Andrew Kreps Gallery is pleased to inaugurate the third floor of its new 558 West 21st Street location with a solo project by James Yamada entitled Good Ass Job. Yamada named the show after the hypothetical title of an album by rapper Kane West, which is planned for release two releases after his current album. Yamada, an artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, has participated in a variety of solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally including Greater New York at PS1, A Walk in the Park at Sculpture Center, and Art Statements at ArtBasel Miami Beach. He will also be included in the upcoming Turin triennial, The Pantangreul Syndrome, Curated by Francesco Bonami and Carolyn Christov-Barkagieve.
The following
is an interview between Anonymous and James Yamada, which will be printed
in The Wrong Gallery's Wrong Times this fall.
A - So you were born in Bat Cave, NC?
JY- Well, sometimes.
A ‚ Thatís nice, do you consider yourself patriotic?
JY ‚ I donít go around with Uncle Sam tattooed on my back, but I am interested in what it means to be an American, and more specifically, what it means to be an American artist now. The question of being patriotic seems somewhat fraught. I guess I fall into the typical leftist camp where I think it is patriotic to question your government and the values of the culture you live in.
A ‚ That is pretty general. I think that many people in the art world would probably say that. Canít you be a bit more specific? What does it mean to you to be an American?
JY- Well, I really donít want to be ironic, but it would be the easiest way to answer this question. I guess I see many things as being paradoxical or at least having many different sides that all need to be considered. In my work, I attempt to present multiple perspectives that modify, negate, or argue with each other so that no one perspective is dominant. I seek a situation that opens up questions and dialog. I guess that my take on being an American is roughly similar. For me, especially now, it is a time when, as Americans, we have a responsibility to be informed. And, we have a responsibility to look reflexively at ourselves and to consider the image that we project.
After the start of the war in Iraq there were articles in the papers about other countries perspective on the US. One of the qualities that people talked about was American optimism and how they thought it was being somewhat buried by aggression and paranoia. I think I have that right. I think that optimism is a real American quality, and it is something that the country seems to be fighting to maintain even if that means sometimes being in denial. I donít necessarily think that I am an optimistic person. I try and maintain a fairly neutral position. I think that when some things move forward others retreat. I do feel a great deal of possibility in life and I believe that this is a privilege that can be somewhat attributed to being an American.
The superpower status of the US has slipped somewhat, or at least that term is in flux. The US still has the military power to obliterate just about anything it wants to, but as we have seen in Iraq, blunt force isnít as compelling as it once might have been. So much of the US being a superpower has to do with its cultural influence though.
I keep thinking that as a reaction to the USís recent actions the cultural influence of the US will slip in a significant way and that this erosion will be what has the most effect on the US in the long term. I donít know if this is happening though or not. I do agree that the US will loose some cultural influence due to media being more diffused. Even though the US is moving quickly to remain dominant online, as more things become digital, loosing some ground is somewhat inevitable. I think that the vast fluid nature of digital media and our inability to control it produces some sort of collective anxiety, and that this feeling might affect Americans, more so that others, due to our being dominant in media for such a long period of time.
I think Iím ranting.
A- Arenít we all! Are American artistís cooler then other artists?
JY ‚ Sure.
A - Are artists leading the way?
JY - What does that mean?
A - I donít know
JY ‚ I do think that the art world is very tolerant of lazy thinking. I still see work that is addressing ideas that I think have been addressed in other fieldís years ago, and this work is being received as if these ideas are new. So in these instances it feels as if the art world is following other trends and idea makers. I canít claim to be absolutely up to date on big ideas, but sometimes, I am surprised at what the art world tolerates.
A- Yes, it is awful isnít it. The States, and many other parts of the world, seems to be enjoying a conservative blossoming. Do you think that is happening in art too? How is it affecting your work?
JY - I really donít know. Many people say that the world is becoming more polarized and that seems to be true. Conservative opinions are getting a fair amount of play. I have always wondered if there was a genetic link between political viewpoints. That is sort of a creepy thought. I was talking to someone recently and she thought that artwork was beginning to dematerialize more now, or at least she saw a trend towards dematerialization. That sounds good to me.
