Over the next few days I will be getting to know the artists a little better by asking them the same 26 questions in the form of an interview.  The transcriptions have been edited but just fractionally; I have exchanged single words or removed words or added words (if I felt it would clarify a particular point) but only where absolutely necessary since I wanted to try to keep the original dialogue as pure as possible for the sake of humanity.

First we have ADAM A_VIKAINEN from AMERICA (MINNESOTA):

What made you apply for the Kamiyama Artist in Residence program?
I guess I am addicted to residencies.

Describe your work in one word
Uuumm.

Do you have a special method for generating your ideas?
Doodles. I make doodles and the ideas form. It's like meditation I guess.

What is the most frightening experience you have ever had?
Ever? I guess something involving dying.

What is your favourite Japanese food?
I like sashimi, every kind.

What do you enjoy most about creating art?
Freedom. No, I don't know. Actually, I kind of hate it. It's painful. I like making it but I don't like explaining it. So I guess this is the painful part! If I could just have a show and that'd be it, that'd be fine. I like creating it but I don't like showing it. It's a paradox.

What is the process behind creating your art?
Hmm, lots of time and just, steady work and eventually something evolves. It's not quick.

How did you discover your passion for art?
I guess, drawing, through drawing and a way to, er, forget that I'm in school. It was a distraction.

Do you think you have a particular technique/style?
Yes.

Do you find art difficult?
No, it's probably the easiest thing.

What do you think about face-shaped processed ham (see image above)?
It makes me think about the source (of the meat) more. The formation of ham. I like whole pieces of ham, usually I don't like Spam type ground-up processed meats, but when I see that I think, you know it is ok if it comes from a good source, but if it all comes from chemicals and artificial dyes then it is not good. If the mouth is made from darker meats like thigh meat, it's good.

How do you feel in Kamiyama?
Good and bad.

Do you think you have a role as a KAIR?
Yer, I don't know what that role is yet. It is yet to be determined.

How would you like your art to relate to Kamiyama and its residents?
Don't know. Once I start thinking about stuff like that, it hurts the creative process!

What would chairs look like if our knees were upside-down?
We wouldn't need chairs because we couldn't walk. Chairs are for resting. We would just be puddles on the ground because we couldn't hunt.

What other types of work have you done and how does it relate to your art?
Umm, my first job was at Kentucky Fried Chicken, no actually my first paying job was a newspaper delivery boy. My second job was at Kentucky Fried Chicken. So, I guess those two jobs really informed my practice.

What do you dislike about your work?
Nothing. It's the only thing I do, so if I disliked it I'd find no reason to exist. It's the only thing that keeps me going.

What is the worst piece of advice you have ever been given?
I can't think of any good advice I've been given. I don't listen to most people.

In your opinion, how important is art to society?
I think it is society. When art goes wrong it's to do with society. When society deems art necessary it kind of destroys it, like with public funding. I think it's just something that'll always be there; it's why society exists and once society tries to feed it (art) it'll become too big and take over like a cancerous tumour…

What is your favourite outfit?
Recently I wore a yukata for the first time. It felt fresh, in the groin region.

Who is your least favourite famous artist/creator and why?
The guy who invented the wheel. It was too fast, our bodies can't adapt. Biologically we can't adapt to the wheel, we were meant to walk.

Can you describe Kamiyama in one word?
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhuhuhhhuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. It's a new language, or a language that's been forgotten.

What would you like for your birthday? (Please do not expect anything….)
World Peace.

How do you feel when you present your work to the public?
Horrible. No, that's not the right word. It's like I'm floating, like I'm detached. People say things like ‘that's good, that's bad'. Mostly people just say it's good and I can tell they are lying. I feel dishonest.

If you are a vegetable, what kind would you be?
Umm, a tasty one. I'd want to be a good one. So my favourite vegetable? Are artichokes vegetables?

Do you have a weakness?
Interviews.

どうもありがとう

NEXT: Yukie Hori