Artist Decoded By Yoshino

NYC-based Iranian songwriter, producer, and vocalist Kris Esfandiari, also known as King Woman, is set to release a striking full-length album, Celestial Blues, on July 30, 2021, via Relapse Records. Kris Esfandiari (NGHTCRWLR, Dalmatian, Miserable, Sugar High, i8i) founded King Woman in 2009 — a solo project which later gained the talents of guitarist Peter Arensdorf and drummer Joseph Raygoza. Now wiser and holding less animosity than King Woman’s previous sentiments on 2014 EP Doubt and the highly-esteemed 2017 full length Created in The Image of Suffering, the fantasy world that once plagued Kris' psyche is dancing in a new light on Celestial Blues. Feeling compelled to reshape the biblical archetypes that once bound her, Esfandiari has created a theatrical tale of rebellion, tragedy, and triumph — a metaphor for her own personal experiences over the years — Celestial Blues was born. Show Notes: 00:05:17 - Monotheism/experiences with Christianity 00:17:16 - The fluidity of expressing emotions through

Poet, artist, and Daughters vocalist Alexis Marshall has announced his solo debut LP HOUSE OF LULL. HOUSE OF WHEN for July 23rd via Sargent House and along with it the first song and video for “Hounds In The Abyss”. Directed by Jeremy W., Marshall notes of the video’s concept “The long stare into the room of self—the universe’s middle distance—the many hidden doors we locate, the many rooms we find. Populated not only by whom else we are, but by places, we have been. The places we are. We don’t always pull away from the hot stove.”’ Produced by Seth Manchester the album is crafted around moments of spontaneity and sonic detritus. For the album, Marshall brought together an impressive group of collaborators to execute his vision, a vision that for the first time was under his full creative direction. Jon Syverson (Daughters), Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota), Evan Patterson (Jaye Jayle, Young Widows) joined Marshall in Pawtucket, Rhode Island at Machines with Magnets studio with no material. The strategy was t

Emilio Villalba is a Mexican-American painter living in San Francisco. Born in Chula Vista and raised in Southern California, he grew up interested in drawing and art. He created a career in Los Angeles as a visual effects artist where he animated television commercials and films. After 2 years in the industry, he left for San Francisco to study fine art. He’s now focused on exploring painting figuratively, pulling inspiration from both old masters and contemporary artists—from Velázquez to Alice Neel and Basquiat.  Emilio’s latest exhibition, “People and Things” will be on view at Hashimoto Contemporary in New York from Saturday, July 17th to Saturday, August 7th, 2021. Show Notes: 00:03:12 - Emilio’s latest body of work 00:06:50 - Exploring new visual avenues 00:13:33 - Self-awareness of one’s work 00:20:30 - Saying vs. doing 00:32:42 - The psychology of reward systems 00:36:03 - Identity / fitting in 00:42:40 - The conceptual basis of Emilio’s newest body of work 00:53:37 - Owning who you are 01:03:33 -

Stuart Biddlecombe is a director of photography for The Handmaid’s Tale. Biddlecombe graduated from the National Film and Television School in 2003. He has also worked on Doctor Who, Call To Midwife, and Cold Feet. Show Notes: 00:02:53 - Adapting to an environment on set 00:07:26 - Stuart’s creative process 00:12:28 - Collaboration within the filming process 00:17:06 - The continuity of filming television shows 00:19:24 - Artistry vs. Craftsmanship 00:21:22 - Inspiration through different types of art 00:23:47 - Observing the world through the lens of cinematography 00:25:23 - How he sees his role as a DP 00:28:18 - Spontaneity while filming 00:33:40 - Stuart’s journey as a cinematographer 00:50:00 - Stuart’s best piece of work / working in TV 01:02:51 - Wrap up www.artistdecoded.com www.instagram.com/stuartdop www.stuartbiddlecombe.co.uk

For the first episode of AD’s Movie Club, Justin will be discussing Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2008 Film Tokyo Sonata with three of his close friends. First, we are joined by photographer and podcast host, Yoshino. Yoshino uses his photography to draw out deep lingering emotions while seeking to unveil a psychological truth embedded within all of us. He attempts to create a dichotomy and a confluence between his observations, molding them together between varying ideas and disparate elements. With these images, he invites the viewer to enter his world and to give space for the contemplation of their own personal framework and reality. Yoshino is also the host of the Artist Decoded podcast. Amirtha Kidambi is a composer, performer, and professor currently living in New York City. Kidambi earned an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University, an M.M. in Voice and Musicology at CUNY Brooklyn College, and a B.A. in Voice from Loyola Marymount University. She currently serves on the faculty for the New School, t

