(Originally appeared in the August 20, 1999 issue of Metropolis magazine)
Andy Barker
Occupation: Photographer/Teacher/Copywriter
Time in Japan: 12 years
Where are you from?Originally from the east coast of the United States. I grew up in the Washington DC area, but the last ten years before coming to Japan, I lived in Seattle.
What brought you to Japan?
I came as a teacher of art and photography at Yokosuka Naval Base. I did that for four years, then moved off-base to Zushi. My landlady happened to be friends with the managing director of Canon; he came over one night and I introduced myself because I wanted to work for a Japanese company. I said I wanted to work for Canon, he laughed, but I sent him some of my work, got an interview, and started working for them the following week. I worked for four years in their international advertising division as art director/photographer/copywriter. It was a great experience. Then I jumped ship and worked for Nikon through an independent advertising agency.
What do you do now?
I work full-time for a small advertising agency - one of their clients being Nikon - and as a freelance photographer. Plus I just opened my own photography school in March.
When did you first get into photography?
When I was eighteen. My father gave me his Leica camera, because he wasn't using it anymore and told me to take pictures. When I got the results back, it was like magic - like receiving a Christmas present in July - because I never knew what was going to turn up on my film.
How is your photography school faring?
Pretty good. We're on summer vacation right now but we'll start again in September. I had fourteen students before summer and four of my advanced students' work is on exhibit at Las Chicas restaurant till August 31. I'm going to try and have an exhibition every year because having one is really good for my students; it gives them a goal to work towards.
What kind of advice can you give others about getting a job like yours?
I think Japan is a very exciting place to live because as a foreigner, you are still put up on a pedestal and if you want something, you should ask for it. The Japanese are hesitant about asking for what they want. I've always been aggressive in asking for something that I feel is necessary. And I've been lucky.
What is the most interesting thing you've photographed in Japan?
The most exciting and unusual thing I photographed was the Fertility Festival in Komaki City, near Nagoya. It's held on March 15 every year and the festival has a male part and a female part. There are two different shrines in two different sections of the city; the male part of the festival is held in the morning and the female part in the afternoon. For the male festivities, they parade these giant phallus symbols along the streets and the female procession has models of labia! There's even a forest behind the shrines with pubic hair moss! The festivals are over 1400 years old and are quite spectacular.
This is a strange question, but if you had your choice, who would you confine for life on the crowded Chuo line?
Myself, so I can focus on peoples' expressions and postures, and take pictures. It'll be great. Never a dull moment.
Andy Barker spoke to Maki Nibayashi.
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