INDEX
What doesn’t work, sublimate it creatively.
Celeina: Is there some kind of nineties culture influence?
Man：There totally is. It’s partly a generational thing, but I’m influenced by 1990s R&B and hip-hop to the fullest. Many hip-hop people of that era were very masculine.
Takano: Many of the designs include text.
Man: I start with the text. I feel that when the music is emotional or sentimental, which is usually easy for me to listen to, I feel that the letters come into my ears. So I write them down, thinking that I can use these words, and later combine them with pictures.
Takano: It’s like you are copywriting at the same time.
Man: Maybe so.
Takano:There are a lot of beautiful words in there.
Celeina: If you look at Instagram, you can see some of the poems written in Japanese. “Kitten who cries all the time, I understood.”
Takano: very nice.
Man: I’m so happy, thank you.
Celeina: emo. What period of time did you make this piece?
Man: It was a time when things were not going well in my love life. I think I am more sensitive when things are not going well.
Celeina：I understand. When I’m in that kind of period, I write only songs about lost love.
Man: To put it another way, when that kind of thing starts, I feel like it’s just about to happen.
Celeina：Wait a minute, this is an artist’s disease.
Takano: We are also in the music business, and my impression is that Celeina’s songs are often about heartbreak, but I can understand that. When I have a bad day, I sometimes feel like I have to sublimate it creatively.
Man：I understand. I draw to convey my feelings to the person I am drawing for.
Takano: I also mix in feelings of frustration and such.
Celeina: But for us, art and music provide an outlet, and in a way we are grateful for that. It is a good purification process for me.
Man：I sometimes wonder how people who can’t make it to that point vent. I can honestly draw more when things don’t go well.
Takano: But I hear that you are happy now.
Man: Yes. I am very sorry to tell you this on a personal note, but I got married last year under the Setagaya Ward partnership system.
Celeina: Congratulations on your marriage.
Man: Thank you very much.
Takano: When you are happy, does your inspiration change again or something?
Celeina: Does it affect your creativity?
Man: Yes, it does. I think there will be parts of my work that will no longer work with the methods I have used in the past, so I have been thinking lately that it would be good if I could draw while looking more at new positive aspects of my work.
Celeina：Good, I am looking forward to it.
Takano: I am also looking forward to your future works. Now, I would like to play a song, and I asked Man-chan, Man Doope Suzuki, to choose a song that we would all like to listen to together on the radio at this time. What song would it be?
Man : I’ve always loved this song. It is a beautiful and chill song that really shines all the time, but I think everyone is tired at this time of the evening, so please listen to it. It’s “Remind Me” by Patrice Rushen.
