Sometimes I ever wondered about the past and journeys of
those who taught me in my education, and their steps to become who they are now
as a person and illustrator. Fumio Obata, a tutor and author, who is currently teaching me,
explained his origins and the paths that had led him to where he is now, a
pictorial storyteller and mentor.
It was interesting to hear the stories of his early life as
a graduate and his beginnings to pursue a career in storytelling. He told us
his first visual influence was Japanese manga and anime, which is of no surprise
considering he is Japanese and was brought up and lived in Tokyo in his early
life, manga and anime are a part of Japanese culture, and is now currently
booming in terms of popularity around world for its entertainment and pop
culture.
Came to England in 1991, Fumio was originally going to
London, but decided to go to Glasgow for his studies instead (1997-1999),
personally saying that he finds the area more interesting. He told us he needed
to change his style after his application to get into RCA (Royal College of Art)
was rejected, and felt challenged, which he then proceed to find his own stylistic
identity and exploring different mediums in his practices. His interests within
illustration was composition and movement, and the themes he said he would
often use was to combine Japanese and European aesthetics in sequential.
He told us that over the years he had to adapt to the
changes in terms of processes when digital medium/tools was beginning to become
a requirement to produce the works of illustrations.
His first publication was in 2010 through personal contact.
Contacts are important as it can lead you to a host of various networks of
illustrators and artists from around the world, which I agree is true, having a
network of national or international friends and contacts can help spread you
identity as an artist, as well as exposure. The more, the better chance.
His recent publication was in 2014, a graphic novel titled ‘Just
So Happens”, which I actually seen in shops such as Waterstones. I had a quick
read at the time of discovering it and it was strange to see and read a book
that was produced by a tutor who is currently teaching me in my studies. It
actually made me smile. He has been teaching for a few years now, as well as working on other projects, though we all
don’t know how long he would continue to teach.
Just So Happens. 2014. Fumio Obata.
In the end he told us of his future plans, and that was to
return to Japan as an author. It is understandable that after being here in the
UK for so long, creating stories and teaching outside of his home country, that
he will return to Japan one day in his later years after making a name of
himself in the publishing and creative industry. Discovering his journey from
the very beginning to the present had offered some insight of the potential
paths that I may undertake in a similar fashion: adapting, artist exposure and making
connections with others. While his time of exposure back then is now vastly
different compared to my generation, I think many young people who are seeking
something similar in the art/creative industry like me should be happy that we are
living in a time where we all have the technology and the accessibility to
resources and tools that will benefit us. Fumio said that if he was in my
generation lifetime, things would be very, very different compared to what he
had experienced. He was once in our shoes, graduating and pursuing what he wanted,
and he achieved that. Someday we will do the same, being in his shoes as an
illustrator or author in our later years.
No comments:
Post a Comment