A ‚ Wonderful, I hear that you are interested in China? Are you buying mainly things made in China, too, or do you like to ìBuy Americanî?
JY ‚ Yes, I think that China is like a growing counter weight on the other side of the world from the States. As a kid, China was always the place you would come out in if you dug through the earth. We are interested because we are afraid of the Chinese taking over our role in the world. I think that in many ways it is seen as already somewhat inevitable that the Chinese will dominate.
Americans, myself included, have always looked at developing economies with a sort of motherly or fatherly pride. How many times have you heard people say that such and such a country is like the US in the 50ís or 30ís. I have yet to hear anyone say 60ís, 70ís, or 80ís, but Iím sure it will happen. China seems to have blown that paternalistic position away. We are interested now, out of fear, of loosing our lunch.
I was talking with someone recently who said that art was the second most popular thing to study in China after computer science. This person said that it was because students had learned that you could get rich making art and selling it to Westerners. This person was fairly familiar with contemporary art in China and had traveled there to look at it. She said that the one characteristic she found was that artists who hadnít been picked up by a gallery would try making work in many different styles to, in effect, hunt for a marketable trend. Now I donít know if this is true or not, but letís suppose it is at least partially true because the same can be said for art students anywhere. It certainly takes the romance out of the image of the artist. It makes it look more like a job,
which I like. Although, perhaps naively, I do also believe that deciding to make art is a political and spiritual choice as well.
A - Öand the second part of the question?
Well, I suppose that many of the things that I buy are made in China, but, like many people, I frequently do not know where what I buy comes from. For some things, obviously I pay more attention than for others. I guess I do as a habit, during the course of owning something, eventually look to see where something was made.
A - Interesting. When you find out where something is made does this change the way that you feel about an object or how you relate to it, in particular if it is something that you have owned for awhile?
JY - Weíll yes and no. Sometimes it is a bit of a surprise to learn that something that you identified with one country comes from another place, and I would think most of us, assign values to locations in terms of quality, politics, etc. This is pretty obvious.
A - Do you think that a cultural residue is left on objects by the country that produces the object, for example a DVD player?
JY ‚ You mean like an aura or something, I donít know. I guess what you are talking about is mostly manifested in terms of design, but design can happen in one place and manufacturing in another, and it usually does. But, as I mentioned before, we do imbue a set of values and ideas around an object based on where it is made and these values are probably on a curve of sorts that lags behind the reality of a given location.
A - And how does this impact your artwork?
JY- I like to travel. I am interested in how we bring meaning to objects. Talking about globalization sounds trite. The word is overused and is too general, but thinking about what it means is important.
A - Yes. So your work tends to be fairly eclectic. In fact, I sometimes donít recognize it as your work from piece to piece. Why is that? Are you schizophrenic or do you just like the idea of the affectation? Are you a romantic schizophrenic?
JY - I have always tried to bring the things that interest me in the broadest possible sense into my work. I think that being fragmented and scattered is a current human condition at least in large parts of the world. I see no reason to maintain a consistent style although the market and a lot of people prefer that. I was talking to a friend whose work is even more eclectic then my own and he said that eclectic is the new consistency. Thomas Friedman, the New York Times, columnist, said something similar, that being eclectic and able to adapt is necessary for survival in todayís world.
A - You have some pictures with little birds and bugs in them. Do you like spending time in nature?
JY - That series of pictures, which is ongoing, was a response to my frustrations with photography, a desire to be outdoors making art, and some other stuff. I tend to work in parallel ongoing tracks so that group of pictures might continue for a while, or as long as the project continues to keep my attention.
A - If you could have a nuclear weapon for a day what would you do with it? It would be one of those really tiny ones that could fit in a briefcase, be totally undetectable, and be failsafe. Letís suppose that you could just carry it around if you wanted to.
JY - Maybe I would go to the Hamptons.
Good Ass Job will be on view from September 15 ‚ October 8, 2005.
A reception will be held for the artist in the gallery on September 15th from
6 - 8 PM at 558 West 21st Street, New York City. For information call 212-741-8849.
