b'C E L E B R I T Y S P O T L I G H T I N T E R V I E W Tim OkamuraArtistT im Okamura is an artist who uses his painting to investigate identity, the urban environment, metaphor and cultural iconography. His essentiallyrealist approach to the figure arrives through collage, spray paint andmixed media. He juxtaposes the rawness and urgency of street art with academic ideals; this creates a visual language that acknowledges a traditional form ofstorytelling through portraiture, while infusing the work with resonant contemporary motifs. Do you remember the first piece you createdthat truly captured your voice as an artist?Ill start by saying its difficult to choose any onepainting as there were many pieces throughoutmy early career that to me felt like signifiers ofeither a step forward, or a culmination of multipleartistic concerns - technique, content, emotionalresonance - but time helps in clarifying some ofthe more important works from that period. In fact,its a more recent work, relatively speaking, from 2016 that perhaps has had the most impactwhile also capturing some core ideals of my artistic practice: Rosie No.1. Its actually an idea I had kicking around in my head for a few years to recreate J. Howard Millers Rosie the Riveter character but updated to make the hero a Black woman. The concept had been done before of course, includ-ing Beyoncs take on it, but I had never seen it never painted with the type of realism that guides my work. I wanted a lot of strength and expression in the brush work as well, and the more aggressive approach I took with the background was somewhat new and fed into the visceral impact I was hop-ing to create. I honestly had no idea the painting would be as well-received as it has been, its been very gratifying, a blessing. My painting Nurse Tracey, honoring health care workers, is basically theThe New Rosie - original inspiration sequel. (Nurse Tracey is on this issues coverEditor)Above:for Nurse appearing on the cover You identify as Japanese-Canadian and live in the U.S.Was social conscience always a part of your creative expression or How do each of these cultures contribute to your under- did that develop over time?standing of yourself and your art?Ive always drawn or painted people. The human face has always been the I live in New York, which I think is a very unique place in termsbiggest inspiration in almost everything Ive done creatively and a lot of my of life experience. In some ways its a microcosm of the U.S. asearly models were close friends who, as mentioned previously, were a pretty a whole, but there is such an immediate access and immersiondiverse group. I dont think I would have been able to understand concepts in so many cultures at once, its truly incredible and inspiring.of representation, or social consciousness as a young aspiring artist in the I think there is a daily mash-up going on for me and thatssame way I do now, but upon reflection I believe that was inherent in the reflected throughout my body of work, as Ive incorporatedwork. There was a constant feeling that it was an important undertaking many different stylistic elements over the years. My work hasto try to accurately portray people in all of their beautiful and flawed glory. at various times been a reflection of admiring a RembrandtI did start to realize my choices in terms of subjects tended to be people at the Met and being mesmerized by a new wild-style graffitiwho I hadnt seen represented before, at least not in the way I was painting. piece in my neighborhood, all in the same day. But yes I am aThe deliberate decision-making in this regard crystalized more in my early Japanese-Canadian New Yorker, my father and his family wereand mid-20s and I do remember thinking on some level I was reacting to World War II Japanese internment camp survivors, my mother isnot seeing faces of color in museums such as the Met, to go back to that from a small town in Newfoundland; I was born in 1968, the yearexample. I was also impacted by reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, the Vietnam war wasin the early 90s and discovered his quote: The most disrespected person raging, on the heels of the Summer of Love. I believe all of thesein America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America things are in my DNA. My best friends growing up were fromis the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, and India. I fell in love with punk rockwoman. That message was both stunning and heartbreaking to me, but in and hip-hop simultaneously. I played in bands and hosted radioit I found motivation to make a conscious decision to paint primarily Black shows. Ive come to realize Im a huge empath and a dedicatedwomen to honor and respectfully document a small part of their stories and documentarian of the human experience. I dont know if this is ado my part, to the best of my ability, to make women who sat for me feel direct answer to your question, Im still unpacking a lot in termstruly seen. This has been a huge part of my artistic mission going for the of self-understanding, and though its been a difficult journey atbetter part of the last three decades. Along the way Ive come to realize the times, I am proud of the choices I have made as an artist, andimportance of celebrating the individual in portraiture but in doing so finding grateful for all the experiences that have informed the work.deeper metaphors for the greater human experience.16 visionsSpring 2023 Sumitomo Corporation of Americas'