"Matinee"  Oil on canvas, 52" x 64", 2004

The Artwork of Yoichiro Yoda

The subject of time has always been a key factor in my work.  My paintings deal with time, space, and history.  For subject matter I use old New York theatres, historical sites of New York City, and film characters.  Since 1994, I have been researching and documenting the theatres of 42nd Street and their demise in my paintings, photographs, and video.  Most of the theatres on 42nd Street were demolished and this process still continues today throughout Times Square.  New York City is losing its historical structures at an alarming rate.  Nothing can stop time and change.  
    I create paintings that explore spaces of immense longing, spaces in which time stands still, spaces where one can lose oneself.  The paintings of old theatres are inhabited by characters from silent films, early talkies, and occasionally contemporary movie stars.  The characters are usually seen feeling uneasy and depressed or extremely happy, lost in their own worlds, waiting for time to pass into the unknown--the uncertain future.
    My paintings are not nostalgic or sentimental.  I have no time for nostalgia.  Change is something that can happen without warning and I feel that I am racing against time.  However, I have the power to control time in my works.  I can mix up the time periods as well as the characters in my paintings.  Often, actors of the silent era will be paired with modern film stars and placed outside of their own era.
    All of the paintings are made using oil on canvas.  This is very important to me.  It is the oldest medium and I prefer this over modern computerized media.