Fonda Yoshimoto

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, the CSULB Potter's Guild presented artist and guest speaker Fonda Yoshimoto. Yoshimoto presented a slide show and a few videos of her work and spoke on how she was inspired to create her art.


She said, " I am interested in finding the moments where private and public life intersect, where the lines between what is individual and what is universal become blurred. I focus on tragic events, quiet moments, illness, beauty and attachment. Cultural history is transferred and recreated through language recorded in words, material, and our bodies. I aim to investigate and share my experience through creating artifacts and focusing on material as life cycle."

One of my favorite pieces was based on a series of installations she did based on a near death incident. The piece was completed in 2009 and titled, "Collision". In this piece, a mother and young child reside in a small home at the bottom of a large hill. One day, a very large boulder threatens their lives as it rolls down the hill and smashes into the small home, where the mother and daughter survive.

As shown in "One More to Chase Away the Night", (photo shown below), the home of the mother and daughter has been recreated by Yoshimoto with missing window panes and scars built into the home. She illuminates the haggard home with lights to keep away the impending doom of darkness. I admire the single night stand left near the home, that one extra light to keep away the dark. In positioning the night light in such a way near the instillation, that it creates the large brooding hill in the corner from whence the boulder rolled down.

"One More to Chase Away the Night"
Photo taken by Fonda Yoshimoto

"Her pieces are so strong, meaningful and thought provoking" said student Nancy Rodriguez. "One can really connect with her work and the message she displays through it."


Yoshimoto went on to say, "When people view my work, I want to use the pain and beauty in my heart to swell up in people. I want them to connect to these experiences and not only see them, but to feel them."

Artist Fonda Yoshimoto
Photo by Valerie Graham

Yoshimoto's work definitely leaves the viewer with a great resonance after experiencing all of the emotion she puts into her artwork.


Fonda can be contacted by email: fmyoshimoto@gmail.com