chest when I was in elementary school.
My parents are open-minded and appreciate this high art and how it expresses different values, philosophies as well as history and cultural background. My parents also often talk about how others from different countries or backgrounds can teach us the beauty of individuals, embrace other cultures, and learn from them to enrich our minds and our lives.
These environmental factors contributed to the appreciation I have for art and influenced me to pursue fine art in college in New York. My family encouraged me to pursue what I wanted to do with my life. When I told my parents that I wanted to pursue a bachelor's degree in fine arts, they agreed without judgment or hesitation. Since they strongly believed that their children should pursue the things they love for their lives, even if it is a difficult path, they encouraged and supported me all the way. Even when I struggled with my solo shows in college and it was devastating, they always encouraged me to keep going.
You recently completed a master’s degree in art therapy at NYU. How has you’re training in art therapy influenced your artistic process, and in what ways do you see art as a tool for healing and transformation?
Pursuing a career as an art therapist is a life-changing experience, and I love being the art therapist who can make a difference in other people's lives.
When I started my master's program at NYU, I struggled with the diKerence between the fine arts training and the art therapy training. Wave my motivation for art was the same, I was struggling quite the diKerence values between art therapy and fine art. Art therapy is especially eKective for individuals who are struggling with mental illness and are unable to express themselves with words. The art therapy can also help in physical disabilities that give the opportunity to move their body and increase their motor functions using art materials and supplies. Art therapy focuses on the process, not the final product, which was a big diKerence between art therapy and fine art. Although I enjoy the process of creating art, I was trained to create paintings in a certain way, so it took me some time to let go of my old, fixed art training and beliefs. I studied fine art for 6 years before my master’s degree and it was hard for me not to focus on the final product rather than the process of making art and the journey that the individual experiences during the sessions, which took me some time to learn.
During my master’s program, I was fortunate to work with diverse populations in a variety of settings, providing therapy to individuals with trauma, neurological disabilities, and physical disabilities. Of course, all therapy modalities have limitations, not only art therapy; however, I have certainly witnessed how art and the relationship between therapist and client have helped clients overcome their struggles, help them move forward, stay with them during the most diKicult times, and heal from their tragic experiences by using art as a tool to express themselves as well as provide them with sensory, comforting moments. Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, who is an SGI Nichiren Buddhist philosopher, peacemaker, educator and poet. He is my mentor and a very important figure in my life. I am learning from his philosophy, and it has inspired so many areas of my life as well as my artwork and therapeutic work. Dr Ikeda said said, "It is important that we have the inner richness to be able to look up at the stars or the moon and compose a poem once in a while. When we open our minds wide and fix our gaze on the universe, we fix our gaze on our own lives. ( Soka Gakkai, Daily Encouragement, https://www.sokaglobal.org/resources/dailyencouragement/august-3.html)
Clients overcome their problems and improve their skills through the relationship with their therapist. I have also worked with some artists with mental illness and provided them with art therapy group sessions. For some, art has significant meaning in their lives and has special places in their hearts and some paintings/artworks hold important places in their hearts. I work with diverse populations and art helps others to connect and overcome cultural diKerences and language barriers during the session as well. My mentor, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda also mentioned that the life and essence of art - whether it is painting, music or dance - lies in expressing through a source of emotion the universal realm of the human spirit. It is a fusion of the individual and the universal. That is why great art transcends ethnic and national boundaries to move people all over the world (Daily Encouragement, © Soka Gakkai. Daily Encouragement https://www.sokaglobal.org/resources/daily-encouragement/january-28.html )After I started working as an art therapist, my belief in the power of art became stronger and firmer
Your work draws inspiration from a variety of experiences, including traveling, literature, and music. Can you walk us through your creative process, from gathering inspiration to the final execution of a piece?
All the subjects come from my life experiences, and I express them in my own way through my lens. I am a very intuitive person, and I chose the subjects depending on how the subject moved me or gave me strong enough feelings to depict them in my art, I almost get urges to create art because of them. For example, I have depicted several people in my art, and these are my friends and artists that I respect and have made a good impact in my life, so I wanted to honor them by capturing them in my paintings. It almost froze time in my painting so that they and the time I spent with them would last forever in my paintings as well as the pleasant feeling I got from them that they enriched my life, and I really wanted to share that with the worlds, so I captured them. I always feel that I want to share with the world something that I found beautiful or meaningful, to send the message that there are so many meaningful and beautiful things to be found in life, to send the message to be optimistic and hopeful.
My art making process is transformative and I gather all the information from my experiences especially from my travels, books, music that I have listened to, people that I have met and craft the ideas and begin to depict them in my art. To complete the pieces, the subject matter should give me strong feelings to complete the piece.
Once I decide my subject matter for my art, it is relatively easy for me to create the piece. My process is intuitive, I choose the mediums and materials I want to use for the subject and go with the flow during the process. For example, when you finish one area of the painting, that area will lead you to the next parts of the painting that you need to work on. When I feel "done", my painting is done. Some artists often go back to old paintings and retouch them again, but I prefer to do my best in each painting with all I have during each stage of my life.
