Rue Sakayama is a multidisciplinary artist and photographer living and working in Providence, RI. She graduated from RISD FAV(Rhode Island School of Design, Film Animation Video) with a bachelor in Fine Arts in 2006. She is a contract commercial photographer with clients ranging from small independent artists and designers to larger commercial companies. Sakayama's artistic practice has a strong focus on craft spanning multiple mediums from photography to textile and fiber arts.
She uses her art practice to explore the spaces-in-between, the feelings of otherness that are experienced in a society that often lacks a nuanced viewpoint. She examines this otherness with a commitment to aesthetics, levity as a way to invite the viewer in. The first step in Sakayama’s practice is to ensure that her work is visually compelling in composition, shape, and color. Though she embraces formalism in this way, she is also compelled by the stories that can be imagined by the provocative nature of her work.
Rue was in the Dirt Palace Storefront Window Gallery this September - October. Below is a conversation between
her and artist and curator Brooke Goldstein.
RS: (I really enjoy the way you set the tone of this question and your really careful observations! Thank you for such care.)
My answer comes with a bit of a chuckle- because this very public facing piece isn’t quite as provocative as I initially intended! I was conscious of what I was putting in the windows, in fact to me, this work was much more mild than other work I make. It was intentional to make this work focused on hands/gestures and composition relative to the space that it was being installed. I wanted the work in the windows to stand out- which is why I chose to black off the majority of the windows and add very small led lights that focused on the work, pulling in a passer-by’s eye.
BG: One thing I really liked when reviewing this piece in conjunction with your previous work is
that you continuously focus on arms and hands. I particularly adore the sewn piece on your website
that has 5 arms draping down entangled with one another while the hands grasp on toeach other in a meaningful embrace. I found myself wondering if you were sending us a message
through the hands, maybe a message about autonomy or choice. As if you want us to consider what the hands are pointing out and how the arms control the direction we look. I also felt like maybe we are supposed to figure it out ourselves, you gave us the opportunity to explore and now it's up to us
if we want to go down that road. That being said, do you want to tell us more about the arms and hands and what they mean to you or do in your work?
We often unintentionally share so much about our inner thoughts and feelings with the gestures we make- big or small. Hand and foot movements are things I often notice when I’m in conversation with others, they symbolically and literally communicate our fears, anxieties, joys and desires.
Hand gestures or postures have been used in artwork for-ever to depict statements, to share information, to evoke a feeling. Some of the most recognizable depictions of hand gestures that have been repeated throughout time to communicate something greater than the image itself are in religious paintings. To be clear, this window piece full of hands is not referencing any religious hand gestures. The hands in this piece are both an exploration of the feelings of desire, connectedness and an experimentation in making work at this scale. These are some of the largest hands I have constructed to date!
BG: In your artist bio you talk about formalism as far as relating to the composition, shape and color in your work. I see that very clearly especially in the sewn works from your AS220 show titled The Answer is Still No… and a few other demons, as well as, your collection of photographs titled No Gods No Monsters. There are a lot of visual references to religious imagery as well as mimicking of pornographic positioning in these pieces. Knowing many artists that grew up in religious families where sexuality was vilified or repressed I wonder what is your relationship to religion and does that play into how you see sex and sexuality as it pertains to your work?
RS: Despite not being raised in a religious household, I have been acutely aware that religion, especially christianity is this very influential thing in our broader culture. I find that a lot of religious iconography carries a sense of power and many depictions have an eroticism that simultaneously appears repressed. My work is appropriating some of the trappings of religious iconography, not as a direct commentary on religion itself, but as a recognition of the power and beauty inherent in religious paintings. As you noted in your question- I am playing with the juxtaposition of “pornographic positioning” alongside religious imagery as well as working with a very tactile medium. I love exploring the tension between the depiction of a subject matter that is vaguely or explicitly erotic and working with fabric that is full of texture beckoning to be touched (who doesn’t enjoy exploring out what a texture or material feels like between their fingers?).
BG: Otherness is also something you touch upon in your artist bio “She uses her art practice to explore the spaces-in-between, the feelings of otherness that are experienced in a society that often lacks a nuanced viewpoint. She examines this otherness with a commitment to aesthetics, levity as a way to invite the viewer in”. My relationship to feeling othered is quite nuanced as I’ve experienced it often in the company of people and groups that I'm supposed to feel the most support from and intimacy with. Would you be willing to expand upon your thoughts and/or experiences of otherness and what about that drives your artistic practice?
