Scott Oshima is a multi-media artist born and raised in the portion of Los Angeles known as the San Fernando Valley, (*raises roof* 818 IN THE HOUSE!!!). He now resides in Northeast Los Angeles in the Atwater Village neighborhood. In his family, photography was always in the picture, and so was his urge to explore the arts. Undeterred by his Los Angeles public school’s lack of photography classes, Scott went on to study photography in college and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts. From then on, Scott has also ventured into the likes of writing, sculpture and video art forms. He currently is following his creative desires creating artwork based in Los Angeles and working as the Program Coordinator at Venice Arts , a non-profit that teaches low-income youth how to tell stories using photography, filmmaking, and other forms of media art.
As an artist, Scott draws his inspiration from a variety of different arenas. Some of his latest work has transpired from his fascination with geology and Los Angeles' history, as well as the automobile-centered culture of the city. When asked about his favorite part of Los Angeles, he replied with a burst of timid laughter, “The freeways!” Too
many people that are familiar with the Los Angeles freeway system, a response like that can invoke cringeworthy emotions. To observe the things that run through the mind of an LA commuter who has spent the last hour going 3 miles would be an interesting feat to say the least. When explaining the reasoning of his infatuation Scott said, "Growing up in a city that's so car focused and has such a complicated car history... A lot of my sense of self or my sense of identity or my independence sort of came out of driving...and there was that sense of freedom that I think you sometimes, over the years stuck in traffic, forget." We here at essenceLA, being LA bred, surely agree that there is no feeling that can compare to the sense of liberation gained when our driver's licenses were obtained. It was his enthusiasm in the LA freeway system as well as his interest in “guerilla art” forms that inspired his up and coming project. Scott plans on installing photographs on the pedestrian bridges located over the 110 freeway that display the relationship between the city’s traffic and his experiences as a commuter. When Scott isn't teaching or inching his way into artistic expression while in traffic, he also likes to experience some disco decompression at Oil Can Harry's located in the neighborhood of Studio City. When asked to recommend an art piece, establishment, or place to go in Los Angeles, he said this is one of his favorite places to go. He can freely dance under the disco ball and have the option to sip something strong underneath a massive cowboy hat. When asked about why he likes this place so much, Scott said, "It's really unpretentious. Everyone's there just to have a good time. No one is there to judge you and people there are really genuinely friendly and inviting in a way I don't think I've ever experienced in gay clubs—where, similar to my experience in the art world... I either felt like one of the few Asian American kids in the joint or I felt objectified by the mostly gay, white community." Recognizing this exclusiveness as an issue not only in the LGBT community but in the arts community as well, Scott is proud to be working for an organization that is actively making the arts accessible to our Los Angeles community.
Scott had much more to say about his life as artist and being a home grown Angeleno in the interview below. Definitely give it a listen and check out what he has to say about exclusivity within his social communities. We at essenceLA agree that this exclusiveness and lack of diversity are unfortunately alive and well in many art spaces around Los Angeles. Our stance on this issue is what prompted this blog into existence. We are very grateful to have the opportunity to feature artists like Scott, and do our part to shed light on artists who recognize this disparity and actively searched ways to combat it.
The photos and projects depicted in this article belong to Scott Oshima. To see some more of Scott's work, you can check out his website here. To hear the interview, simply hit the play button below or visit our Soundcloud page here.
