On August 21, 2024, NOW Art Founder Carmen Zella sat down with artist Alan Nakagawa for a live conversation about public art and LUMINEX 3.0 on Instagram (@nowart_la). RSVP here for future LUMINEX Artist Talks.

Below is a transcript of the video:

Carmen Zella (CZ): Hi everyone! I’m super excited to be hosting this special IG chat with our Luminex artist, Alan Nakagawa. Thank you all for joining. These chats are always so much fun, and I’ve loved meeting all the artists and having these in-depth conversations. They’re designed to really go deep with the artist, giving you a sense of their reality, their perspective, and a few tidbits about what they’re creating for Luminex, which is happening October 5th, just six weeks away.

Alan Nakagawa (AN): Wow!

CZ: Yes! I’m really excited. Right now, we’re surrounded by James Gilbert’s sculptures here in South Park, the neighborhood where Luminex will take place. So, let’s dive into our conversation. Alan, it’s such a pleasure to talk with you.

We’ve already had some discussions, so I’ll touch on a few things we talked about previously. First, though, thank you so much for participating.

AN: Thanks for having me.

CZ: Let’s start with your journey as an artist. How did you begin, how long have you been in Los Angeles, and what is your relationship to this city?

AN: I was born here and have lived in L.A. for 60 years, six decades in total. I did spend two years in Japan, but otherwise, L.A. has been my home. I also lived for two years in Gardena, which is technically part of Los Angeles County, although it felt different to me. I grew up in what is now Koreatown, in the Mid City area.

CZ: What drew you toward art as a child? And how did your education shape you as an interdisciplinary artist?

AN: Being the first-born in the U.S., with all my grandparents, parents, and relatives having come from Japan after World War II—from Hiroshima and Chiba—I spent my first five years alone before my brother was born. During that time, I was very quiet and always drawing, often hiding behind sofas or in closets.

When I was nine, an artist from Japan, Shizue Yamashiro, started a school for kids. I enrolled and studied with her until I was sixteen. After that, I attended an all-boys Catholic high school, which was an incredible experience, especially as a pagan. There was so much music and creativity, and I studied under a teacher named Sister Shimotsubo, a nun and printmaker. All these experiences eventually led me to Otis.

I began my degree at Otis, then pursued my master’s at Irvine. Later, I received a scholarship to study stage design at Japan University in Tokyo, which accounts for the two years I mentioned earlier.

CZ: Did these experiences influence your interest in public art?

AN: Absolutely. I met local artist Judy Baca and joined a mural training program at SPARC around age 17. We learned consensus building and collectively designed two billboards. That experience ignited my passion for public art.

Later at Otis-Parsons, between 1982 and 1986, I became the resident composer, creating music for installations and performances while also doing my own. Ulysses Jenkins, an Otis alum, helped my friends and me present our first work outside of school at Gallery Ocaso on Sunset Boulevard. It was a multimedia performance, modest in scale but monumental for us.

Eventually, I joined the performance committee at the Women’s Building on Spring Street, working with feminist artists and contributing as a percussionist. For instance, I played drums while Faith Ringgold performed. At the time, I hadn’t studied feminism, but the experience was invaluable.

At Irvine, my teacher Linda Vallejo invited me to teach at a prison. I started at the men’s prison in Norco, then briefly at the California Institute for Women in Chino. In both cases, I taught drawing, though sound has always been a parallel interest of mine.

CZ: So even though you were teaching drawing, sound remained central to your practice.

AN: Yes, exactly.

CZ: Let’s shift to your current residencies and how they connect to your work for Luminex.

AN: Currently, I have two residencies. One is at Cal State Dominguez Hills, focusing on their collection related to the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations. It deals with Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII. About 120,000 people were affected.

The second residency is at USC with Kaya Press, a 30-year-old publisher of Asian diaspora literature. Over the past 12 months, I’ve read every book in their collection, marking underlined passages and notes. These materials form the libretto for a series of “micro operas,” each around five minutes long.

CZ: And these micro operas will take multiple forms, like performances, films, or sound installations?

AN: Yes, exactly. There are four categories: performative pieces, projections, vibratory sound pieces called Invisible Architecture, and sculptural “music boxes” inspired by Harry Partch, Yoko Ono, and Fluxus. Visitors interact directly with the sculptural pieces.

CZ: How does this connect to the inspiration behind your Luminex piece?

AN: My Luminex work, Conical Sound: Simon Rodia / Antoni Gaudi, is a site-specific acoustic mashup. I recorded the interior acoustics of Watts Towers and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, blending them to create a “third place” that does not exist physically.

The South Park site has a concrete, rectangular layout with benches. I decided to use the benches as vibrational seating, essentially “sound seats.” Each bench will have its own speaker with monophonic audio. The piece also includes recordings from a mass at Montserrat and subliminal microtone clusters inspired by Royal Rife, a 1930s scientist who explored sound frequencies.

CZ: So visitors will experience both acoustic and tactile elements simultaneously.

AN: Yes, it will buzz subtly while delivering layered microtones, creating an immersive experience.

CZ: This has been such a fascinating conversation, Alan. I could keep talking with you all night.

If anyone has questions for the artist, please put them in the chat. This IG session will be available on our artist portal and through our newsletter. Thank you again for joining!

AN: Thanks!

CZ: Absolutely. See you all at Luminex!