Jan Hopkins is a master at creating sculptural vessels and figurative sculptures from unusual natural materials such as citrus, melon and pomegranate peels, lotus pods, fish skin, leaves, and seed pods. Each piece is a marriage of deep sensitivity and reverence to materials with a heavy emphasis on concept and innovation. Jan studied basketry with indigenous and contemporary artists, learning the art of meticulous construction, the basics of how to gather and prepare materials, and understanding new concepts in design beyond traditional construction. In the early 90s, challenged with the depletion and unavailability of many of the natural basketry materials, she began experimenting and innovating new ways of processing organic materials that she successfully uses in her work today. Her initial aspiration was to preserve the beauty of the materials she began to by constructing vessel forms. Jan’s work evolved to more figurative work with narratives sewn into each intricately designed piece. Jan and her husba

Mitch Horowitz is a historian of alternative spirituality and one of today’s most literate voices of esoterica, mysticism, and the occult. He is among the few occult writers whose work touches the bases of academic scholarship, national journalism, and subculture cred. Mitch is a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library, lecturer-in-residence at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles, and a PEN Award-winning historian whose books include Occult America; One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life; and The Miracle Club. The Washington Post says Mitch “treats esoteric ideas and movements with an even-handed intellectual studiousness that is too often lost in today’s raised-voice discussions.” He has discussed alternative spirituality across the national media and is collaborating with Emmy-nominated director Ronni Thomas on a feature documentary about the occult classic The Kybalion, shot on location in Egypt. Mitch received the Walden Award for Interfaith/Intercultural U

Damon Davis is a post-disciplinary artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. His work spans across a spectrum of creative mediums to tell stories exploring how identity is informed by power and mythology. He is well known for his body of work, Darker Gods, which explores Afro-surrealist manifestations of Black culture. Davis is a Firelight Media, Sundance Labs, TED, and Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. He is the founder and creative director of St. Louis-based music label/ artist collective FarFetched and his work is featured in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Show Notes: 00:03:18 - Reflections on George Floyd and 2020 00:09:55 - Power dynamics in American society 00:14:35 - The soulful impact of art 00:17:40 - America’s amnesia & the complexities of blackness 00:20:49 - Value systems 00:29:56 - Damon’s intention with the mythology he created for “Darker Gods” 00:33:39 - Power, wisdom, and empathy 00:39:15 -The desensitization and fe

Born in Beijing and raised in Singapore, Jingna Zhang is a fashion and fine art photographer and director based in New York City and Seattle. Imbued with love for the Pre-Raphaelites and Japanese anime, Jingna’s work interweaves Asian aesthetics with western art styles, bringing unique visions of painterly and fantastical images to fashion and fine art photography. Before photography, Jingna was a world-class air rifle shooter representing Singapore at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup. She was the only female founder of a North American esports team in StarCraft 2; and was once a concept artist and illustrator’s agent, with clients including LucasArts, Amazon Publishing, and Sony Online Entertainment. Jingna majored in fashion design before dropping out of school to pursue photography. She is an alumna of Stanford’s innovation and entrepreneurship program Ignite and a Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 listmaker. Jingna’s works have appeared on multiple editions of Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar. Her clients in

Graham grew up in Ojai, a small ranching town in Southern California with pink sunsets dipping below the mountains.  He spent his childhood exploring Europe and the Southwestern United States with his travel writer father and family. His upbringing informs his photography, which is largely based in simplicity, nostalgia, nature, and the truth of a moment. Graham lives in Los Angeles with his wife, a kindergarten teacher, and his son, an extremely inventive whippersnapper. Show Notes: 00:00:00 - Introduction  00:04:55 - Teaching all aspects of history  00:08:53 - Homogenization of culture  00:12:22 - The importance of community  00:15:56 - The confluence of non-sequiturs  00:18:36 - The shifting landscape of commercial photography 00:25:00 - Human psychology within photography  00:33:16 - Graham’s projects during covid  00:42:45 - Having a “jack of all trades” approach  00:48:15 - Personal values influencing the way you approach your career  00:54:54 - Having a balanced life  00:56:51 - Learning and adapti

