usugrow......rockin the spot from the rising sun

What is your full name? Age? Hometown?
USUGROW.18x2-6years old. Living in Tokyo, Babylon.



How did you get into drawing and art?

I started drawing when I was in Kindergarten. I drew day and night, as much as I could. All I wanted to do was draw.

When I was 16, I started to listen to hardcore and metal, I also started to skateboard at this time. This is when I discovered Pushead's art for Zorlac, Metallica and the Misfits. I really liked the art that bands like Suicidal, Beowulf and Excel had on their records and the whole Venice feeling. Seeing the art really made me excited and gave me the want to do it myself so I started making flyers for shows and doing t-shirt designs. Later I even started my own band.

I have been drawing in the style you know only in the last ten years. Most of the time I have been doing my black and white drawings but have been spending more and more time doing larger paintings and tattooing. For the last eight years I have also had my own clothing brand.



Again, another original question! Who are some of your favorite artists?

PUSHEAD,BOB VESSELS(funny farm tattoo), CHAZ, CARTOON, TOSHI NOZAKA, Rockin Jelly Bean, BENE.

I've never met Chaz or Cartoon but the others I have met and talked to, they taught me many things. Of course I love their art and respect their styles because they are always evolving and at the same time keeping what they do unique and their own.

Toshi is a tattoo artist and skateboarder. He tattoos in the traditional japanese style. He has his own skateboard company called Asianwave, its underground but a really great company. They recently released Dogtown's OG Shougo Kubo deck.

I like WK Interact and Grime too. It's strange but I like Ed Tsuwaki also, he has done work for Vogue magazine and the fashion company Anna Sui.

Before I mentioned that I like traditional Japanese art, a couple of the artists I like are Ogata Korin and Kuniyoshi Utagawa.














It's apparent that you use a lot of spiritual and "religious" imagery, are you spiritual or religious?

I believe strongly there is something larger than us...

Lastly, I know you and Bene have been working together lately. Tell everyone about him...

Bene is awesome. He is always on my mind because he is such a great artist. He's a skater that does graffiti art and paints. He has an open mind and his own style of doing things. Sometimes we trade decks that we have painted and recently we collaborated on some T-shirt designs. We will be doing a live painting session some time in the future together. When he went to San Francisco to skate he really got the feeling to go back there but for art, he really likes SF. Please email him! http://www.xbx.jp/

Check out more of USUGROW's art on his website, www.usugrow.com











Here's the age-old "artist" interview question... What are some of your influences?

Well, I am heavily influenced by hardcore, metal and skate art. I got interested in graffiti because of all the Venice band tagging art. Later I became interested in more styles of art, including advertising and graphic design. I really got interested in the way that other languages are written too, not in textual sense but graphically.

Traditional art of other nations is an influence too. I am not sure how much people see these influences in my art but they are there.

Of course traditional Japaese ukiyoe art is a part of my style along with india ink drawing, caligraphy and Buhddist imagery. There is a spiritual feeling that comes with these types of art. They look so simplistic but you need to know how to balance them to get the right feeling, for example india ink drawing is black on white but the arrangement is everything, that empty white area is just as important as the black if not more so at times. The paper itself can be the most beautiful part you see.

When I am working on something I like to let mind take me where it wants to go, trying not to concentrate on what is happening and let whats inside me come out. It is myself you see in all that I do, that is the core of my style.





What is the state of the current art scene in Japan? What is popular?

I think many artists in Japan have thier own style whereas many artists in the US and Europe seem to have very similiar styles in more than just graffiti art.

I was surprised that there was recently a public exhibition of graffiti art here in Japan. All the artists are considered criminals and vandals by the regular people on the street. The bigger surprise is that this was supported by the Japanese government and a public corporation! Usually this seems so fake but I was genuinely excited about this event. What also was great was that the art was displayed all over the city, not just in one place where most people would never even see it. If you will be here during this exhibition you really need to check it out! Oh yeah, one of the supporters is a huge maker of spray paint!!

Please check out the Japanese grafitti magazine called DRAWAMOK too. Recently, this magazine is not just about grafitti artists. All the artists featured are very talented...



...One problem in Japan though is that the media has too much influence. They have a huge amount of control over what and who gets popular. They continually create new trends only to dump them soon after. I think a big reason for this is that Japan in a small country and people are taught that theyshould always want the newest and hottest thing and being a small country it doesn't take long for everyone to get into something and then get tired and soon move on. For the most part, the people who follow trends are not really into art and the things they like because their hearts are in it, they just want the popular new product and what's "cool".

But at the same time there are people who know what they like and enjoy art that touches them in some way. These people are not interested in what magazines and TV tell them what it great. This keeps my outlook on art in Japan opimistic, the corporations and the media cannot control everything and everyone so there will always be art that is real.

Right now CD, clothing,and magazine sales are way down in Japan. The people who are still make a living and are doing well are the ones who have real talent and are honest and stay true to themselves and people can see that and what to support them. That is a great thing to see.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE CLICK THE LINK AT THE TOP , THE SITE IS WELL WORTH A LOOK