Eric Nakamura
Eric Nakamura graduated from UCLA with a degree in East Asian Studies. He got his start in magazine making through a stint at the Palisadian Post newspaper but worked on numerous punk rock zines in the early ‘90s. In addition to founding and publishing issues of Giant Robot magazine since 1994, curating the art galleries, and picking products for the shop (Giant Robot) and gallery (GR2), located on Sawtelle Blvd in West Los Angeles, Nakamura has made an independent movie called Sunsets in 1997.
He consults companies on Asian popular culture and designs t-shirts for the Giant Robot brand. Recently, Nakamura curated a series of museum exhibitions, “Giant Robot Biennale” at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, and continues to work on projects outside of Giant Robot for different communities and entities. Giant Robot continues to be a leading source of Asian popular culture and is often considered a lifestyle brand for the fans of animation, art, and design.
For his creative cultural contributions in the United States, he was honored the Award of Excellence by the Japanese American National Museum in 2006. Watch video clips of an exclusive interview with Eric Nakamura in the Interview section.
Updated June 2013
Stories from This Author
The Greatest “Thing” in America
June 6, 2013 • Eric Nakamura
The once-in-a-lifetime event of visiting America’s premier building, The White House can’t be compared to much of anything. I haven’t been everywhere, but I have been to the Empire State Building, the original WTC, and the Statue of Liberty. I’ve also seen Mount Rushmore, Grand Canyon, and Devil’s Tower. There are many beautiful places, both natural and man-made that are “more” historical and maybe untethered to society while being greatly symbolic. Yet, The White House is arguably the greatest “Thing” …
99 Years no Ai – Japanese Americans
Aug. 30, 2011 • Eric Nakamura
On a visit to Japan nearly two decades ago, I learned that the folks I met were interested in Americans—not Asian or Japanese Americans, but actually it was in their perception of Americans, the “white” ones. My younger cousins who were in the single digit age, expected their American relative to look like Zach from Saved by the Bell. I witnessed them say that I was supposed to have blond hair and blue eyes. Then my friends in Tokyo introduced …
The Biennale: Notes and Thoughts
Jan. 9, 2008 • Eric Nakamura
In celebration of its 50th issue and in collaboration with the Japanese American National Museum, the pop-culture magazine Giant Robot has assembled works by ten cutting-edge artists from around the country in Giant Robot Biennale: 50 Issues. This exhibition is the first in the National Museum's Salon Pop series that includes collaborative displays that focus on Asian American pop culture. The public’s response to the exhibition has been extremely positive with its largest ever opening to date. The exhibition closes …