RS: I think it is a fairly universal deep desire to feel understood, seen, known and appreciated for being one's truest self and thus, connected to others. This deep desire inherently creates room to feel the space between oneself and others. My intersectional identity- racial, gender and upbringing - live in the in between. I am someone who has often had my identity questioned (generally out of curiosity) by strangers- encouraging a feeling of otherness. In many ways this has enabled me to forge connections with individuals who similarly reside in an in-between realm. Regardless, I hold the belief that complete understanding of another or being completely understood is actually impossible. In essence, my art practice becomes a bridge between my inner world and the outside, helping me process and make sense of my own feelings in ways that words alone often cannot capture.
BG: Fiber vs Photo…It's so cool to me that you have a duality to your practice in the sense that you work in both photography and fiber art. Formally your photography and fiber work have many similarities but as a textile artist myself, I’m also a terrible photographer. Like really bad. So it’s interesting to me how you switch back and forth from a medium, fiber, that is so tactile to working with photography that looks like it's so removed from touch, in my limited knowledge and experience. Can you talk about that?
RS: A little background. When I was kid, my mother was a textile designer and had studied weaving in college. Fabric, texture, and composition surrounded my upbringing. She also taught me at a fairly young age how to use a camera. And while it might not be the most obvious, texture and composition is very much part of film photography. As a teen I developed my own film, printing in b&w and color as well as collaging negatives to create new compositions. This kind of photography is quite tactile! While I have since moved on to working with a digital camera which the process of actual image making is less craft, there are aspects of my art practice with photography that are still rather tactile- or at least I think so! This part is in the creation of the actual composition. What I mean is- playing with costume, make up, planning out space, considering the physical textures in the image and adapting as I create.
BG: Skin and hair are extremely prominent in this piece as well as your previous bodies of work. The way you choose monochromatic damask fabrics to show different skin tones in this piece and some of your previous works is brilliant. This reminds me of all the little hairs and surface bumps of our skin and points out the vulnerability of the people and bodies you illustrate in your sewn work. The maximalist way you sew lines for each strand of hair into these pieces builds up the surface to feel so alive, so human. What fascinates you about skin and hair that lead to your beautiful depictions of it?
from your dreams i came, Detail Stitched fabric, 2021
(I kind of can’t get over the flow of your comments and questions- they are just so right on!)
RS: Texture!! I am completely fascinated by texture. Slubs in fabric are like the keloid scars on skin, monochromatic prints are like elegant depictions of skin texture. What textile lover can’t stop themselves from wanting to touch an intriguing fabric!? Working with fabric and using a sewn line to draw is a continuation of an exploration of fibers(this includes skin and hair). Our skin and hair are our own textiles…
BG: I can’t help but think your work would translate into an incredible animation style but I also know that would literally take forever to make. Since you have a degree from RISD in FAV (Film Animation Video) have you or would you ever animate your sewn work into a film?
RS: I have thought about this and I will likely never do it- for the exact reason you mentioned, time! I have thought about what it would be like to make really big weird flat puppets….
the fight is over, stitched fabric, 2015
BG: What are you most excited about in your work moving forward? Are there any shows or projects you have coming up you can share with us at this time?
RS: I am most excited about building out and moving into a studio space- this space would allow me to have a bigger photo and sewing studio and my hope is to finish a few projects that have been in process for a couple of years. One is a long piece- inspired by fabric emakimono(japanese narrative scrolls) that I started at a residency and hope to continue to work on. It's currently approaching 6 feet in length - right to left and perhaps one day I will share it!
BG: This is my favorite question to ask artists every time I get to conduct an interview or moderate a panel discussion and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say…In general or as an artist what’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given? RS: Ten or so years ago a distant friend of mine visited me. I was casually showing her some of my sewn work- one which was a piece that she had modeled for me when I was visiting her a few years prior. This was a rare occasion for me, as I wasn’t actually showing any of my work to anyone. I was creating in a vacuum and shyly showing it when someone asked to see what I was up to. She enthusiastically and forcefully yelled at me : Show your work to other people. ****************************** Brooke Erin Goldstein is a textile artist, independent curator and teaching artist living and working in North Providence RI. She/They is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in Textiles. Goldstein’s quilted room installation experiences have shown both regionally and nationally since 2014. To see more of her work check out her website brookeeringoldstein.com or find her on instagram @brooke.erin.goldstein.
