src="http://www.woostercollective.com/kizzy" WIDTH= "175" ALIGN= "left"
hspace="4"> One of the best things about doing this weblog is getting emails
from artists who’s work we’ve seen and admired but had no idea who the artist
was.  Case in point - Kenn Sakurai (aka ESM) from Vancouver.  It was last
year when we first came across one of Kenn’s “Hello Kissy” stickers. Then
to get an email this week from Kenn saying - ”hello woostercollective. i
just stumbled onto your website and spent a few hours checking out all the
amazing stuff you have on there. it’s unreal! so much documentation….it’s
really great. keep up the great work. i even think i saw one of my stickers in
there”—was a blast. After exchanging a few emails last night, Ken was
kind enough to answer our five questions:


Wooster: How
did you get started in creating art for the street?

ESM: While
studying at art school it occurred to me that my love for making stickers and
posters could be taken care of more professionally and quicker with the
silkscreen medium and i was able to experiment a bit more with color and
layers.

Wooster: What inspired you to do hello kissy?
/>
ESM: Having relatives in Japan that always sent me comics and
toys on the latest japanese cartoon characters when i was a kid, combined with
my love of KISS just made me put the
two together.

Wooster: What other street artists do you most
admire and why?

ESM: I really dig what "http://www.obaygiant.com">shepard fairey, "http://www.spinemagazine.com/features/visual/kaws02.html">kaws, "http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/mcgee/">barry mcgee, "http://www.space-invaders.com/">space-invader, and phil frost do.  especially shepard….the
sheer volume, graphic punchiness, commitment and hard work the guy does is
amazing…he’s the wayne gretzky of the scene.

Wooster: 
What’s your favorite city, neighborhood, or block, to post and/or to see
/>street art?

ESM: the volume of art on the street in new
york is amazing… the history, the talent, the different colors, sizes, home-
made/professional, tags, spray art/stencils, posters, stickers, paintings,
installations…. it’s all good.  it’s almost like being in a museum of street
art walking around new york. 

Wooster: What inspires you
now?

ESM: new wave music, my dog “spock” ,  ice hockey,
skateboarding, fishing, eating sugary snacks, supermodels, kiss, the monkees,
dominican cigars and watching t.v.

Bonus Question:

/>Wooster: Do your parents know about all this?

ESM:
yeah. i don’t think they tell their friends too much about it though…they
probably think i paint or take part in conceptual photography..