AD 271 | Jacob Rosenberg
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
Growing up in Northern California, Jacob Rosenberg developed his passion for video and film as a skateboarder in the early 1990s, making acclaimed videos for Plan B Skateboards under the mentorship of the late founder Mike Ternasky. Upon his graduation from Emerson College, Rosenberg began his professional career directing music videos, short films, and commercials where he has directed and produced talent names such as LeBron James, Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, and Latto. Rosenberg served for a decade as a partner at the independent studio Bandito Brothers, spearheading forward-thinking digital...
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AD 270 | Joshua Hagler (Æmen Ededéen)
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
Joshua Hagler (b. 1979, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho) is a first-generation graduate with a graphic design degree from The University of Arizona. A 2018 grant recipient of the Roswell Artist in Residence Program, Hagler has since made New Mexico his permanent home. Currently, he lives with his wife and daughter in the high desert village of Placitas at the foot of the Sandia Mountains. In recent years, his practice has been guided by an approach he calls Nihil, a set of nine self-imposed principles that have grown out of solitary excursions throughout the state. These principles determine all...
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Slow Creativity | Yoshinocast #18
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded. Yoshino’s Links:
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AD 269 | Nouel Riel
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
“As an artist, I am interested in observing the transmutation process of unconscious material moving into conscious awareness. I work in painting, photography, writing, performance and video. My paintings utilize inner visions and depth psychology to form works layered with symbolism and metaphor. In photography, I employ an experimental process on film that focuses on Jungian Intuitive and Feeling typology. By blurring, altering or disrupting the straight forward information in a photograph, the image moves from analysis to an abstraction - allowing the viewer’s point of focus to relax,...
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AD 268 | Sah D'Simone
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
Sah D'Simone is a dynamic spiritual leader and global humanitarian who has made profound contributions to mental health, spirituality, and social welfare. As the founder of the Somatic Dance Institute and creator of the Somatic Activated Healing (SAH) Method, he has empowered millions to heal from trauma and foster spiritual growth. Sah's work extends across multiple fields, from his role as a spiritual teacher to his achievements as an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, published author, and host of the podcast Solving the Riddle of Being Human. Blending Buddhist practices, contemplative...
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Cancer Sticks | Yoshinocast #17
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
When I was a child, I was repulsed by my father’s smoking addiction. I can still smell the acrid scent of his clothes, laden with a residual stench that never quite went away. He used to carry an old handkerchief in his front shirt pocket. Even at a young age, I thought it was odd when he would blow his nose into it and then stuff it back. I found it even more disgusting when he would spit on it and then subsequently wipe my face with the same putrid handkerchief. I felt a sense of betrayal enter my body whenever he would do this. Maybe he thought of me as some sort of sick puppy, like how...
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AD 267 | Jia Sung
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
Jia Sung is a Singaporean Chinese artist and educator whose practice spans painting, artist books, textiles, printmaking, writing, and translation. Drawing on motifs from Chinese mythology and Buddhist iconography, Sung uses the familiar visual language of folklore to examine and subvert conventional archetypes of femininity, queerness and otherness. Her recent work explores threads of ecofeminism, ethnoecology, the ecological capacities of the body, invasive species as family, and the potentials of collective and constant human transformation through interspecies dynamics. Her approach draws...
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The Stories We Tell Ourselves | Yoshinocast #16
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
Yoshino is a multi-hyphenate artist and the host of Artist Decoded. Yoshino’s Links:
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AD 266 | James Mountford
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
“Born in the UK I now live and work in Los Angeles. I studied fine art at UCA just outside London in the early 90s then moved to Italy for 7 years to immerse myself in classical art. On my return to London I started a successful fashion career that took me around the world, shooting for esteemed clients and magazines for 15 years. In 2013 I decided to return to fine art. This coincided with a move to Los Angeles, where I built a studio practice that broadened my horizons to include sculpture, painting, installation and video works. And this is where I’ve landed and feel comfortable, in...
