INDEX
From Girls Culture to China and Art
Celeina: Since then, you have been active as the founder of “OUT OF PHOTOGRAPHERS” and producer of “smart girls,” but were you based in China from the late 2000s until 2017?
Yonehara: The reason why I created “Aufoto” was because it was a time when high school girls were taking pictures with “Sharundesu” and everyone started taking pictures. Basically, “egg” does not focus on photography, so I thought it would be a good idea to create a magazine that focuses on photography. Smart girls” had a section where the girls dressed sexy, but on the other hand, there was nothing sexy about the blue-character girls, so I wondered what it would be like to add sexiness to that section. I’m good at creating things that girls think “I could step into if only there was something like this.
When I went to China once, I thought that Japan could never compete with the enthusiasm of the people there. Then I got into it thinking that I could successfully introduce aspects like girls’ culture to China, and I’ve been going to China for a long time.
Takano: Why do you focus on girls’ culture?
Yonehara: Because men are no good (laughs). I basically love punks, or outsiders, and I like people who are not bound by social things. But when I date guys, even those who pretend to be subcultural have a vertical pecking order, or they are like the flip side of a company. With girls, there are a lot of people who are completely out of the norm and free-spirited. I find that interesting, and that’s why I do it.
Celeina: That ‘s interesting. And what you are putting the most effort into now is curation?
Yonehara: This is also a part of editing. Art, by its very nature, is a place where you can do a lot of things with free ideas. I think we need to find new art, but now there are so many people who say, “It’s going to be expensive,” so I think it’s better to do it ourselves. Not that there is anything wrong with getting more expensive, but before that happens, the biggest part of the current movement is to create a place where interesting people can present their work.
