UV: You seem to have a real passion for printmaking. What brought you to that particular medium and how do you feel it influences your work?
KA: I took my first printmaking class when I was an undergrad at UC Berkeley over 13 years ago. The "intaglio" process sounded very exotic in the course catalog. And that was it ? I was hooked. After I finished my MFA in printmaking at Washington University in Missouri, I returned to the East Bay and got a fellowship at Kala printmaking workshop in Berkeley.

Reasons why I like printmaking: I like creating an image on a plate and solving it different ways. I like the way the image on the plate turns into something else when it's transferred to paper. I like making multiples. I like having a print to exhibit here, one to exhibit over there, one to give to my mother, and one in my back pocket.

Now I'm into relief printing -- particularly linoleum cuts. Linoleum is soft and easy to carve. You gouge into the plate and then print from the raised surface left behind. The subtractive process has really defined the way I draw. I'm into the contour lines and obsessive patterns.

I have started to make 3-d multiples, too. You can see my newest work at the "Toys in Babeland" exhibition at the Richmond Art Center, September 7 through November 15.(www.therichmondartcenter.org)

UV: Does this picture take place in the future? Are you optimistic about the future?
KA: The monument scene is set in the future ? Say in 2050. If these lousy media trends continue, it looks like girls will still be worshipping lip-gloss.

UV: Does your unique sense of humor come from you mom or your dad... or um, your cat?
KA: People who have met my parents say, "That explains a lot!"

UV: You've also done quite a bit of multimedia work. Do you approach it differently than you do more traditional means of artmaking?
KA: It depends on the project. I've done some very serious work, such as an interactive project about Japanese internment in the United States. But my website is funky (www.kaoki.com) -- and I've made a quirky animation based on prints which I later turned it into a flipbook.

Actually, I regularly use the computer to make my traditional drawings and prints. I research reference images on the web. I also make 3-D models of the scene to help me draw the perspective. For example, in the "Gloss Monument" piece, I made a 3-D model of the lip-gloss on the computer. Then I experimented with different virtual camera angles and lenses until I got the right composition. I made a print out and transferred it using "ye olde fashioned grid system" onto a large piece of paper. Then I continued to paint and draw by hand.

UV: What are your thoughts on feminism in this day and age? Do you consider yourself a feminist?
KA: When I was growing up my parents were professionals in the same field. I guess I just expect women (and men) to go out there and do great things. I've made images of men housekeeping, women with power tools, and women superheroes based on their vocational skills. I'm interested in making the audience think about gender expectations that hold people back. I'm currently working on a darker series called "The Construction of Modern Girlhood." (The "Gloss Monument" is part of this series) It's about the media's negative influence on girls. Through prints, drawings and installations, I am creating an alternate universe run by anime-style female construction workers who build huge monuments to girlhood. I want the viewer to be attracted to the work and think, "Right-on, girl power?" However, closer inspection reveals that the characters are building ridiculous "girly" symbols (such as giant platform sandals and lip-gloss), which have nothing to do with power. For me, the anime style construction crew leaders represent the male aspect of society. After all, the anime-woman is a male-idealization of the female form. These ruthless construction cuties boss around a small army of teddy bear workers. The bears (who represent innocent girls transformed by the media) are harvested and changed into skinny, sexy, submissive workers on the sites.