Contact: harukoatanaka@gmail.com
Instagram: kissoftheworld
Born 1974 in Queens, New York, USA
Lives and works in Los Angeles, California, USA
Statement: As an artist my main interest is in re-presenting the routine and the overlooked, as cultural gold. The everyday gesture and expression, the forgotten gift and the missed moment, all take center stage. My visual art practice, which consists of film, photography, illustration and graphic design, and my social/performative practice which consists of teaching workshops on harnessing one's intuition, engaging in synchronized and syncopated group activities, and writing and performing for a readers chorus, assert an everyday worldview in which transcultural and intangible sensitivities are positively the norm. Recent works like Invisible Kitchen (an installation of fictional menus and fake food samples), The Soroban and the Present (a 16mm film that travels through Los Angeles, unearthing forgotten gems and disappearing landmarks) and Japanese George Clooney takes American Ken Watanabe to get sushi (a text piece written for performance by a Readers Chorus), continue my mission of excavating and elevating the sidelined. Down to earth, funny, and informative, my work aims to remind us that often, the depth and diversity we are searching for outwardly in our lives, already exist right within ourselves and the cities we live in.
Background: Born in New York, raised in England and Japan, Haruko attended the University of Southern California (BA, 1997) and the California Institute of the Arts (MFA, 2003). She has exhibited and screened works at such places as the Armory Center for the Arts, The Torrance Art Museum, The Japanese American National Museum, The Library Foundation of Los Angeles, The Echo Park Film Center, The Asia Society, Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Museum of Modern Art. Haruko is one half of the artist intuitive duo Krystal Krunch (with Asher Hartman) and since 2007 they have presented workshops at schools and art spaces/institutions ranging from Pomona College to Parsons School of Design and Machine Project to the Walker Art Center, Pulitzer Arts Foundation and Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, London. She is a core member of The Readers Chorus (2014-present), a performative readers group who have performed at The Velasvelasay Panorama, Automata, The Wulf and The Museum of Jurassic Technology. Haruko has been a member of the Artist Pension Trust (Los Angeles) since 2009.
Statement: As an artist my main interest is in re-presenting the routine and the overlooked, as cultural gold. The everyday gesture and expression, the forgotten gift and the missed moment, all take center stage. My visual art practice, which consists of film, photography, illustration and graphic design, and my social/performative practice which consists of teaching workshops on harnessing one's intuition, engaging in synchronized and syncopated group activities, and writing and performing for a readers chorus, assert an everyday worldview in which transcultural and intangible sensitivities are positively the norm. Recent works like Invisible Kitchen (an installation of fictional menus and fake food samples), The Soroban and the Present (a 16mm film that travels through Los Angeles, unearthing forgotten gems and disappearing landmarks) and Japanese George Clooney takes American Ken Watanabe to get sushi (a text piece written for performance by a Readers Chorus), continue my mission of excavating and elevating the sidelined. Down to earth, funny, and informative, my work aims to remind us that often, the depth and diversity we are searching for outwardly in our lives, already exist right within ourselves and the cities we live in.
Background: Born in New York, raised in England and Japan, Haruko attended the University of Southern California (BA, 1997) and the California Institute of the Arts (MFA, 2003). She has exhibited and screened works at such places as the Armory Center for the Arts, The Torrance Art Museum, The Japanese American National Museum, The Library Foundation of Los Angeles, The Echo Park Film Center, The Asia Society, Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Museum of Modern Art. Haruko is one half of the artist intuitive duo Krystal Krunch (with Asher Hartman) and since 2007 they have presented workshops at schools and art spaces/institutions ranging from Pomona College to Parsons School of Design and Machine Project to the Walker Art Center, Pulitzer Arts Foundation and Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre, London. She is a core member of The Readers Chorus (2014-present), a performative readers group who have performed at The Velasvelasay Panorama, Automata, The Wulf and The Museum of Jurassic Technology. Haruko has been a member of the Artist Pension Trust (Los Angeles) since 2009.