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AD 265 | Justin Tyler Close
Artist Decoded by Yoshino
Justin Tyler Close (b. 1984, Toronto, Canada) is an award-winning director, photographer & visual artist. Justin founded the internationally distributed arts publication The Lab Magazine and was the active editor-in-chief/creative director from 2010-2018. The interview magazine featured artists, designers, filmmakers, and activists such as Marina Abramovic, Wes Anderson and Noam Chomsky. In 2020, Justin created his audio-visual installation titled The Fifty Eleven Project, which was exhibited at the prestigious Copenhagen Contemporary Museum. Soon after, Justin wrote and directed two...
info_outlineGrowing up in Northern California, Jacob Rosenberg developed his passion for video and film as a skateboarder in the early 1990s, making acclaimed videos for Plan B Skateboards under the mentorship of the late founder Mike Ternasky. Upon his graduation from Emerson College, Rosenberg began his professional career directing music videos, short films, and commercials where he has directed and produced talent names such as LeBron James, Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, and Latto. Rosenberg served for a decade as a partner at the independent studio Bandito Brothers, spearheading forward-thinking digital workflows as their CTO and in-house director. He contributed expertise to productions such as Avatar and Act of Valor as well as numerous documentaries including Shine A Light and S.O.P..
In 2012, Rosenberg’s directorial debut, Waiting for Lightning, premiered at SXSW, going on to be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films. The documentary feature painted an intimate portrait of childhood friend and skateboard legend Danny Way, who in 2005 attempted to jump the Great Wall of China on a skateboard.
With a penchant for telling deeply human stories, Rosenberg’s documentaries range on subjects from land speed racing to skateboarding, photography, technology, and the world of magician Franco Pascali. His award-winning broadcast work has included campaigns for Ford, INFINITI, HUMMER, NBA, MLB, Royal Caribbean, Burger King, Beats, Advil, Intel, and countless others. Rosenberg’s latest works include co-curating a first-of-its-kind museum exhibit on the emergence of skateboard videos in the 1990s at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, as well as his first photo book RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES, documenting a decade of Bay Area hip-hop and skate culture. The book focuses on Jacob’s story, coming up as a filmmaker for Plan B and then a photographer for the rap collective Hieroglyphics—which culminated in filming, editing, and directing their first group music video “You Never Knew” in 1998.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Jacob speaks about his new book, Right Before My Eyes (00:09:32)
- Magic, childlike curiosity, and the film “The Red Balloon” (00:13:19)
- Jacob shares his experience creating “Waiting For Lightning,” a documentary about skateboarder Danny Way (00:18:51)
- Jacob reflects on how creative pursuits helped him navigate childhood trauma (00:22:08)
- Finding acceptance through skateboarding (00:29:52)
- Jacob opens up about childhood trauma and how it fostered his ability to empathize with others (00:38:14)
- Yoshino shares how teaching boxing to kids highlights their natural embrace of diversity, connecting it to skateboarding’s cultural inclusivity (00:40:42)
- Jacob reflects on how childhood influences like Star Wars and Public Enemy shaped his creativity (00:52:09)
- Jacob recounts meeting his mentor, Mike Ternasky (Co-Founder of Plan B and H Street Skateboards), at a skate camp in 1988 (00:58:04)
- How authenticity and small acts of kindness create meaningful connections (01:04:56)
- The conversation explores empathy as a counter to divisiveness in politics and mass media (01:07:46)
- Yoshino reflects on experiencing racism while traveling (01:18:15)
- Jacob discusses creating Plan B’s iconic skate videos: Questionable, Virtual Reality, and Secondhand Smoke (01:21:54)
- Jacob highlights a museum exhibit celebrating 1990s skateboarding videos as cultural and documentary art (01:32:10)
- Joan Scheckel and her embodied storytelling technique (01:35:36)
- The importance of open-hearted living and artists staying fearlessly present during turbulent times (01:41:53)
- Yoshino and Jacob admire the subtle storytelling in Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days (01:51:07)
- Jacob discusses his book Right Before My Eyes, chronicling his growth as a filmmaker and skateboarding’s evolution from 1988 to 1998 (01:58:28)
- Yoshino and Jacob explore how modern technology overwhelms and disconnects, emphasizing slowing down and finding grounding in nature and analog experiences (02:03:57)
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