Fumiaki Nakagawa - Make-up Artist

photo Miguel Villalobos

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I met the make up artist Fumi Nakagawa in Hyeres. He was part of the Graham Tabor team.

photo Miguel Villalobos

D:What does beauty mean to you?
F: it’s being oneself with significant other,

D: How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get started?
F: I have been doing makeup
for 10 years. I wanted to have a job that involved creative photo shoots.
So, I had looked at fashion and art
magazines all of the time. When I was 19, I met a makeup artist and I decided to assist
him. But unfortunately Osaka has few chances for fashion. So I moved
to New York.

D: Up until now, what has been your most challenging assignment?

F: It was my first fashion show in new York two years
after I moved to new York and I did not have the confidence to speak English yet. It
was good enough to work on photo shoots in English but that was my fist experience and I had
so many assistant. I remember I memorized all of the explanations of makeup the day
before the show; it was like the night before the test in high school. I could not
sleep. I had dark circles under my eyes, I should have covered them up.

D: Can you tell a few incidents around your work, funny, difficult or totally
serene?
F: Sometimes I have difficulty in making a beauty story.

photo Miguel Villalobos
D: How did you meet Graham and how did you get involved in this project?
F: I had worked with chinatsu, hair stylist. One day, I got a
call from her; it was for a photo shoot for a musician. The Photographer was Miguel Villalobos, so
I knew graham through Miguel. Since then we have worked together several times.

One of the shoots was for this project. About two months ago Graham called me and said ’ “come with us!”

D: What was the experience like? Ups and downs?
F: Everyday, I had ups and down experiences hope it’s up and up
and up.

D: Favorite moments?

F: Looking at photos after the shoot.

D: What kind of music do you like to listen to?

F: grunge, alterative, new wave.

D: Does music drive your work or do you prefer to work in silence?
F: I like to listen to my favorite music when I work,

D: Plastic surgery is everywhere these days, what are your thoughts about it?

F: Basically I have negative opinion about plastic surgery,
it's not only because of risk, but I think there is beauty in everybody,
everyone has desire to be beautiful. That’s wonderful thing. Looking at beauty
of us is more important

One thing I agree about plastic surgery is taking off scars and using the surgery to take away a
traumatic memory.

D: Have you noticed that magazines like l?Official have devoted entire issues to the subject?

F: No, i had not tnoticed.

D: What would you like to do that you have not done yet?

photo Miguel Villalobos
I d like to make art book with make up.

www.fumiakin.com.

Later,

Diane