Whitehot Magazine
"The Best Art In The World"
By NOAH BECKER March, 2019
I was lucky to have a conversation with flamboyant Japanese art star Yaseibakudanan Cookie. After weeks of communications and the assistance of english to japanese translators, the following conversation between myself and Cookie is here in Whitehot Magazine.
Noah Becker: You use comedy a lot in your work. What do you feel comedy creates for the people experiencing your work?
Yaseibakudanan Cookie: Comedy does not cause conflict. I would like people to see my work and feel inner peace.
Becker: Pop art is what I think of when I see your work. It has some American influences but your work also feels very Japanese. What do you think is the difference between an American way of making art and the way you make art?
Cookie: I think that American art treasures meaning. However, I want everyone to feel my work in their own way - after all, it is only a picture.
Becker: Where did you study art?
Cookie: I have never had any art lessons. I just learned how to draw in my own way by doodling.
Becker: Did you know you would be an artist when you were a child?
Cookie: No. I did not think that I would be an artist.
Becker: What influences do you have in terms of art history? Does art history come into your mind when you make art?
Cookie: I am not necessarily influenced by other work. I just draw on the canvas what comes to my mind.
Becker: If you could be any person in history who would you be?
Cookie: Ai Fukuhara, a famous Japanese Ping Pong player
Becker: Do you listen to music or watch movies? Is there some music or film that has inspired you recently?
Cookie: I like to listen to music. The Japanese band Pizzicato Five inspired my work.
Noah Becker: Do you have a favorite contemporary artist?
Cookie: Kazuhiro Kiuchi
Becker: What is the process you go through when you're making a new piece? How do you think it up?
Cookie: I start by simply drawing a nose in the middle of the canvas. My hands then just add more parts to the nose to add more balance without me having to think.
Becker: What's coming up next for you?
Cookie: I wish for extreme peace. I believe that without peace, new entertainment cannot be created. WM
Noah Becker is an artist and the publisher and founding editor of Whitehot Magazine. He shows his paintings internationally at museums and galleries. Becker also plays jazz saxophone. Becker's writing has appeared in The Guardian, VICE, Garage, Art in America, Interview Magazine, Canadian Art and the Huffington Post. He has written texts for major artist monographs published by Rizzoli and Hatje Cantz. Becker directed the New York art documentary New York is Now (2010). Becker's new album of original music "Mode For Noah" was released in 2023.
Links:
Noah Becker on Instagram
Noah Becker Paintings
Noah Becker Music
Email: noah@whitehotmagazine.com