Artist Interview No.1 -BOXER JUNTARO- vol.2

#Art #BOXERJUNTARO #Interview #Japan #Osaka #Picture #supreme #Tokyo #TOKYOURBANART 2021.05.20

In the last article (https://thatisgood.jp/en/artistinterview001-a/), we talked about BOXER JUNTARO’s activities to date and his thoughts on creating his works. This time, we would like to introduce you to the episodes of his works that will be exhibited at the “BOXER JUNTARO SOLO EXHIBITION Curated by TOKYO URBAN ART” from May 19 (Wed) to May 25 (Tue), 2021.

【BOXER JUNTARO SOLO EXHIBITION Curated by TOKYO URBAN ART】

※This exhibition has been closed.

Period: Wednesday, May 19, 2021 – Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Opening hours: 11:00 – 19:00 *Open until 20:00 on Saturdays and Sundays, until 18:00 on the last day
Location: “no-ma”
Address: Rise Bldg. 1F, 13-17 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Access: 5 min. walk from Hachiko Exit of Shibuya Station
※The opening hours may be shortened or cancelled depending on the situation of the spread of the covid-19 outbreak.

I heard that this solo exhibition includes not only new works, but also works that had a “special episode” that will be exhibited for the first time in a long time.

“That’s right. Actually, when I had a solo exhibition before, the police confiscated these.”

In 2017, JUNTARO decided to have a solo exhibition that would visit several locations. When he was looking for a motif for his new work, he decided he wanted to draw a motif from a poster he did with a Supreme collaboration artist. “My stance is street. I wear Supreme, too.” With this idea in mind, he started to work on the project, which led to the exhibition.

Supreme motif t-shirt that he actually worked on.

However, one evening when he was about to go to his exhibition the next day, he received a phone call while he was eating. The call was from the manager of the gallery.
The manager of the gallery said, “They took all your works. The police came with a warrant…”

According to what JUNTARO told me, Supreme complained to the police, and about 10 policemen came and took the works. The charge was trademark infringement, which is a crime against the manufacture of inferior copies.
At the time, he didn’t know much about it and was quite shocked because he simply wanted to create a good picture. In addition, he had not traced the work, but had “twisted” himself into it by handwriting.

I was interrogated and asked a lot of personal questions, including the names of my grandfather and grandmother. When I went to the police in the first place, they already had about two Town Pages worth of material ready and they said, “You’re pretty famous, aren’t you?” lol

He wondered if it was to show an example, and thought, “I’m sure I was the only one who even wrote the box logo,” but more than anything he felt, “But it’s freedom of expression!”

On the other hand, he felt sorry for the fans who were planning to come to the exhibition after it was cut short due to the confiscation of his works. (By the way, He didn’t explain what had happened because he didn’t want to make it a big mess.)

From that point on, he felt that “it wasn’t a battle or anything, I just drew what I wanted to draw,” and without hiring a lawyer, he went to the police himself and continued to convey his intentions. What he felt was that the police wanted him to somehow say that his work contained the trademark. But what he drew was art, including the logo. One by one, he corrected what was written in the report.

It’s not that I don’t respect it, it’s just that I created this work because I have the freedom of expression. It’s 100% sparkling feelings, the way a child would doodle. That’s what it is.

After going to the police several times and explaining the situation to them, the police began to relent and said some things to him that made them understand his feelings. For example, they suggested, “We would like to return the works to you if possible, and if you remove the trademark, we can return them to you,” but he continued to refuse.

If I allow even one of the police’s intentions to get in the way of my work, it means that I think it’s not art, and that I drew it while thinking it was a bad thing. If I allow even one of the police’s intentions to get in the way of my work, it means that I think it’s not art, and that I drew it while thinking it was a bad thing. First of all, the logo and everything else is art. That’s what I’ve been trying to convey consistently. They wanted me to admit that it was a trademark, so they repeatedly called it “trademark” during the interrogation, but I denied them each time and made them say “picture” again.

