Meet Hayato Takano | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hayato Takano and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hayato, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I’ve never been afraid to take risks in life. I believe that you must follow your dreams. Risks are what makes life exciting . It all started after high school, I had dreams of being a musician and so I enrolled Berklee College of Music. This lead me to traveling to France and Spain, all alone right out of high school and then I moving to Boston. It was my first time in the U.S. and I didn’t know anyone. Then, I decided to move to Los Angeles to further my music career. But, since elementary school I had always wanted to make art. I had taken another path and forgot about art and so eventually I decided to go after my first passion. I knew nothing about the art industry and I didn’t know if people would like my art, but it didn’t matter. To me you have to take risks and follow you passion. If I fail, no big deal, at least I tried. I come from a very small town and no one ever leaves. So to get up and go to a new country I didn’t know to much about was a big risk. Yes, I could always just go home, but I didn’t give myself that option, I was going to make it. Then to start making art and enter a whole new industry, it was a little scary in the being contacting galleries. I didn’t know what I was doing, I just had a passion. Life is all about taking risks.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It all started as a gift to my girlfriend, now wife. We were students with no money and so I made a picture of her by using sheet music from her favorite bands. It felt like a natural evolution for me. Combining two things I am very passionate about, music and art. The hardest part has been me, worrying if people would like my art. But I just had to take a chance. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned, even if your scared just take a chance, cause regretting is even scarier. Its been interesting in today’s modern technology era, it’s funny how some people think my work is all computerize. I would like everyone to know that, it’s all done by hand. Every tiny little piece was torn by my hands.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Every time someone visits from Japan I take them on a food adventure, it’s also what they ask for. We always go to a Mexican food truck. It may seem normal to us here, but it’s not an experience that you have in Japan. Then a steak house, a big steak. Then a bar. These may sound normal or not interesting, but they’re different and something they can’t easily find in Japan. Then it’s off to Vegas and the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is just so amazing. Everyone is always in ah after seeing it.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my wife, this collage art originally started as a gift to her. She is always there supporting and encouraging me. We are a team and I couldn’t have done any of this without her. I would also like to thank Sam Milgrom at Mr.Musichead Gallery. He gave me my first chance. He was the first person to exhibit my art and he has always been very supportive.

Website: www.haytak45.com
Instagram: haytak45
Twitter: haytak45
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Youtube: haytak45
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Image Credits
All my art works are my interpretation of the original photos