Tatsuo Horiuchi, a 73-year-old Japanese artist, creates amazingly vibrant landscapes using a digital tool most people try to avoid at all costs: Microsoft Excel.
“I never used Excel at work but I saw other people making pretty graphs and thought, ‘I could probably draw with that,’” says Tatsuo Horiuchi.
About 13 years ago, shortly before retiring, Horiuchi decides he needed a new challenge in his life. So he bought a computer and began experimenting with Excel.
“Graphics software is expensive but Excel comes pre-installed in most computers,” explained Horiuchi. “And it has more functions and is easier to use than Microsoft Paint.”
Horiuchi also tried working with Microsoft Word but it didn’t offer the flexibility that Excel did. So by using autoshapes, a tool in Excel that lets users connect and colour custom shapes, Horiuchi builds massively complex images that push the limits of spreadsheet software. And because Excel isn’t really an image-creation program, his work is even more impressive than the creations of artists using Microsoft’s Paint software to make masterful drawings, for example.
Horiuchi first gained attention when, in 2006, he entered an Excel Autoshape Art Contest. His work, which was far-superior than the other entries, blew the judges away. Horiuchi took first place and went on to create work that has been acquired by his local Gunma Museum of Art.
