NEAATO MINI INTERVIEWS SUE JEAN!
June 29, 2008
NEAATO MINI INTERVIEWS SUE JEAN!
SUE JEAN
http://www.myspace.com/suejeaners
Who are ya?
My name is Sue Jean and I’m a UCLA grad (class of 2006). I used to do commercial and print modeling but have now focused my attention toward my true passion – architecture and design. I’m half-Korean and half-German but I spent two years living in Hong Kong and seven years living in Taiwan before settling down in Southern California in ‘98, which explains my unending interest in anything and everything Asian-American.
What are your linksyees?
www. myspace. com/suejeaners … I also own suejean. com and plan to put my architecture portfolio up as soon as i have time. Also check out choyassociates. com, the firm where I work.
Where ya at?
the City of Angels
What are you known for?
nothing … YET! but give me a few years and hopefully my name will be making architectural headlines all over the world.
How did you get started/your Aha moment?
I’ve always had an interest in architecture. But it wasn’t until visiting the Wayfarer’s Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes that I knew architecture HAD to be my life. Being inside the chapel moved me in a way I never thought possible. Now that I’ve been pursuing architecture full-time, I’m positive that there is nothing in this world that I’d rather do. In college I was a Psychobiology major (kind of like Psychology), and one of my professors there taught me about the theory of “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (look it up – I’ve already written too much for this MINI interview!). Architecture puts me into a state of “flow”. It’s like an addiction – the more I learn, the more I want to know.
What is your goal?
To design a space, structure, or building that inspires people the way the Wayfarer’s Chapel inspired me. Spaces and buildings have the capability to mo
ve people – and that’s what I want to do. I also want to find a way to make architecture, a typically male-dominated field, more accessible – educationally, professionally, personally, and emotionally – to women all over the world.
Any upcoming projects/things we should check out?
The firm that I work for is currently working on an interior overhaul of the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles. Because it’s a historical building, we can’t touch the outer shell, but we are doing a complete re-working of the interior. I’m really excited to take two of my interests – architecture and Asian-American culture – and bind them into one project.
BONUS ROUND:
Any music we should check out:
Priscilla Ahn (a half-Korean artist, love her!), Raul Midon, Spoon, Cake, Frederico Abuele, Massive Attack, and Zero 7.
Architects we should check out:
-1. TADAO ANDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is my favorite. He is an absolutely AMAZING Japanese architect – he never went to school (in fact, he started his adult life as a professional boxer), is completely self-taught, and yet creates the most fantastic modern spaces. He’s truly inspirational. Plus I had the pleasure of hearing him lecture at UCLA and he has a great sense of humor (albeit one that only fellow architects may understand). Check out his “Church of Light” – it’s not your typical church, but it’s still a completely spiritual and identifiably holy space. I love that he combines traditional Japanese aesthetics with the International style to create buildings that are recognizably his.
-2. Richard Neutra – as a lover of the “California Modern” style, I can’t help but love Richard Neutra. His work really embodies what is known as the West Coast midcentury modern. I love his open, airy plans that blur the lines between the outdoors and in. One of my favorite examples of his work is the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs (the same Kaufmann family for whom Frank Lloyd Wright designed his most famous residence, “Falling Water”), which was most recently shot in a J.Crew ad. The Kaufmann house is, in my very humble opinion, one of the prime examples California Modernism to date.
-3. The Wright Family. What people don’t know is that Frank Lloyd Wright was NOT the only architect and designer in the Wright family. John Lloyd Wright, FLW’s son, designed Lincoln Logs, an ingenious toy that I played with for hours as a child. And Lloyd Wright Junior designed The Wayfarer’s Chapel in Rancho PV, the building that inspired me to study architecture.
-4. No list would be complete without Charles and Ray Eames. They were amazing architects, furniture designers, movie makers, artists, scientists, and graphic designers. I love “The Powers of 10″ (one of their films); the brilliance of their ergonomic, well-crafted furniture has yet to be matched today.
Artists you like?
Takashi Murakami (he designed Kanye West’s most recent album cover), the KaiKai KiKi artists (overseen by Murakami), Chio Aoshima (my favorite KaiKai KiKi artist), Audrey Kawasaki, Meomi, TADO (make sure to check out the TADO Smart Car!), Stella Im Hultberg, Yuki Nakano, Aya Kato, and Camilla D’Errico.
FUN CREATIVE ROUND:
If you had to combine 2 random things to describe your style in a nutshell, what would it be?
Hello Kitty + California Modernism
Body Beautiful Magazine, cover August 2007
felix mack and angie miller
felix mack and angie miller
photoillustration by kyle lane / makeup artist angie miller
STUFF:
..
..
Aya Kato
For my second artist feature I chose again to do it on an amazing female artist Aya Kato. I chose this artist not knowing much at all about her, though I had seen some works before (on a side note, I had added some of Aya’s images to my “neat” folder, in which I have an ongoing collection of imagery that I find beautiful). With that said, I know present you a small sampling of the works of Aya Kato.
Info about the artist.
Aya Kato is a 25 year old female artist out of Japan, who studied Visual Art Education and Graphic Design at the Aichi University of Education. Some of her most notible works include artwork for a Microsoft WindowsXP TV Commercial and the music video for Tori Amos’s song “Sleeps with Butterflies”, in which it featured digital recreations of some of Aya’s works merged with Tori as the subject. Her style is uncanny blend of dark Art Nouveau and Manga/Japanese pop art
Elegance
The Little Mermaid
Love of the Sky
Pink Magic
Rapunzel
Samurai
Unnamed
Beautiful/Decay VS. Aya Kato Shirt | 2006
Website
www.ayakato.net
Raika Headquaters Building, interior,
Osaka, Japan
Japan Pavillion, Expo ‘92,
Sevilla, Spain
Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum,
Kagawa, Japan
Church on the Water,
another view Hokkaido, Japan
“Dream“
from the album A Good Day
2008
iTunes
This young Pennsylvania to Los Angeles singer-songwriter possesses an unusually restrained and mature minimalism in her lyrical economy, her smart, concise melodies, and instrumentation that supports but never suffocates the material. Credit producer Joey Waronker for protecting Priscilla Ahn and keeping the arrangements at a tasteful distance. Priscilla Ahn’s voice is simply too delicate. She has a light, airy, youthful quality that’s genuinely optimistic, even if she’s delivering something as dire as Willie Nelson’s “Opportunity to Cry,” the one well-chosen cover amongst her own notable originals. It’s no coincidence that Priscilla Ahn is frequently concerned with flying and escaping her restless present. From the album’s first-rate opening cut, “Dream,“ she traces her life to a conclusion with a strong desire for an outer body experience. “Astronaut” views the world from space. “Lullaby” is a prayer of hope for children stuck in small towns where their dreams go unanswered. Though Priscilla Ahn uses few words, she has much to say and a breath-taking voice for saying it.
YUKI NAKANO