AD Non-Weekly Round Up #8 with artist, Jesse Draxler, and Yoshino. Jesse Draxler was born in rural Wisconsin, studied in Minneapolis, MN, and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. A formal mixed media & inter-disciplinary artist, Draxler has exhibited extensively both domestically and internationally.  Draxler collaborates with brands including Hugo Boss, McQ Alexander McQueen, and Ferrari, with original artwork appearing in Elle, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among other publications.  Show Notes: 00:00:32 - Seasons in life 00:07:18 - Focusing on the process instead of the result 00:12:05 - The confluence of running and creativity 00:16:32 - Self-reflection 00:22:16 - Personal values 00:34:35 - The practical reality of art 00:39:53 - Creativity thorough destruction 00:47:56 - Jesse’s personal growth throughout the years 00:53:05 - Life and death 00:57:09 - The importance of being conscious of one’s physical and mental health 01:13:20 - Perspective shifts 01:26:14 - Un

Nadia Waheed, BFA 2015 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is a Pakistani-American painter who makes partially autobiographical allegorical figurative paintings that explore selfhood, choice, and cultural trauma. Exhibition history includes shows with Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami, BEERS London, Thierry Goldberg in New York, and Gallery 1957 in London. Upcoming exhibitions in 2021 include shows with Andrea Festa Fine Art in Rome, Lawrie Shabibi in Dubai, and Aicon Gallery in New York. Show Notes: 00:04:18 - Being aware of your youth  00:05:52 - Having numerous perspectives  00:09:40 - Nadia’s childhood  00:16:40 - Cultural nuances  00:23:07 - The core language approach and inner generational trauma  00:27:54 - The influence of mentorship  00:31:12 - Politics within the art world  00:37:46 - Telling someone who you are, through your actions  00:39:30 - Dating and relationships  00:46:39 - The loss of community and connectivity  00:53:01 - Intentionality and being vulnerable  01:00:45 - Being comfortable

The son of Chinese immigrants, Nicholas came to LA by way of Hawaii and Hong Kong. Working as a truly international director, he has helmed global campaigns for brands like Google, Samsung, Disney, P&G, Kia, Dewars, and Nestle, working closely with top agencies such as BBDO, Ogilvy & Mather, and Iris Worldwide. In the music world, he is an MTV VMA nominated director having shot videos for Nick Jonas, Blink-182, Sara Bareilles, Bastille, Snakehips, Jess Glynne, Monsta X, and more. Known for his cinematic, emotional, and dynamic visual language, Nicholas' films often center on character-driven stories deeply grounded in humanity and sensitivity. His work has been featured in most major publications including The LA Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, The Telegraph, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Forbes, Booooooom, Shots Creative, Little Black Book, and many more. When not on set, Nicholas will be found tearing through the canyons in his cars or motorcycle, creating new recipes in

Justin Daashuur Hopkins is a multidisciplinary storyteller (Director and Cinematographer, Musician and Composer, Graphic Designer, and Gallerist). Born into an artistic household, to renowned Illustrator Chris Hopkins and internationally collected sculptor Jan Hopkins, Justin was raised in Mukilteo, Washington, but now lives and works in Los Angeles. At the age of fifteen, he was already doing professional work for multiple clients, including conceptual merchandising and design for Costco, sound design and illustration for RedBull, and music for ESPN TV spots. He also shot the short film “Baristas,” which played to enthusiastic audiences in New York, LA, and Seattle. At the age of eighteen, Justin was hired at Olio Inc, an architectural firm specializing in major hotels in places like Vegas and Dubai. He spent the next five years doing architectural and sound design for international clients. In 2009, he struck out on his own, working as a freelance illustrator and fine art painter. He moved to New York and

Johan Van Mullem (Belgian painter born in 1959) persisted in his youthful search for wrinkled faces, seeking the beauty he recognized in an experience engraved on the faces and in the hands. Since then, the face remains the major subject of his work but over time reversing the imprint of it on his own face while these subjects seem to rejuvenate, disappearing or emerging in a halo of light in old-fashioned sfumato, offering the gaze an escape into the world of emotion, because Johan Van Mullem's work is an invitation for introspection, to a journey whose omnipresent emotional charge cannot leave indifferent as the depth is often dizzying. Johan's work has been exhibited internationally and can be found in many important collections. The superimposition and erasure of the very many smooth layers of the diluted inks further accentuates this feeling of inexpressible presence on the canvas. The self-taught mastery of the specific and unique technicality of his work because only executed in etching ink (an exten

