Human 12: Tatsuya Yamasaki

Artist, Director of Blum & Poe (Tokyo)

(Photo: Eric Miccotto)

Tatsuya Yamasaki is an Australian-born, Japanese national living in Tokyo. After working as an art handler and gallery assistant for Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami for several years, he is now the director of Blum & Poe - a contemporary art gallery with spaces in Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo. I first met Tats around 10 years ago and it was immediately obvious that I had stumbled across one of the strangest people on the planet. He is funny, direct and very fucking weird, which is why I love him. He occasionally makes art with his dick. 

Tats is a human mammal. Here are his thoughts:

What brings you the most joy in life?

Purpose and commission.

What does success mean to you?

Freedom and commission.

What are you most grateful for?

Experiences and commission.

Who or what has had the biggest influence on your life? 

My grandfather – he was faithful, hardly drank and was a hard worker.

What do you regret?

Being the opposite of my grandfather.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Study harder at school… then maybe you won’t be living in a shoebox apartment in Tokyo as a 30-year-old.

What do you doubt most?

I doubt I’ve made the most of the opportunities I’ve had in my life.

What do you see as your greatest achievement?

When my grandfather said he was proud of me. 

Has there been a defining moment in your life? Can you tell us about it?

I remember being in year 12 (around 17 years old) listening to Kanye West’s ‘Graduation’ album. The Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, had done the cartoons for the album cover. I researched him, looked into his work, and found out that he had strong links with the rap/hiphop scene. I became a big fan of his art and distinctively remember having one of his mushroom paintings on my desktop. At the time, my friend said to me ‘why don’t you be a translator for ‘that’ famous artist? Without a second thought I replied with ‘nah, my Japanese will never be good enough’.

I ended up working for Takashi for around 5 years. I look back at that moment to remind myself that I am good enough. 

When did you last have a significant change of mind?

Right now, I think I’ll take a break from drinking. These questions have actually made me think deeply about where I’m at in my life. Thanks, Palms.

What is the role of luck in our lives?

False hope.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I only paint when I drink red wine. As a kid I was never allowed to use the good paper (A4 bleached), I was only allowed to use scrap paper (The back of junk mail). So now I get nervous approaching a fresh canvas and need some liquid courage. But not trashy vodka cranberries, I want to get to know my canvas. Give me a couple of nice bins of Penfolds and I’ll paint the best work of my career. 

What is art?

Art is materialised culture.

What is the most important thing we can teach kids in school?

I was a kid that grew up to the schoolyard theme tune of bogans yelling, ‘go home ching, chong, china man’. I’d love for kids to recite a new school mantra, in the words of Frank Ocean, ‘Why be racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic when you could just be quiet?’ 

Do you have a favourite quote? What is it? Why do you like it?

虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず

Translation: You’ll never get the tiger cub if you don’t enter the tigers den - if you don’t take the risk, you don’t get the reward.

I always thought that nerves meant I was getting close to reward, so whenever I got nervous or scared I always thought that there was something positive around the corner. 

馬鹿は死ななければ 直らない

Translation: The only way to fix stupidity is to die.

Anxiety and stupidity are both qualities that I’ve learned to embrace. 

What would you do with your life if you had unlimited financial resources?

Try to be more useful to the world, then continue selling art to people.

I’d love to invest along the lines of the the African proverb “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation”.

If you could have the definitive answer to a single question, what would you ask?

Why does Palms think I deserve to be on this list of over-achieving humans?

If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose and why?

Ichiji Yamasaki (my deceased Japanese grandfather)… do you hear me when I pray for luck at the temple?… coz fuck bro, I haven’t won a single scratchy in like 10 years. 

What concept/fact/idea should every human on the planet understand?

Globalisation will eventually dilute the idea of separate races. If I’m lucky enough to have a kid, I don’t want them describing themselves as ‘a quarter this, a half that’ – I’ll be proud when my little one owns it and says, ‘fuck this, I’m a mud blood’.

Do human beings have free will?

Yes.

Do you believe in God?

I curse at an imaginary figure when things are going bad, does that count?

Could we be living in a simulated universe?

Yes.

Will the continual development of technology have a net positive or negative influence on humanity?

Have you heard of an NFT (non-fungible token)?… I rest my case.

What is the single greatest achievement of humanity?

The internet.

What do you see as the biggest existential threat to humanity?

Greed.

What does it mean to live a good life?

To be wealthy in love, happiness and health.

What is a good death?

My great grandfather had a heart attack while gardening. He died with a sunflower in his hand. I think that’s beautiful. I think that’s art. I think that’s a pretty good death.

What question should I have asked you?

Tats, I’m interested in buying some art, can you send me the latest sales PDF?

Thanks for your time, Tats!

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