all you want to know about mimi kato » Studio

New work uploaded!

admin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:04:50 +0000

Please see the new work uploaded on this site. Go to work, click on “One ordinary day of an ordinary town”. These images are from a work I worked during my MacDowell residency.

MacDowell Colony 7/13 – 9/7 : Part 1

admin — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:05:21 +0000

I don’t know where to start. I just have to say that what I experienced this summer was something magical. Something that I will never forget for my life time.

I was in the woods for eight weeks at MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. MacDowell colony is truly a jewel of the world. This is an artist colony that founded in 1907 by Marian and Edward MacDowell. During the period of the residency, we are guaranteed the time of creative freedom with absolute quietness and no disturbance. No one can visit your studio without your invitation. You are surrounded by the incredible green light and sound created by the woods. I have never known that there are so many sounds in the woods. And same time, I have never known what the absolute silence was.

MacDowell colony provides individual artist (visual artist, writer, composer, interdisciplinary artist, and architect) with a cabin that fulfill the need of the project. I was in NEF studio which is one of their few live-in studio. NEF is a photographer’s studio which provides almost all the needs in this medium including a large shooting space and darkroom.

NEF studio

NEF Studio : view from main windows

NEF Studio : view of the shooting space from the sleeping loft, darkroom locates at the other side of the door

I have been working on the series of images that are actually continuous series of “One Afternoon”. The working title “One day series” is a nine panel piece that critically depicts the activity and life style of people throughout the day. “One Afternoon” will be the center three panels and morning panels will be on its left and evening panels will be on its right. When it is done, it will be 78″ x 32′. The largest piece of mine. I worked on morning panels in Michigan, and I wanted to finish shooting the figures of all nine panels at MacDowell. And NEF did provide me time and a space for it. I still do need to work on this project, but I basically could finish almost all the basic shooting at NEF studio. Hopefully the piece will be completed in this year. Keep checking for images of the brand new work to come on this site.

Continue to Part 2 >>

Another photoshoot at sunrise

admin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:26:48 +0000

I am still working at oil pump location. I have been checking the weather forecast, but you can never trust it since New Mexico weather is unpredictable. It changes so quickly. This time I was hopeing to shoot a couple of figures but the sun never came up. It turned out to be a cloudy day. It is not so much fun getting up around 5:00am, but I have seen the most beautiful sunrise in my life. Also by doing this project, I have learned so much about the sun and area around Roswell. Hopefully I can get this project done before leaving Roswell.

before sunrise at photo location

winter IS here

admin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:04:41 +0000

My exhibition is up and my residency is about to end. I have about 2 months left. Time goes so quickly and I can’t believe that this will end soon… Well, it was the incredible year and I have no regrets.

Anyway, I am trying to work as much as I can before I leave this place. I have two more projects I want to finish. One of them is the on-going Hubbit project. Right now I am shooting in front of oil pump about 20 miles out of Roswell. It is a beautiful location with many antelopes running in the field. I am shooting at sunrise, which is one of the most beautiful time of the day. But the thing is that winter is here and it is extremly cold… yes, I am in desert climate. And I am wearing Hubbit costume, which is one long sleeve cotton shirt and thin white tights… I feel almost naked. Yesterday I went out there to shoot and it was 24F. The weather forecast said it was 24 but felt like 19F. It did feel like 19F. By the time I finished the shoot, my legs were numb and I couldn’t feel a thing… I hope that pictures will come out good so that I don’t need to go back so many times.

OH NOooo!

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:47:42 +0000

Finally my photographs came back from the printing and mounting company. I opened the box and found out that the hanging bars on all the photographs fell off….. How am I supposed to hang them??? And the mounting job was poorly done….

It will be a battle tomorrow talking to this company. Wish me luck….

The exhibition still opens this Friday though.

so many bullet shells

admin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:10:46 +0000

shot gun shell

Roswell is pretty and I am loving it, but there are some things here that make you feel that you are in the wild west. If you drive a couple of miles out of Roswell, you will see a whole lot of nothing. And in this “nothing land”, people go out and practice shooting. The bad thing about this is that I am shooting my photographs (not guns) in these fields, and I heard so many gun shots pretty close to me. Right now, my project is about these evolved bunnies living secretly in the lands of New Mexico, and I dress up like bunny to do my photo shooting. So, for them, I am a really good hunting target to shoot. Anyway, I found many empty shells on the ground and started to collect them. 22, Winchester 270, 726, 30-30, shotgun shells, etc. All kinds of them. Coming from Japan, possessing of gun still startles me and I am not appreciating it at all, but I found the shells to be beautiful objects. I am using these to make one of the tools that the bunnies use. I am not telling you what exactly I am making. You will see it in the exhibition in November in Roswell Museum of Art. (I think).