SPARC Gallery Presents “INAKA” by Mike Saijo

The South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC) is pleased to present our next exhibition, INAKA, by LA Based Artist Mike Saijo in the SPARC Gallery at the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. Additionally the gallery will present an evening conversation with Mike, writer Naomi Hirahara, and Historian William Deverall on February 25th at 7:00 p.m.

Mike Saijo was born in 1974, and grew up in the suburbs outside of Los Angeles. He started out looking at many books and magazines and later was influenced by graffiti art and Oshuji-Japanese calligraphy.

After high school he made his first ‘book piece’ using pages of the New Testament bible, and printing an image of Senator Daniel Inouye he found from a history book and began to make art about ‘making history‘. He attended Pasadena Art Center College of Design and has exhibited at MOCA, and in the permanent collection at the Orange County Museum of Agriculture and Nikkei History at Cal State Fullerton, as well as University of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. (MOPLA)

Mike Saijo uses an innovative process applying Xerox technology and pages from discarded books to create what can be viewed as post-modern conceptual painting. He juxtaposes textual fields with imagery of personal and historical significance often selected by an intuitive process. Saijo explores the notions of “representation and history” by forming constructions and site-specific installations—with the text of actual book pages juxtaposing imagery of historical incidents and events which have had significant local impact.

In the exhibition INAKA, he explores the language of Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. He juxtaposes the text from the book, Man’s Search for Meaning, with images of Japanese Bonsai trees and depictions of Japanese gardens, to articulate a history of Japanese Gardeners in Southern California.

Mike Saijo was selected as a public artist to design one of SPARC’s Art Boxes in South Pasadena. His Box is located at the corner of Fair Oaks Ave and Monterey Road. It depicts a Bonsai Tree with a background pattern, along with a quote form Viktor Frankl.

SPARC, in partnership with the South Pasadena Public Library, will hold a special evening presentation/conversation with Mike Saijo, Japanese writer Naomi Hirahara, who has written mystery books using a Japanese Gardener Mas Arai, as a reluctant detective who solves murders. Professor and Historian William Deverall, moderator will join them.

The evening event will take place on Thursday, February 25th, at 7:00 p.m. at the South Pasadena Public Library Community Room, 1100 Oxley St. South Pasadena.

The SPARC Gallery is located at 1121 Mission Street, South Pasadena.

SPARC Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or by appointment. Please call the Chamber office at (626) 441-2339 before arriving.