U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship Program
US-Japan Creative Artist Biographies

2006 Artists

Composer

Edward Schocker January 15-July 3, 2006

Edward plans to research several aspects of Japanese music during his residency. These include: the design, construction, history and tonal properties of traditional Japanese musical instruments, study of the various tuning systems used in Japanese traditional music in comparison with the Equal Temperament tunings used in modern Western music, notation techniques and contemporary compositions by Japanese composers. Influenced by his exposure to Japanese music and musical instruments, Edward will continue to work on a series of compositions, reflective of his thoughts and images of Japan, entitled “Wind Dharma.”
His website can be viewed at http://www.edwardschocker.com

Photographer

Dean Sameshima March 2-August 28, 2006

Dean is a Japanese-American photographer who explores the physical sites and atmospheres of gay male meeting places. His photographs both document and preserve an aspect of sub-cultural practice normally kept out of public and artistic view. Dean is interested in continuing this kind of documentation in Japan; viewing the Shinjuku gay area, its inhabitants and habitations, through the dispassionate focus of his camera lens. He wants to consider the connections between public and private, as well as the exclusive and inclusive aspects of himself as a Japanese American racially indistinguishable from the rest of the Japanese but culturally a westerner. He plans to work with photographer Sakiko Nomura. His website can be viewed at http://www.deansameshima.com

Sculptor, Visual Arts

Karen LaMonte April 29-November 22, 2006

Karen is a sculptress who believes that “the language of clothing is the language of society,” and that the clothes we wear define how we are perceived and how we perceive ourselves. The Japanese kimono, she claims, is a consciously fashioned sartorial expression born in the late 19th century when Japan began to grapple with the influx of Western concepts and products. Karen intends to make a study of the kimono, especially its role in modern Japan as a cultural construct of “Japanese-ness.” During her time in Japan, she will begin work on new sculptures inspired by the kimono.
Her website can be viewed at http://www.karenlamonte.com

Poet

Laura Sims June 20-December 28, 2006

Laura is a poet who plans to write a cycle of poems related to Japanese folklore, particularly those dealing with ghost stories. She will visit various areas rich in local folklore to gather tales, both ancient and modern, of the supernatural and its effect on the living. Some of the aspects of the Japanese ghost stories she plans to consider are their relevancy to the contemporary age, their attitudes toward women, their appeal to westerners, and their alteration according to locality and time.”

Sculptor

Sheri Simons June 23-December 19, 2006

Sheri has been involved in the creation of large-scale kinetic sculptures since 1985. Through the course of working with large wooden forms, she has become interested in the Japanese portable o-mikoshi shrines utilized throughout Japan in the matsuri festivals. Sheri has arranged to apprentice with a well-known o-mikoshi builder in Tochigi Prefecture during part of her residency. She will also travel about Japan attending various matsuri and investigate the ways in which the o-mikoshi creates spectacle through its movement, sound and audience participation.

US-Japan Creative Artist BiographiesUS-Japan Creative Artist Biographies