文 Text｜ 謝蕎安 Joanne Hsieh
圖 Image courtesy｜小林美波 Minami Kobayashi
洛杉磯 Los Angeles, CA
我的校友小林美波（Minami Kobayashi） 是一位來自日本名古屋藝術家，個性像太陽一般溫暖、爽朗。總是充滿歡笑又無厘頭的她，卻可以從其作品中窺見日式的多愁善感、細膩與慢活的人生態度。她喜歡畫花草、貓狗、一種光景和霎那的感觸。蜘蛛網、鄰居的小狗，都是她的創作題材。用蛋彩紀錄生活周遭的日常，不經意的快速筆觸看似簡單，卻蘊藏一種溫暖的力量。溫柔美感的色彩，讓人願意慢下目光與腳步，在重疊的色塊及線條間尋找各種小驚喜。
My SAIC classmate Minami Kobayashi is from Nagoya, Japan. She's always so friendly and warm and bubbly, but in her work we detect a sense of melancholy and a sensibility that is unique to her cultural background. She doesn't like to be rushed, and she pays close attention to her surroundings, and documents with paintings, or clay, those beautiful but fleeting moments in her daily life. A cob web, or neighbor's small dogs. Those seemingly fast brush marks in her paintings, are actually carefully planned out, in vibrant colors, with translucent, soft and delicate layers, made possible with egg tempera, beautifully applied. The intricate layers of colors allow the viewer to slow down the read and find beautiful moments within the image of each painting.
2018年從芝加哥藝術學院碩士畢業後，她旅居紐約，2019年夏天來洛杉磯駐村一個月，期間我參觀了她的工作室並進行訪談。
She received her MFA from The Art Institute of Chicago in 2018, and shortly after moved to New York. She was invited to do a residency in LA this summer, and we did an interview and studio visit.
以下是訪談紀錄：
1. Minami 你好，謝謝你接受訪談邀請，我知道你來自名古屋，你會如何形容名古屋呢？有什麼好玩的去處或是你推薦的美術館和畫廊嗎？
Minami：「Joanne，謝謝你的訪談邀請！
我的家鄉名古屋出產很有名的深色味增 Hatcho Miso，味道非常豐富，當地人會把它加在沙拉、豆腐、甚至是薯條上。有一間有名的豐田美術館（Toyota Municipal Museum ），是設計師谷口吉生（Yoshio Taniguchi）操刀設計的，他也設計了紐約當代美術館（MoMA）的一部分，非常漂亮！豐田美術館裡有幾個展間完全採用自然光，許多裝置藝術在裡面顯得特別壯觀。」
Q: Hi Minami, thank you for doing this interview! What is your hometown Nagoya like? What are your favorite things to do there? And your favorite local museums or galleries?
A: I am from Nagoya, Japan. It is famous for a dark color Haccho miso. It’s really rich and flavorful, the locals like to put it on top of salads, tofu and even fries. Toyota Municipal museum is a great museum, the building was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi who also designed a part of MoMA and it’s so beautiful! There are a couple of galleries in the museum have only natural light sources and seeing installation works in the space is really magnificent.
2. 請問你在哪裡取得藝術學位？
Minami：「我在 東京藝術大學 取得 BFA，我當時的創作的大都是水墨畫。
大學畢業後我知道自己想出國讀書，但不確定應該去哪。剛好我去了日光（Nikko）參觀一個畫展，其中一位藝術家的畫美極了！我問策展人 Anne 這是哪位藝術家，她說是她的姊姊 Mari Eastman 的作品。Mari 在 芝加哥藝術學院 任教，我便決定申請這間學校。」
Q: Where did you get your art education?
A: I got my BFA from Tokyo University of the Arts. I used to paint only in india-ink back then. After I got my BFA, I know I wanted to study abroad but I didn’t know where to apply. I went to a group show at Troedsson Villa in Nikko, Japan, and found paintings by Mari Eastman. Her paintings were so gorgeous so I asked the curator Anne about the artist, and she told me Mari is her sister and teaching at SAIC so I decided to apply for SAIC.
