Asahi Newspaper: Kumamoto Edition. June 4, 2012.

Asahi Newspaper: Kumamoto edition. June 4, 2012.

Stand Out Individual. American Mangaka Exhibition

25-year-old Zachary Johnson, an American ALT from Illinois currently working at Kawaura Middle and Elementary schools in Amakusa, organized and exhibited ten American comic artists at the Amakusa Cultural Exchange Center.  Johnson studied contemporary art history as well as arts business in college. "Artworks and artists are intertwined. Through these artworks, I want people to feel the humanity of the artists," he commented on the exhibition.

The work on exhibition focused on works by artists born in the 1980's and 90's. The pieces were different from general Japanese manga in their simple panel division, but the fact that the work inspired thoughts of pictures books and woodcuts, and in their humorous touches and other qualities, they made each of the individual artists stand out. Of the ten, Johnson had only met two in person. He discovered the remaining eight online. Similarly, nine of the ten artists' works were sent and received electronically.

Johnson has been interested in Japan, China, and Asian nations in general since childhood. During high school, he spent two months in Niigata prefecture on a home stay. Japanese architecture in particular, has been an interest of his. "I love Karatsu Castle. It's small size and age are really nice." He arrived in Japan last August.  At Kawaura Middle School he works to incorporate art into the classroom. Speaking on the satisfaction that comes with life in Amakusa surrounded by the sea and mountains, he said, "I've never lived in a place this beautiful before." Though it's the same country as Niigata and the sight-seeing areas of Tokyo, he said he finds happiness in the fact that unlike those places, here strangers talk to each other.

I put up Inside the Head of Jeremy Sorese (ジェレミ・ソリスの頭の中）on December 18th at Kawaura Jr. High School, one of my schools . It features pages of his sketchbook drawn while he was living in Europe last year. I'm excited to be sharing his outstanding work with the students for the remainder of the month.

The first submission to i identify as by a high schooler! Submit your own self-definition. Check out the how-to at: http://iidentifyas.tumblr.com/

Kumamoto Nichi Newspaper. October 25, 2013.

"Before I die I want to..." Written on a blackboard placed at the Kawaura-machi Nakamura Community Center are those words along with the hopes of local residents. Zachary Johnson, twenty-five from Illinois in the US, working as an assistant language teacher in Kawaura, created the wall. According to Johnson, it's part of a public art project which began in New Orleans, US. In over forty countries, various people have installed the same kind of project, he said. Some hopes written by Kawaura residents were, "I want to become rich", "I want to have lots of dogs", etc. Johnson stated, "I want to give people a way to express the dreams they normally keep silent." The piece can be seen until the 29th. 

I've had enough with the media's disparaging use of the word "hipster" towards today's young creatives. I think it's time to take back our narrative and defend all the great aspects of our lifestyle. 

Anyway, I wrote an article this week on the subject: Taking Back Bohemia

Image credit: Jon Wolfe. Logan Square, Chicago. 2012.

"A gay man was here. November 13th" " Whether ignored or invisible, social minorities exist in Japan. Through this project, I hope to create change by bringing these people to light. I use my own presence to represent the existence of other gay men in my community. At the same time, I wonder about invisible others: the hidden poor and homeless, trans people, etc. I invite anyone else to speak out about the qualities that make them and others like them different and ignored. If you want to lend your voice to this project, send me a message with an idea how. International participants are welcome. I can send you a custom PDF or mail you a cut stencil for you to use. Stand up and tell people that you are here.