Yoshihiro Taniguchi’s Digmeout

Images courtesy of Digmeout

Art director Yoshihiro Taniguchi took two unlikely elements—undiscovered artists and corporate radio—and bound them together in an unheralded, wholly unexpected, and mutually benificial way.

In 1994, Taniguchi was working for FM802, Osaka’s number two radio station, and trying to think of creative ways of challenging the number one station when he struck upon a novel way of expanding the medium: “Radio equals hearing,” Taniguchi recalls. “So we would do something visual. Visual radio.”

Taniguchi began auditioning not musicians but local artists, and he then commissioned the best that he found to produce posters, stickers, channel guides, and any kind of visual expression of the radio station he could think of. He labeled the project “Digmeout,” referring to the process of unearthing an unseen artist and exposing them to the outside world.

Thirteen years later, Digmeout has become a sort of headhunting agency for artists. We say “sort of” because a traditional headhunting agency connects workers with available slots at a singular company, whereas Digmeout connects artists with something less tangible, but more important: success. Success for artists can come in many forms, from mass exposure to critical validation to corporate commissions, and Digmeout nurtures them through every step of the way.

As of 2007, Digmeout has expanded from its original “auditions” to encompass books, an artist coffeehouse, corporate branding projects, and international gallery showings. The fortysomething Taniguchi tells Theme how this all came about.

Theme: How did Digmeout progress from the initial artist auditions into the entity it is today?
Digmeout: In July of 2001, I published the first Digmeout book, which features five of the artists we found through our audition. It was this book alone that really changed the direction of the Digmeout project. We started getting contacted by companies, ad agencies, and galleries all over the world.

In April of 2002, we opened a gallery/cafe called “Digmeout Cafe” in the Minami Horie district of Osaka. The purpose of the Digmeout Cafe is to have an open space where young artists can hang out and put together art shows or other special events and activities. The cafe quickly became a hotspot for young creators to share their thoughts, ideas, stories, and other information.

In 2002, we had our first big corporate collaboration with Resona Bank in Japan, called “RESONART.” We were asked to create the designs for ATM bank cards using three of our artists. To date, 14 of our artists have designed for RESONART, with over 500,000 cards distributed in Japan. Most of the customers who choose the artists’ designs over the standard bank designs are the younger female generation. Resona Bank is very satisfied with this result, and since then we’ve managed to land corporate clients such as Sony and Nissan. April of 2004, we evolved the Digmeout project into an artist agency called “Digmeout Factory,” featuring the artists we find through our annual auditions. The same year, we had our first U.S. gallery show at the Compound Gallery in Portland, Oregon. Through this overseas gallery show, Digmeout’s name popped up in a variety of other countries. More art shows followed, and our artists are now featured in all sorts of books and magazines outside of Japan.

What is the common mission of all these branches of Digmeout?
Our mission is to find artists with unique style backed up by enormous talent, but who are uncertain of how to present their work properly. We help them improve their skills and present them to general audiences using our media power. Similarly, our parent company, FM802, dedicates a lot of airtime to indie artists.

Is there cross-promotion and collaboration between Digmeout and FM802?
Yes, definitely. FM802 is the only radio station to have a strong visual division in Japan. Because of this uniqueness, we have successfully created a strong promotional strategy for our clients such as Resona Bank, Sony and Nissan. They are very big promoters for Digmeout and, at the same time, they are big advertisers on FM802.

How does Digmeout sustain itself financially? Is it a viable business model?
Unfortunately, it is not fully independent yet. I would say the Digmeout Factory needs a few more years to improve the structure of our system—better, more efficient processes to find new and talented artists, as well as using their pieces to sell more merchandise. We just started a new website called Artee selling 150 different T-shirts created by our artists. Overall, we need more investment from corporations and possibly some sponsorships, but I am very optimistic about the future of Digmeout; we’re very different from any other artist agency in Japan, and what we’ve accomplished so far is getting a very positive reaction from all over the world.

You’re from the Kansai region. What are some of the cultural differences between Kansai and Tokyo?
Everyone asks that question! Tokyo is the center of everything, and people go to Tokyo from all over Japan to find a better job. Artists go to find a better environment for themselves. Tokyo gives so much opportunity to these creative minds; the artists in Tokyo are very sophisticated, experienced, and professional. Their portfolios are flawless, but in contrast, their artwork is not as unique as the work we’ve found in Osaka. Artists in Osaka and surrounding cities are very rough and unique in every way. They do not have to make a living out of their work; they live in their parents’ house, eating what their parents prepare. They have the “I will create what I like to create, I do not give a shit what others think” type of attitude, and that energy creates a uniqueness to their artwork.

Also, Tokyo is very information sensitive. If a popular magazine says this gallery is good or this artist is good, people will come and buy their artwork, but in Osaka there is an “I like this art because I just like it” type of mentality. This phenomenon is the same for restaurants and boutiques. Tokyo’s trends are created by the media and Osaka’s trends are created by people. I think it’s nonsense to see curators and producers become more popular and famous than the artists and creators. I am so sick of this wrong type of hierarchy in Tokyo.

Once you’ve selected an artist to work with, how do you nurture them?
I spend at least a year with each new artist, giving them simple tasks like doing FM802’s schedule book, calendar, and various other visuals. I communicate with them closely to see how much potential they have, how hard they work, whether they meet deadlines, and so on. Then, we choose the artists who cleared all the demons, so to speak, and we do a show at the Digmeout Cafe. After that, we start pitching them to our clients. This whole process is the most important part of our agency. Finding talent is hard, but nurturing them and helping them progress to the next level is even harder. Still, every trying second of my job is totally worth it.

What happens to artists after they leave the Digmeout system?
When these artists have fully matured as professionals, we’re happy for them to [strike out on their own]. We actually push them to take that first step towards entering the art world without us. To name a few, Goovision, Masakatsu Takagi, and Kyotaro Aoki are now all famous artists who went through our agency. I am always proud of them when I hear their success stories on the news.

What really gets you excited about your job?
Ever since we released the Digmeout book, we’ve received letters from all over the world. Most of them are compliments to our artists and what we do. That makes me excited and makes me think [we’ve done a good job].

What are some of the really difficult, trying parts of your job?
Finding new talent and then, once we’ve found them, keeping the quality of their work and creative level high. Every day, I go to the galleries around Osaka, Tokyo, and other cities, talking to the artists ’til late at night. It is difficult, but that’s what I like most as well.

Where do you see Digmeout going in five years, ten years, the future?
Digmeout is just an extension of our artist agency. I would like to recreate Digmeout as a new system for all young artists, so they can interact with each other and criticize each other’s artwork, exchange new ideas, and improve their skills. We as professional critics/producers will give opinions and direction to these artists, and the clients can come find these young talents and offer them jobs. We will have sale functions for artists, whether they’re famous or not, which translates their artwork/design into merchandise, as long as their work is of the highest quality. Something like Wikipedia, a self-improving system that everyone will benefit from, a win-win system. Artists are happy to have a space to share their thoughts and critiques for improving their sensibility, and clients are happy to work with new and upcoming artists at reasonable rates. I am now in my forties and [though I still] have a decent sense of the design and art field, when my senses are old and not up to the current trends, I would like to make Digmeout a self-improving system sustained by artists, critics, and clients. Hopefully someday, when the 100th Digmeout Magazine comes out, people will vaguely remember the long-haired dude who started this system, riding a bicycle around Osaka, checking the galleries out. That’s my dream for the future.

http://www.digmeout.net