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June 06, 2006
A Morning With Takagi
One lovely morning last week we interviewed Takagi Masakatsu in our office. I first saw his work in about 2002 or so, at the time just before Rehome came out (on our label). Wait, back up for a second, perhaps it was before that. I think my friend Ricky had some of his DVD releases from Carpark. Maybe Pia, or Pia Flies. Anyhow, I guess I have watched his work evolve for quite a while and it was a nice chance to talk about his process from a musical as well as visual standpoint.
Takagi started with an obsession with light, as well as young girls (sounds really bad, I know) from the age of 19 when he began creating videos. He then pursued these two things (while travelling and recording around the globe) to an increasingly concrete focus that he feels really came together in two of his recent pieces Girls and Bloomy Girls. Keep in mind it is now over six years since he started. Takagi creates in an almost backward manner to commercial videomaking. Perfecting just a few seconds of video at a time, from the start of a piece to the end, he then composes music to the completed animation, giving it a flow and narrative that he doesn’t think would neccesarily come about had he composed the music before the image.
To me, looking at his website, it seems he is even pushing it further on his newest piece (the video of which I have not yet seen) El Viento, but that is besides the point. Takagi has reached a level of international acclaim where he is basically untouchable. What I mean by untouchable is that he controls his work 100 percent. He has an established direction and style that many react to very positively. There is a singularity to his output. His works are now regularly comissioned by galleries, fashion brands, and even other musicians. Those asking for his work basically know what they are going to get, and I would assume there is no need for extraneous concepting and presentation. All the thought and energy goes into the work, and every new work is a personal evolution on that which came before it. A small step closer to the coagulation of a singular obsession set in motion at the start of his own creative exploration. And even if this big crunch never comes, what’s notable (and important to me), is that he has set up a forum for himself to head increasingly toward it, to pursue a singular vision perhaps for a lifetime if he so chooses. I’d like to set up such a forum. What creative person wouldn’t?
Posted by shane at June 6, 2006 09:35 AM