EDUCATION
2003 MFA, Photography and Media Art, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
1997 BA, Fine Art, School of Fine Art, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
CAREER TIMELINE
2017 6 week intensive Krystal Krunch workshop A Faraway Place Right Nearby: Re-
enchantment in changing times at Machine Project, Los Angeles
Readers Chorus develops new work inspired by and performed at The Museum of
Jurassic Technology, Los Angeles
2016 Krystal Krunch develops workshop Surfaces Sensitive to Light for the Pulitzer Arts
Foundation in St. Louis, MO
2016 Commission from the California Community Foundation for the public art project
We Are Los Angeles
2016 The Soroban and the Present (16mm, color, sound, 20 mins) screens at the Artists'
Television Access (ATA) in San Francisco and Character Projects in Los Angeles
2015 Artist in residence at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY
2017 6 week intensive Krystal Krunch workshop A Faraway Place Right Nearby: Re-
enchantment in changing times at Machine Project, Los Angeles
Readers Chorus develops new work inspired by and performed at The Museum of
Jurassic Technology, Los Angeles
2016 Krystal Krunch develops workshop Surfaces Sensitive to Light for the Pulitzer Arts
Foundation in St. Louis, MO
2016 Commission from the California Community Foundation for the public art project
We Are Los Angeles
2016 The Soroban and the Present (16mm, color, sound, 20 mins) screens at the Artists'
Television Access (ATA) in San Francisco and Character Projects in Los Angeles
2015 Artist in residence at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY
2015 Krystal Krunch psychic artists in residence at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art
Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY and Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY and Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
2015 Reader's Chorus performances at Automata and the Velasvelasay Panorama, Los Angeles
2015 Commission from The Library Foundation of Los Angeles for the exhibition To Live And
Dine In L.A., The Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA
Making Of The Modern City," from Angel City Press
2014 Joins The Reader's Chorus as a core member, Los Angeles, CA
2014 Shoots and edits first 16mm film in 10 years, The Soroban and the Present
2014 LA AIR Artist in residence at the Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Krystal Krunch develops the workshops Mini Lives, Mini Masquers: Past Life
Regression and Micro Theater and Swinging to the B-side: Psychic design for Machine
Project and Pomona College
2013 Organizes "Group Movement L.A.,"a dedicated group of LA based participants to learn
the Japanese art of synchronized walking known as shudan koudou. Training culminates
in a final performance for video for the group exhibition Home Away, curated by Kris
Kuramitsu for the Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2012 Public art commission from the LA County Arts Commission for Fire Station 128,
Santa Clarita, CA
2012 Krystal Krunch successfully raises crowdfunds to travel to the U.K.
2012 Krystal Krunch goes on tour with Machine Project with a 3-part workshop Mind
Reading for the left and right brain. The workshop travels to: Miller Gallery at Carnegie
Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA), Southern Exposure (San Francisco, CA), Hayward
Gallery at Southbank Centre (London, U.K.), Real Art Ways (Hartford, CN), Lulu
Hilliard University Art Museum (Lafayette, LA) and Parsons School of Design (NY)
2011 Krystal Krunch develops the intuition building workshop Seeing Beyond Speech which
becomes their foundation workshop which has since been offered at numerous colleges
and art institutions in the U.S. and abroad
2011 Solo exhibition Café Kiss of the World, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2011 Becomes board member of The Society for the Activation of Social Space Through Art &
Sound (SASSAS), Los Angeles, CA
2010 Moderator for the SASSAS panel discussion Scattered Pilgrimages: Intersections between
radicalism, collectivism and experimental practices with Wadada Leo Smith, Branden
Joseph, Bob Osterag and Dont Rhine (Ultra-red) at the Fiesta Hall, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Krystal Krunch develops the workshop Dreaming the Invisible Body Politic for the
Hammer Museum's "The Dream-In" event, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Becomes Board Vice President for Sea and Space Explorations, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Krystal Krunch conducts energy reading of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Included in the book written by Irene Tsatsos Common Threads, Shared Spaces from the
California Community Foundation
2009 Joins the Artist Pension Trust (APT)
2008 Solo exhibition What we give is ours forever, Sea and Space Explorations, Los Angeles
2007 Forms the psychic duo Krystal Krunch with Asher Hartman, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Solo exhibition and catalogue for Haruko Tanaka, CUE Art Foundation, New York, NY
2006 I Love You (16mm, color, sound, 2 mins) screens as part of Tomorrowland: CalArts in
Moving Pictures, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
the Japanese art of synchronized walking known as shudan koudou. Training culminates
in a final performance for video for the group exhibition Home Away, curated by Kris
Kuramitsu for the Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2012 Public art commission from the LA County Arts Commission for Fire Station 128,
