If ever there was a born artist, Satoshi Dáte is it. The incarnation of a creative spirit, he is a man who creates in every aspect of his life. Although he originally entered the working world within the realms of fashion, he soon ditched the busy consumerist world, finding that working with the ‘ideals of beauty’ neither helped him nor others. It wasn’t his path. It was then that he moved toward becoming the artist he is today.
Fashion Destroys Nature and Lives
“Fashion destroys nature and is destructive to our lives,” explains Dáte. “People are manipulated by their idea of beauty. Eager to be beautiful by their ideas, they forget about natural beauty. People buy things just because of the brand. And they waste so much of energy, time and resources,” he explains. “It is not food; it is not necessary things for our life. Of course, it is important to wear beautiful and suitable clothes to each of us to express ourselves, but there are so many of no-soul clothes, bad design and just wasting.”
Despite his aversion to it, Dáte says that his work is not a reaction to the consumerist ways of today; instead, it is a diversion from them. “At the moment I would like to focus on myself to practice to see myself. Consumerism is another way of not looking at oneself.”
Experimenting With a Variety of Mediums
While Dáte works with a range of mediums – from paintings and graphics to music – and transitions easily from one to the next, he says that it’s not the vessel that’s important here, but the message. He has no favorites when it comes to art styles, which means that they never confine him. If there’s one thing he avoids, it’s being confined.
“I do not have any preference, but music can be the most direct way to approach the people,” explains Dáte, when talking about the expressions he favors. “Performance art can also be a direct way as I can express in the different places from one space.”
So, how does Dáte hone his skill? It’s quite simple. “I sketch almost every day. I also use the five senses to appreciate things; even taste and smell. I sometimes analyze what each thing is,” he explains. “I also apply these rules within my relationships with other people. I keep practicing at any given time or any moment.”
Portraits Beyond Our Thinking or Senses
However, when a person first comes into contact with Dáte’s work, it’s likely to be his remarkable portraits that leap off the page and cement themselves in the back of their mind. Each one of these pictures is brimming with life, soul, and emotion.
The eyes stare bleakly out at the world, telling their own tales and weaving narratives that will stay with you long after you see them; each work of art a masterpiece. Dáte himself admits that these pictures tell a story; if only in an ‘abstract way.’ This indescribable feature of the portraits is what makes them so sensational.
When questioned on what he believes makes a strong and memorable portrait, Dáte answers with a single word –’ existence.’ It is this state of living that he is attempting to capture and somehow convey to the world. “If I have a desire to capture, it becomes like a spiritual ceremony. I would like to absorb the person and express them onto the canvas,” says Dáte. “There is something beyond our thinking or our senses. It is something very important between the abstract world and the physical world. It is there we find a key for our life – what we need to do, and what it is to be a human being.”
