The Secret of Heta-Uma Drawing

Drawing is fun. Nevertheless, people who want to be professional and improve their drawing skills often rely too much on technique and lack the most vital aspect of drawing – passion. This is not good at all, even if the drawing is good. Moreover, passion is something that no one can teach, so it is out of one’s control. Now, it is natural for a professional to be good at drawing. If there were professionals who were not good at drawing, they would be ridiculed. On the other hand, it is natural for amateurs to be bad at drawing, so they can be more at ease and feel less stress.

You can enjoy drawing pictures just for yourself, without being conscious of what anyone else sees or feels. This is not the case with professionals. Professionals need to show their technique and skill to others, so they cannot relax. For example, it’s possible for an old man who has not drawn since he was a child to impress people with his poor drawings. In other words, the reason why I think that Heta-uma is attractive is because there is a reversal of values, where bad exceeds good. I believe that being a bad artist is a talent given to you by God, just as much as being a good artist. Now, let’s draw bad pictures with confidence! Terry Johnson

Very little in art culture makes me as happy as Teruhiko Yumura, aka King Terry, aka Terry Johnson, and there is no-one else who captures the absolute absurdity of manhood and the very idea of popular culture better than this man, whose patented “bad-good” style is not “so bad it’s good” but rather a choice to communicate in the spirit of generosity. Dan Nadel

This is one in a series of eight zines curated by Dan Nadel for Nieves in 2023/2024.