Santa Clarita, CA
2012 Krystal Krunch successfully raises crowdfunds to travel to the U.K.
2012 Krystal Krunch goes on tour with Machine Project with a 3-part workshop Mind
Reading for the left and right brain. The workshop travels to: Miller Gallery at Carnegie
Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA), Southern Exposure (San Francisco, CA), Hayward
Gallery at Southbank Centre (London, U.K.), Real Art Ways (Hartford, CN), Lulu
Hilliard University Art Museum (Lafayette, LA) and Parsons School of Design (NY)
2011 Krystal Krunch develops the intuition building workshop Seeing Beyond Speech which
becomes their foundation workshop which has since been offered at numerous colleges
and art institutions in the U.S. and abroad
2011 Solo exhibition Café Kiss of the World, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2011 Becomes board member of The Society for the Activation of Social Space Through Art &
Sound (SASSAS), Los Angeles, CA
2010 Moderator for the SASSAS panel discussion Scattered Pilgrimages: Intersections between
radicalism, collectivism and experimental practices with Wadada Leo Smith, Branden
Joseph, Bob Osterag and Dont Rhine (Ultra-red) at the Fiesta Hall, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Krystal Krunch develops the workshop Dreaming the Invisible Body Politic for the
Hammer Museum's "The Dream-In" event, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Becomes Board Vice President for Sea and Space Explorations, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Krystal Krunch conducts energy reading of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Included in the book written by Irene Tsatsos Common Threads, Shared Spaces from the
California Community Foundation
2009 Joins the Artist Pension Trust (APT)
2008 Solo exhibition What we give is ours forever, Sea and Space Explorations, Los Angeles
2007 Forms the psychic duo Krystal Krunch with Asher Hartman, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Solo exhibition and catalogue for Haruko Tanaka, CUE Art Foundation, New York, NY
2006 I Love You (16mm, color, sound, 2 mins) screens as part of Tomorrowland: CalArts in
Moving Pictures, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
2006 Everythong Wrong durational installation, performance and 2-night event, Highways
Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA. Collaboration with Seema Kapur and Asher
Hartman
2006 M-Y-MANIFESTO, Workshop: Fundraiser for South Central Farms manifesto writing
workshop to raise funds for South Central Farmers facing evition. Collaboration with
Matt Dunerstick
Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA. Collaboration with Seema Kapur and Asher
Hartman
2006 M-Y-MANIFESTO, Workshop: Fundraiser for South Central Farms manifesto writing
workshop to raise funds for South Central Farmers facing evition. Collaboration with
Matt Dunerstick
2005 Receives Emerging Artist Visual Arts Grant from the California Community Foundation
2004 Receives Artist's Resource for Completion Grant from The Durfee Foundation
2003 California Telephone (16mm, b/w, sound, 3 mins) and AROUND Special Registration (DV,
color, sound, 18 mins) officially selected for the International Film Festival
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2004 Receives Artist's Resource for Completion Grant from The Durfee Foundation
2003 California Telephone (16mm, b/w, sound, 3 mins) and AROUND Special Registration (DV,
color, sound, 18 mins) officially selected for the International Film Festival
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2002 I Love You (16mm, color, sound, 2 mins) officially selected for the International Film
Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands and the Asian American International Film
Festival, Asia Society, New York, NY
Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands and the Asian American International Film
Festival, Asia Society, New York, NY