I didn’t hear from them for the last few months, and then suddenly they called me and told me the case was dropped. It took a lot of time, but the result was that the case was dropped and the artwork was returned to him. I don’t know if he won the case or not, but I felt that it was the result of Mr. JUNTARO’s continuous efforts to explain his intentions.

He also told the police that he wanted to talk to Supreme directly, but was told that it would be difficult and that the police would be the only contact point, so he did not try to contact Supreme directly until the end.

There are multiple types of patterns he has worked on.

Using real items as motifs is not an uncommon approach in street art. However, as long as there is an original, and if it is a big company, I think that sometimes the artist’s pure feelings may be contradicted by the decision. I asked him if he would still draw again if there was something he wanted to draw in the future.

His works are always filled with his passion for street art.

For me, it’s the same as drawing Mount Fuji. Well, if there’s something I want to draw, I’ll do it. I don’t think I would dare to do it, but if there is something exciting or interesting that I think I can express, I will draw it.
Also, to be honest, I’ve seen people take a similar approach, but they remove the logo. That means there’s something awkward about the work, right?
In the world, There are quite a few artists that I find “What? You’re more likely to be sued!
Furthermore, there are people who pay money to settle a lawsuit, but I don’t think that’s what artists do. I think those people are creating a product, not a work of art. But that’s a difficult question to define.

So I also asked him if he had any specific wishes for the law or the current system of the world.

Hmmm… I think there will be some bad copies, and there will be people who get it wrong, and I do believe there should be laws.
I don’t even know if I’m right (about this case). I think I’m right.
But I don’t want to blame anyone else, so if it happens again, I’ll just do it again.
That’s why I’ve been keeping my mouth shut about it because I’ve had doubts about talking about it myself. I didn’t want it to come across differently if I posted it on my SNS or something.

So, for the first time, he told us about these works and the events that took place.

This is different from the technical point of view in this story, but in Haruki Murakami’s novels, for example, products that actually exist in the world often appear.
Even if they are not important in the story, they help to give a clearer impression to the reader in expressing the scene. After all, art is not complete unless it contains something real. I think this is especially true for street art.

On the other hand, there are people who work as contents holders for a living, and it is also true that the latter have their own way of thinking.
Of course, there are cases where the approach of appropriation (meaning citation) has been approved, but I wonder if the case of JUNTARO is a rare case.

After all, it is very difficult to draw boundaries. However, one of the roots of street art is that it is a gray product that is created to pass through the eyes of those who control it, and there is beauty in that borderline.

By the way, BOXER JUNTARO had a contrasting episode.
It seems that when he was drawing a certain motif (a person), he received a request for an official project of that motif. I can’t go into details yet, but…. It is the opposite of the aforementioned case, but I think it is an example of JUNTARO’s purity blossoming in the right direction.

He say about it,

Well, I guess it’s the result of continuing to draw. When I think about it, social networking sites (the fact that my postings got noticed and I got a request) isn’t so bad either lol
There are people who draw like copyists, but I don’t want to argue with them, I want to prove it by continuing to draw.

Since it was an incident that you would never experience as an artist, there must have been many people who were wondering how it actually happened. In this episode, we were able to hear about one aspect of such an incident, and it was a very interesting talk.

Even so, Mr. Juntaro, who never speaks negatively about brands or the police, said that he might paint again if he finds an intriguing motif.
At a time when some people might dare to do things for publicity, his attitude of choosing motifs based on his own interests and sending them out as his own works gave me the impression of an artist who truly represents contemporary art as street culture.

So, in the next installment, I’ll introduce you to the encounters and episodes on the streets of Osaka that cultivated BOXER JUNTARO’s sensibility, as well as the episodes overseas that made him jump into painting!

Profile

BOXER JUNTARO
Artist
instagram : https://www.instagram.com/boxerjuntaro/?hl=ja

He began his career as a self-taught painter. His artwork with simple, strong lines and vivid colors has attracted attention in a wide range of fields. He has provided graphics for many brands and famous artists. In addition, he has gained tremendous support from the street scene and is involved in a wide range of activities, including constant events involving many people.

Text: THAT IS GOOD Editorial department, Koga