3. 你的創作在讀碩士期間受到怎樣的影響？ 你會建議年輕創作者讀取藝術碩士嗎？
Minami：「這是我這輩子第一次出國，讀書。因此讀碩士對我的影響是全面性的，我認為最大的好處在於廣結人脈。我在學校期間認識的教授及同學都充滿熱忱和才華，他們帶給我許多靈感。我的創作主題沒有太大改變，但我學到很多新的技法和觀點。現在我的創作不像以往那麼受限。」
Q: How did grad school influence your work? Would you recommend grad school to young aspiring artists?
A: It was my first time living abroad in my life, so the entire experience influenced me so much. I think the main purpose of going to school is meeting people. Many of faculties and classmates I met during gradschool were so enthusiastic and talented. They gave me so much. The fundamental themes in my art haven’t changed much but I learnt a lot of new techniques and new perspectives. Now I feel much more free to make work.
4. 你孩提時代最喜歡的活動是什麼？對你的創作有任何影響嗎？
Minami：「我小時候會在腦海中編織愛情故事，然後把主角的臉畫在筆記本上，一頁可能會十六種表情。人的表情變化萬千，所以我會急著把他們的表情全部記錄下來。」
Q: What were your favorite activities as a child and do they have any influence on your art now?
A: I used to make up love stories in my head and draw the main character's face expressions on a notepad, about 16 faces each page. Face expressions change every second so I was so busy trying to catch up to draw how her face changes in my mind.
5. 你崇拜的藝術家偶像和非藝術家偶像有誰？
Minami：「我一直都很喜歡Les Nabis[1] 和 Fauvism[2]。Pierre Bonnard[3] 是我最喜歡的畫家之一。當代藝術家當中，我欣賞 Neo Rauch 和 Michel Armitage。亞洲藝術家我喜歡牧谿（Mokkei） 和伊藤若冲（Jakuchu Ito）。 」
Q: Who are your Art Heroes?
A: I’m always into Les Navis and Fauvism. Pierre Bonnard is one of my favorites. For contemporary art, I also like Neo Rauch and Michel Armitage’s works. 牧谿 Mokkei and 伊藤若冲Jakuchu Ito are my favorite Asian artists as well.
6. 你在工作室以外的興趣是什麼？
Minami：「我喜歡四處散步拍照，紀錄我周遭的人事物。有位朋友說，在拍照的瞬間，代表你承認這個當下即將成為過去。我覺得這個想法很美。」
Q: What are your hobbies? What do you do outside of studio practice?
A: I love walking around and taking photos of people around me. A friend of mine said taking photo means that you acknowledge the fact that everything is going to be in the past. I do and I think it is beautiful.
7. 你會怎麼形容自己的穿搭風格和生活方式？
Minami：「我很隨興，我喜歡慢步調的生活。我喜歡早上很輕鬆，我最討厭匆忙的感覺。而我喜歡質地好的衣服。」
Q: How would you describe your personal style/ lifestyle?
A: I’m easy going. I like to be relaxed in the morning. My least favorite thing is being in rush. I like clothes with good textures.
8. 你會怎麼形容自己的作品？你最喜歡什麼用什麼材質創作？
Minami：「日常生活中的微小動作都是我的靈感，愛意、吃東西、凝視，等等。我會編織一個故事，並且用明亮的色彩來傳達這些情緒。我特別喜歡蛋彩那種飄渺的透明感。」
Q: How would you describe your work? your favorite mediums? A: I depict transitory moments of life in my daily life. Loving, eating, gazing and many interactive acts inspire me. I like to show these intimate moments in my made-up narratives with vibrant colors. Egg tempera has a very specific quality of ghostly transparency and I love it.