As an art therapist, you collaborate closely with individuals facing emotional challenges. How has this therapeutic practice deepened your understanding of human emotions, and in what ways does it influence the themes and techniques in your artwork?
There are many things I have learned from art therapy practices. I have started to use some art therapy techniques in my fine art like mandala, weaving and mask making these days. Art therapy practice brings me new techniques, skills, insight into my art and helped me to expand my tools to express what I want to express.
One thing that came to my mind is the idea of using symbols in art. You can find a lot of symbolism in artists' works and each symbol visually expresses their hidden inner world. Sometimes they also create their "own" symbols, and we get to learn their own visual language through dialog or seeing their art. Many patients express their feelings through color, and some colors work in certain ways for certain people, such as calming, relaxing, or expressing anger. For some people, some colors work in diKerent ways than others, which is interesting to see. Artwork has a diKerent meaning for each person, and it is diKerent from views, and it is curious to explore the true meaning behind it together with the patients. Also, when people create artworks with feelings, the feelings remain on the surface of the artworks, and you feel them when you see them. Art gives certain meanings to the viewers, and it also connects us in a non-verbal way.
Your work spans various mediums, including gouache, gel pens, and printmaking. How do you decide which medium to use for a particular project, and how does each medium allow you to express various aspects of your artistic vision?
For me, art materials each have a diKerent way to express the themes on the surface, and I use them for diKerent purposes. First, I am found of Japanese traditional art such as Ukiyoe and I also like other artworks inspired by them such as Lautrec's prints and Van Gogh. I enjoy the graphic elements and the use of colors, especially the use of traditional blue colors that can be found in Japanese Ukiyoe. I choose mediums that help me express what I want to express and achieve in my art. For example, the gel pens are drawing mediums that help me to draw the subjects that I want to express the most in my art. I often use the pens or drawing materials to define people's faces or other subjects to make them stand out. I also like to use diKerent colors of gel pens that give diKerent impression, less focus or more. Also, some printmaking techniques create graphic expression, and I like to use painting and drawing techniques on the print I made. On the other hand, water-based mediums such as watercolor or gouache paint give me more expressive elements and I often incorporate them to create atmospheric sensations in my artwork. When I want to express certain feelings, I also use abstract elements in my artwork, which you can often find in the background of my paintings. I enjoy the splash eKects of water based medium, which can only be created with water based medium and it creates very artistic impression on the surface.
So, my style is more like a mixture of drawing, painting and printmaking. I use printmaking as a base and get shapes and colors on the surface and then build with painting and drawing techniques to build the surface and add details that I want.
Having worked for significant cultural events and institutions like Natural History of American Museum, SUNY Purchase College Visual Arts Department, and Aichi Triennale, how did those experiences influence your perspective on the role of art in public spaces? Did they inspire any pieces or series in your portfolio?
These work experiences at these institutions helped me to engage more with audiences through art and thus supported me in my journey as an art therapist and artist as communicator. At SUNY Purchase, I worked in the studio with other emerging artists, helping them in their art making process by demonstrating, sharing ideas, etc., which helped me gain diKerent insights into the art making process of other artists who are diKerent from me and what they want to accomplish in their artwork. This experience helped me when I work with other artists who have diKerent backgrounds and beliefs to work towards the same goals together. I have curated some exhibitions where I invited many artists from diKerent countries, and we all work together on the themes of the exhibition with the same mission and goals. Learning from other artists and respecting their styles and beliefs about what they want to express in their art has helped me both as an art therapist and as an artist.
I also helped the art therapy group for children and their families and conducted the workshop at the Natural History of American Museum and it was one of the most memorable experiences for me. I witnessed how the art supported the children to connect with worlds, foster friendships with other children during the workshop, make connections with others, learn about science, origami through art therapy origami workshops and the children also get help from their parents that it seems provided place that the children connect with their parents through art making process and learn about science and math joyfully through origami art therapy. Seeing the children explore their curiosity and learn about new subjects through art, while also having a pleasant time with other children and their parents, made me realize the power of art and how much it can possibly contribute to people for the better.
Finally, I also worked at Aichi Triennial and helped this fabulous art triennial in my city, Japan. I explained art to visitors, including foreigners, and I was amazed at how art aKects people's lives from diKerent perspectives, from the viewers' perspective. During the triennial, I also had the opportunity to experience many artists who use unique media and tools to create their art. Some use traditional pottery techniques, others use traditional Japanese paper that can only be found in certain rural areas of Japan, and they represent the area and promote their culture and beliefs through art that is in line with their beliefs in terms of what they want to express in their artwork. As a result, being behind the scenes of these artists' art-making process has led me to find mediums that align with my style, which are traditional Japanese paints, pigments and colors, and traditional Japanese brushes that have helped me find my voice in art. I think it helps me when I collaborate with my patients in the art making process during sessions, how I can help, engage and create art that is meaningful to them and how I can contribute to their art making process.
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