Yoshi Sodeoka is a Japanese-born multimedia artist and musician celebrated for his groundbreaking work throughout video, GIFs, print, and NFTs. Educated as an oil painter from age 5 and as a guitarist from 13, Sodeoka blends conventional inventive roots with cutting-edge digital media. Based mostly in New York since his Nineteen Nineties transfer from Yokohama, Japan, and research at Pratt Institute, his artwork displays a neo-psychedelic aesthetic impressed by punk, steel, and experimental music.
Famend for integrating video suggestions, discovered imagery, and authentic soundscapes, Sodeoka has additionally turn into a pioneer within the NFT area, with tasks exploring themes of natural methods, digital environments, and algorithmic design. His work has been featured in collaborations with musical icons like Metallica and Tame Impala, main publications reminiscent of The New York Occasions and Wired, and campaigns for Nike and Apple. Exhibited globally in venues just like the Centre Pompidou and SFMOMA, Sodeoka continues to push boundaries in digital and modern artwork.
Sodeoka could have his MakersPlace debut at Miami Digital Artwork Truthful 2024 along with his collection Spectral Null.
Brady Walker: Might you begin by telling me a little bit about your self and your journey as an artist?
Yoshi Sodeoka: I’m a video artist based mostly in NYC. I grew up in Yokohama, Japan, and moved to New York within the ’90s to attend Pratt Institute, the place I studied artwork. I’ve been residing and dealing right here ever since.
BW: What was the method like making a life as an experimental video artist earlier than NFTs and even earlier than Instagram and YouTube? What had been your distribution retailers, and the way did you make a residing?
YS: I’ve been creating digital artwork for over twenty years, so NFTs are comparatively new to me—they’re simply an added earnings stream. Earlier than NFTs, I labored independently or generally with artwork galleries to promote prints. Collaboration has all the time been an enormous a part of my apply, and I’ve taken on commissions over time. I’ve directed music movies for bands like Tame Impala, Metallica, and Max Cooper. Fortunately, these tasks weren’t typical consumer jobs—they approached me due to my work as a video artist, so I had the inventive freedom to make what I wished.
Along with music movies, I’ve created editorial animations for publications like The New York Occasions, MIT Know-how Overview, and Wired. These tasks really feel like an extension of my inventive apply slightly than business work.
BW: Do you bear in mind the second you first noticed a bit of video artwork and thought, “That’s it. That’s what I’m doing now”?
YS: Unsure I can pinpoint to only one. However I nonetheless bear in mind watching Colourful Colorado by Phil Morton and I liked it so much.
BW: You’ve referenced Aphex Twin as an affect. What position does music play in your inventive imaginative and prescient and course of?
YS: I like Aphex Twin’s music, however what evokes me most is his method as an artist. He has this distinctive capacity to create work that’s extremely experimental but emotionally participating—a uncommon steadiness. Experimental artwork and music usually lean towards being deliberately incomprehensible, which I additionally get pleasure from. However Aphex Twin strikes a steadiness between complexity and accessibility, and that’s one thing I attempt for in my video artwork.
BW: There’s a lot happening in The Swarm. It seems like a scientific demonstration of patterns in nature, but the depicted world is synthetic. Did you method this as a satire of meaning-making?
YS: That’s an attention-grabbing perspective! I didn’t consider it as a satire. For me, it’s extra of a commentary on immediately’s media tradition. We regularly can’t inform whether or not what we see on-line or in media is actual or fabricated. AI is a scorching subject on this context, however Hollywood has been mimicking actuality for years.
On a broader degree, it makes me marvel—what if all of human existence isn’t actual? Some folks imagine in simulation concept, the place life is likened to a online game. I take into consideration that generally too, however in the end, we’ll by no means know.
BW: Did you do the audio for The Swarm? It’s gorgeous—I’d hearken to it by itself.
YS: Sure, I did, as I do for many of my work. I’ve been making and enjoying music all my life.
For The Swarm, I created the audio utilizing a easy tone generator inside After Results. I are likely to create the video and audio concurrently, which helps the whole lot really feel built-in and cohesive.
BW: What’s your video artwork stack? What instruments and workflows do you like?
YS: I exploit After Results for nearly the whole lot, even for making prints. It’s a instrument I’m very snug with. I additionally spend quite a lot of time color-grading my movies in After Results—a ability I picked up whereas directing music movies.
BW: Within the Fibonacci Sequence challenge with Max Cooper, he talked about you “had a gorgeous system linking the Fibonacci Sequence to starling flight.” What was that system, and the way did it come about?
YS: I constructed a framework in After Results utilizing Expressions to animate the golden ratio. I linked this technique to flocks of birds in 3D area. As soon as I had the system in place, it made producing the video far more environment friendly.
BW: Your video for Oliver Coates’ “Norrin Radd Dreaming” hints at your fascination with birds and the sky as aesthetic supplies. How did you create it?
YS: For that video, I filmed numerous clips in New York Metropolis utilizing my iPhone. The flying birds are a key aspect, however so is town’s structure. I deconstructed the footage geometrically and reassembled it to create the ultimate piece. It’s one among my favourite works.
BW: Lots of your video artwork items debut in huge immersive environments. How do you reconcile the large-scale nature of your work with the small screens of the web digital area?
YS: What you see on-line is generally documentation of the immersive installations. Realizing that individuals expertise these works within the precise areas is what issues most to me.
That mentioned, I’ve observed a rise in AI-generated movies of fictional artwork exhibits on Instagram. These aren’t actual exhibitions, however they’re fascinating as artwork in their very own proper. Once more, it raises the query—does it even matter if one thing is actual?
BW: What prompted you to create The Flood and its numerous iterations?
YS: The Flood advanced from my Swarm collection. Each discover the habits of residing creatures in massive teams. The methods I exploit to create these items are fairly related.
BW: Did you as soon as create below the moniker C505?
YS: Sure, I did, and I nonetheless personal that area identify.
BW: What’s the newest with Undervolt & Co.?
YS: It’s on hiatus. It turned an excessive amount of work to handle, so I put it on pause over 5 years in the past.
BW: Are there any bands or musicians you’d drop the whole lot to work with?
YS: I really feel extremely lucky to have labored with a few of my favourite bands, like Tame Impala, Max Cooper, and Metallica. That was superb, and I don’t have a bucket listing of musicians to collaborate with. I simply glide. If an artist I vibe with approaches me, I’ll contemplate it. In any other case, I deal with my private tasks.
BW: Who’re your favourite video artists, each residing and lifeless?
YS: Nam June Paik is a significant affect. Whereas not strictly a video artist, I additionally admire Christian Marclay’s work.
BW: What are you listening to, studying, and watching nowadays?
YS: I’ve been listening to quite a lot of heavy music—hardcore and heavy steel in all its subgenres—in addition to quiet ambient music. Nothing in between! I don’t sometimes hearken to pop music.
