Artist Lecture: Laurel Nakadate

Artist Lecture: Laurel Nakadate

March 23, 2011

1. In interviews conducted with you, it specifically says that you "collect men" and are interested in exploring a specific archetype of the male.  What is the reason for being drawn to making work about a specific gender role that isn't your own?

2. In some of your other video projects, you don't involve specific types of people at all- you actually do the opposite- you find strangers on the street to include in your videos. Is there a reason for this starch difference in approach?

Response:

Favorite Quotes:

"I didn't understand the world I was living in- but I was trying to make sense of it."

"I think there's something really powerful about being turned on and dismantled at the same time."

"It's slapstick, funny, sad, melodramatic, interesting, and at the end of the day, nessecary."

Three Words:
Collaborative
Performance
Genuine

What I really found interesting and amazing about Laurel Nakadate and her work was her mix of bravery and stupidity.  She was a young girl picking up random older men in parking lots and Home Depots and going back to their homes. As Nakadate said, I am shocked she came out of this alive. The fascinating part, other then her making it out alive, is the strange collaboration she established between herself and these random strangers.  I found it very interesting the way their opinions, their look, their actions, their stance, and everything about these random strangers didn't just become a part of her piece- they became collaborators with her, and she gives them that credit.  The pieces she created involving the strangers are my favorites.