A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On August 28, ARUMANA, a designer whose mashups and sampling designs are a hot topic on SNS, will appear. We asked him about the roots of his unique style, known for his designs for DENKI GROOVE’s goods, and about his work.
INDEX
Unparalleled drawing ability and outlandish style
Takano (MC): Today, I am wearing a T-shirt designed by ARUMANA.
ARUMANA: It’s cool.
Takano: Is this the correct Pomeranian Heavy Metal T-shirt?
ARUMANA: Yes, it is. It’s pome-metal.
Celeina (MC): Pometal!
Takano: I’ve been wearing it for quite a while. I’ve been using it as a live costume.
Celeina: It has an edge to it.
Takano: It was a coincidence that ARUMANA was our guest today. The staff didn’t know I was wearing ARUMANA’s T-shirt.
Celeina: It’s fate, isn’t it? Let me introduce you to ARUMANA’s profile. After graduating from an art college, she has been active as a designer and painter, and is currently designing official goods for DENKI GROOVE and collaborating with Seiichi Amaku, as well as freely presenting her personal works on social networking services. Takano: I have been working on AR for quite a while.
Takano: I have been following ARUMANA for quite some time and have always wondered what kind of person she is.
ARUMANA: You do it in a way that I can’t imagine at all (laughs).
Takano: You wear large T-shirts and hip-hop-like fashion.
Celeina: The chain necklace is also very cool.
ARUMANA: Thank you very much.
Takano: I want everyone to check out ARUMANA’s SNS. The destructive power of his style is so great that I was nervous that we would get someone who is not a free spirit, but he seems very approachable.
Celeina: Let’s talk about various things, but first, the official goods collaboration with Denki Groove. They brought us some of their goods. First of all, clear files.
Takano: How should I explain it? It has Pierre Taki’s face with Takkyu Ishino’s face growing all over it (laughs).
ARUMANA: That’s right (laughs).
Celeina: Is this one a Pomeranian? (laughter)
Takano: Mr. Takubo, whose upper body is naked, is holding a dog with Mr. Taki’s face.
ARUMANA: That’s right.
Takano: It has a lot of electrodes on its head. …… Anyway, the drawing is amazing. The creature-like designed goods with a face full of faces that I mentioned earlier have sandals, and they are very nice.
Celeina: These are numbing.
Takano: You would definitely be popular if you wore these.
ARUMANA: I think they are cool. They may still be in stock, so please check the official Denki Groove website.
Celeina: By the way, what do you use to draw these?
Takano: I’m curious about a lot of things.
ARUMANA: Right now I draw on my iPad, though sometimes I draw on my PC.
Takano: If you look closely, you can see how detailed it is.
Celeina: Yes, it is. Even on this clear file, you can clearly see the very fine lines.
ARUMANA: They are beautifully printed.
INDEX
Style influenced by hip-hop
Takano: Has this been your style since you were in art school?
ARUMANA: In the beginning, I painted with oils, but I started using a PC when I was in my second year of college. At that time, my style was a little more art-oriented, sampling old classical paintings in the context of art, rather than the way it is now. However, this humanoid dog by DENKI GROOVE can be found at …….
Celeina: Human face dog (laughs).
ARUMANA: This commission came to me about a little after I graduated from college. I remixed it with a drawing I had done myself at the time, and changed the faces to Taki-san and Takkyu-san. I drew them as if they were Leonardo da Vinci.
Takano: You mentioned the words “sampling” and “remix” earlier. It seems to have a musical or hip-hop feel to it.
Celeina: What kind of culture has influenced you?
ARUMANA: It’s hip-hop, as you can see on this T-shirt.
Celeina: Did you get into hip-pop from music? Or from fashion?
ARUMANA: From music. I first listened to Japanese rap, and from there I started digging old works and listening to US hip-hop. I found the culture of sampling and mashups interesting, and I began to use them often in my own expression.
Takano: Speaking of mash-ups, the posts on social networking sites are really edgy. For example, “Hammer x Kammer,” in which Hollywood Zakoshisho is drawn in the style of the cover of “HUNTER x HUNTER. That was quite a buzz, wasn’t it?
ARUMANA: That one got a lot of buzz. The first post got about 100,000 likes.
Takano: Then there was “AKIRA” × Pierre Taki, “TAKIRA.
Takano: Where did you get this idea?
ARUMANA: It’s a pun. I often start with a word, imagine how it would be interesting to visualize it, and then create a picture. It depends on the object.
