Tucked away in a small art gallery in the outskirts of Little Tokyo, Zenka's gallery show entitled "Presence" at District Gallery was definitely a unique event for me . All the people at the gallery were lovely and friendly (one person there even bought me a cup of coffee!) Despite it being a small, somewhat spartan affair, "Presence" came up big on experience. Along the four walls of the gallery, Zenka's intricate, expressive sculptures were hung up, all wearing virtual reality headsets from throughout the years. There were X's made with blue painter's tape on the floor, about a foot away from each sculpture. This was done so that the tablet on hand, running the app Aurasma, could scan the sculpture properly and generate a 3D augmented reality animation, as if it was coming out of the sculpture itself! In the middle of the room was a pair of Google Cardboard virtual reality goggles that had an immersive experience that simulated, among other things, the feeling of being in a car at a safari when some curious animals decide to jump on your car!
I had the chance to talk to Zenka about "Presence", the concept of technology and progress, and the inclusive nature of her art.
The first thing I noticed about this art is the juxtaposition between Raku, the centuries-old ceramic technique and the futuristic elements of virtual reality and augmented reality. What was the reasoning behind that?
Zenka: All of my work has something to do with the future. The reason I like Raku is that when the sculpture has gone through the firing process, it comes with a weird iridescence that gives it a futuristic look, but at the same time, it appears ancient.
It is a commentary on the fact that technology is moving faster than it ever has before, so a lot of these headsets will seem outdated really quickly. There is an exponential acceleration of technology; the amount and speed of things being invented is going much faster, compared to a few generations ago. The things that will come out today or even in the near future will seem outdated in just two or three years. The juxtaposition is that it is confusing to see something like these headsets that appear to be so old, yet they were made only a few years ago.
See Zenka's firing process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym-Q_Ow0zPk
With the rate of innovation in technology growing at such a quick pace, do you believe that technology will have, or already has an unhealthy influence over people in our society?
Zenka: Not at all. Technology is making our world better. In today's day and age, we're allowed to be individualistic, which we wouldn't have had that opportunity before. 200 years ago, you would been more worried about feeding yourself, you would have lived in a fairly confined environment, destined to be a farmer, and the chances to pursue what you are interested in were basically zero. Now, you can connect and unite with people that have similar specific interests and pursuits like your own.
Technology has decentralized our world. In the past, hundreds or even thousands of years of ago, everyone was working for several generations, just to build a tomb for a leader. Now, the church or the government, major organizations that once confined us, aren't as important as they were before. Technology has given the individual more control and power over their lives. For example, look at Uber, where you can be your own boss and set your own work hours, or Airbnb, where you can rent out your home.
Your work is based on inhabiting the public space and promoting a culture of participation. Do you believe everyone should have a hand in the creation of art?
Zenka: Art is not just for artists, just like how dance is not just for dancers, or singing isn't just for singers. Art is for everyone, it is a natural, human thing. The association of art having to do with talent just isn't true. "Talent" essentially comes with practice. Practice is when someone feels they're good at something, and they want to do more of it. Some street artists don't consider themselves as artists, since street art could be as simple as printing words from a copier and pasting them on a wall.
When I give artist tours at Cartwheel Art, I make everyone install stuff, so they get the feeling that they can do it too! Everybody should feel welcome to leave art in the streets, as a public act of kindness. We have the right to share and communicate with each other. These public acts of kindness initiate conversations between strangers, which can be interesting and fun.
So, in this sharing culture, has copyright law, or just the law in general, inhibited your sharing, creativity or innovation?
Zenka: When I was living in Argentina, I definitely felt that I could put up an art installation anywhere! I put up a fairly large mosaic the size of a torso, and the police drove by and didn't say anything, but my heart was racing!
However, when I came to Los Angeles, near the Westside and Santa Monica, I constantly felt "Is there a camera on me, am I gonna get arrested?" The main question I ask myself is: "Am I really improving this space?" I usually install in a place where there have been other art as well; never on the side of a business or a storefront. Also, in terms of materials I use, such as wheat paste or flour, it can stay a long time, but can removed easier than, say, a spray can.
Did you create the animations that appear when the app scans the sculpture?
Zenka: No, those were just stock animations provided by Aurasma, which is a company that works in augmented reality software. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I wasn't able to make the digital content that would have melded seamlessly with my art, like when I do my street art installations. In this particular case, this gallery was primarily about my sculptures but I also want to show what augmented reality is to people who have never experienced it before.
Why are virtual reality headsets the focal point of "Presence"?
Zenka: "Presence" is about a collection of virtual reality and augmented reality headsets from 1968 to the present. The idea was to build is a timeline of everything that's happened of this industry all throughout its development, up to this point. This is the year that virtual reality is going to be released to the consumer, with a ton of units set to hit the market, along with prototypes sent off to programmers to develop native apps for headsets.
I'm also working on an internet timeline of virtual reality headsets, a lot more than were in the show. In 2012, Canon premiered a virtual reality headset that went for $125,000, along with a $25,000 yearly fee for maintenance! Now, it is only $300 for oculus rift or 1,500 for Google Glass. And that's a huge difference in such a short timeframe. Also, you can see how clunky some of these are, but they are becoming less and less obtrusive and soon will be as ubiquitous as phones are.
What potential or practical uses do you see virtual or augmented reality be used for?
Zenka: The possibilities are endless, but I know it will definitely emphasize voice and hands-free activation. A use of augmented reality could be a program to learn new language with objects around you labeled in that language. Lets say you went to a movie theater and it's in another language you don't understand, it can recognize that language and in real time, provide subtitles. We won't have to rely on the physical world for our needs anymore.
Finally, what was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Zenka: Well, one key thing I've learned through creating art:
Don't be a perfectionist, it holds you back.
Trying to make everything perfect the first time hinders you from ever completing something. The creative process is an iterative process, with spaces left in to go back and finish. Most people would stop at some point; I've done work I'm not 100 percent proud of, but when people say "oh, that's great" and makes you want to do more, and start the process again. When I started out and I completed something, it felt like a stake in the ground, saying: "I made it this here, and not other people have gotten this far." As long as you keep moving, at any rate, you're going to get better than if you sat around doing nothing.
Done is better than perfect.
"Presence" is currently at the District Gallery from now until April 26th, 2015.