www.patreon.com/artistdecoded Mauro Martinez juxtaposes common pictorial forms from art history with the monotonous streams of online imagery that we, as an increasingly digital society, are so often subjected to. Skillfully utilizing metaphor, irony, and dark humor, Martinez’s paintings respond to the doctrines of internet culture, at once critiquing and mocking our relationship with contemporary imagery. Show Notes: 00:00​ - Introduction 04:09​ - Humor and the Meme Paintings 07:53​ - The Process of Self-Acceptance 10:46​ - The Breakdown to a Breakthrough 11:43​ - The Privilege Behind Social Media in Reaction to George Floyd's Murder 14:55​ - Documentation Through Art 20:48​ - Not a Provocateur with “Sensitive Content Series” 24:37​ - Drug Addiction, Rehab, and Art Center 27:35​ - The Loss of Mauro’s Brother and Using Painting as Healing 31:38​ - Using Painting to Escape Drug Addiction 36:33​ - Dark Humor and Past Trauma 39:14​ - Next Stage of Career & Cancel Culture 42:47​ - The View of Disposability

www.patreon.com/artistdecoded Lorne Lanning is an American game designer, director, writer, and voice actor. He is co-founder and creator of Oddworld Inhabitants. He is best known for creating the Oddworld series including the games Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, and Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty. The next Oddworld game titled Oddworld: Soulstorm will be released on April 6, 2021. Initially studying photo-realism and commercial illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Lanning soon attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California, where he graduated with a BFA in Character Animation. Working as a Technical Director at TRW, Lanning later moved to Rhythm & Hues Studios in Hollywood, where he would later meet producer Sherry McKenna, who helped co-found Oddworld Inhabitants. Topics Discussed In This Episode: Lorne’s journey from fine art into developing video games The change of perception within art

www.patreon.com/artistdecoded Dr. Bruce Hoffman did not choose the Medical Arts as a vocation. Originally, he wanted to be a writer and poet. His interest in health and healing developed later in life, after a long and winding road of self-discovery, life experience, and learning. He only applied to medical school, so he could complete a residency in psychiatry and subsequently study Jungian analysis to understand the human condition and behavior. As life would have it, his destiny took him on a different journey. He never did formally pursue a psychiatry residency or Jungian Analytic Training, but his love for art, poetry, and psychology remain. Dr. Hoffman was born and educated in South Africa and obtained his medical degree from the University of Cape Town. After two years of compulsory military training, his distaste for the local regime convinced him to emigrate to Canada in 1986 where he pursued family medical practice in rural Saskatchewan, Canada. Once ensconced in the practice of family medicine,

www.patreon.com/artistdecoded Jesse Damiani is a writer, curator, and cultural producer living in Los Angeles, CA. He covers art, media, and technology on Forbes, and serves as  . Other writing appears in Billboard, Entrepreneur, Quartz, The Verge, and WIRED. He has consulted with Google, Oculus, and the Sundance Institute, and served as a mentor in the YouTube VR Creator Lab. He is also Founder and Series Editor of Best American Experimental Writing. He was the Curator/Producer for the XR art exhibition, Spatial Reality, at sp[a]ce gallery; Co-Curator of Virtual Futures with LACMA for LA Art Show; and Co-Curator of SIM-CINEMA with FLOAT and Wevr. He is Curatorial Advisor for CURRENTS New Media and founded the AWE Arts Initiative, where he curated and produced the Immersive Arts Symposium. He also curates The Tech Zone at DesignerCon and XR For Change, the XR summit at Games For Change. Topics Discussed In This Episode: NFTs and the blockchain The future of NFTs  Artists managing the sale of their work  VR

www.patreon.com/artistdecoded Nolwen is a first-generation Colombian-French photographer and director, working in Los Angeles. As a mixed-race queer woman, her identity plays an active role in the type of narratives she is drawn to. Her interests lie in shifting social consciousness, breaking down gender norms, and representation. Exploring portraiture within the landscape of American culture, Nolwen’s photographs deal with vulnerability and gaze between both subject and viewer. She has photographed a multitude of prolific figures and her client list includes The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Netflix, Dove, amongst others. Topics Discussed In This Episode: Nolwen’s career journey Multihyphanate artistry Importance of broadening your artistic toolbox Financial management for artists Cryptocurrency Addiction Nolwen’s spiritual experience before sobriety Breaking free from trauma Focusing on the present moment Life being a puzzle Feeling connected to a greater calling Being intentional w