Minami：「我也喜歡畫狗，狗是很純真的， 他們對人類總是很歡迎。我覺得日本人經常把狗的純真看成是日本女人該有的母性。我對日本文化中的性別歧視非常抗拒，但是日本人這種對 “母親” 的渴望又使我對狗特別著迷。」
Continued: I also love to paint dogs. To depict my feelings, painting dogs often feels right to me, because I grew up with brothers that are way older than me, so as a little kid I actually felt the closest to our dog Koro at the time. Also, dogs are so innocent and are always so friendly to me. I feel like they are "mothers" for many people and how I am expected to be as a woman in Japan. I don’t like the sexism in Japan, but I have mixed feelings about this, with a defiance attitude and a longing feeling towards “Mother”, this mixed feeling i have makes me makes me obsessed with dogs.
Ｍinami：「我最近迷上可攜帶式的創作，因為我今年搬家的次數實在太多了。當我累積夠多小型創作和蛋彩的實驗之後我就準備好繪製大幅的創作。」
Continued: I'm recently into portable sized paintings, because I’m moving a lot this year and I can finish one painting relatively quicker. After I make many smaller works and explore new techniques of egg tempera, I will make a large painting based on all of these smaller "studies" !
9. 你喜歡在洛杉磯駐村的經驗嗎？在LA每天的生活感覺如何？
Ｍinami：「在 LA 的生活棒極了！幾乎每個藝術家都對 LA 蓬勃發展的藝術感到十分興奮。洛杉磯的自然景觀和文化帶給我很多靈感。我認識了不少和我同齡且才華洋溢的朋友。在美國生活後，我體會到美國人常說的 “做自己” 是什麼意思。我欣賞日本人所提倡的和諧與安靜，畢竟這是孕育我的文化，但是我更喜歡美國的多元化，也更喜歡我在美國所做的創作。」
Q: Did you enjoy your residency in LA? What was the daily life like for you while living there?
A: It was amazing to work and live in LA. I was working and meeting people everyday during the residency. Every single artist I met were excited about how LA art scene is growing. The LA landscape and culture are very inspiring too. I was able to meet many talented artists who are about my age. Since I was in Chicago, I was inspired by the diversity in the U.S. Americans often say “Do what you want”. Harmony and quietness are deeply rooted in Japanese culture, which I appreciate, but I really enjoy the "be yourself" attitude in the U.S. and I also prefer the works that I've made since I moved here.
10. 你希望在2020年達成哪些事？未來有什麼計畫？
Minami：「我希望可以參與更多駐村的機會，也想製作更大件的陶藝品。今年秋天我會在瀨戶駐村，瀨戶的陶藝很有名，也離我家名古屋不遠，我會在那裡製作一件大型雕塑。我很興奮可以學到更多相關的歷史和技法！」
Q: What do you wish to achieve in 2020? What are some future plans?
A: I’d like to try more residencies. I’d like to make more ceramic works besides paintings. I've been commissioned to make a large ceramic piece in the fall this year. I’m going to make it at a residency in Seto, which is near my hometown Nagoya. It's famous because of Seto-mono ceramic. I’m very excited about learning the history that is the spirit of my cultural background.
想看更多輕鬆的藝術家簡介嗎？歡迎追蹤：ChiaoxArt
想欣賞更多 Minami 的作品請至：https://www.minamikobayashi.com/
小林美波 Instagram：korominami
[1] 那比派（法語：Les Nabis)，是1890年代法國的美術、平面藝術流派，由一群後印象派的前衛藝術家所組成。成員最初是一群對當代藝術及文學有興趣的朋友，他們多是1890年代晚期巴黎私立盧多夫·朱利安藝術學校的學生。
[2] 野獸派（法語：Les Fauves）是20世紀率先崛起的象徵主義畫派，畫風強烈、用色大膽鮮豔，將印象派的色彩理論與梵谷、高更等後印象派的大膽塗色技法推向極致，不再講究透視和明暗、放棄傳統的遠近比例與明暗法，採用平面化構圖、陰影面與物體面的強烈對比，脫離自然的摹仿。