Art Space Talk: Kika Nicolela

Kika Nicolela is a new media artist from Campinas, Brazil. Kika's works include single-channel videos, video installations, performances, experimental documentaries and photography. Kika graduated with a degree in Cinema and Video from the University of Sao Paulo in 2000. In 2002, she completed film courses at the University of California. Since then, she has developed her personal works-- which have been exhibited internationally.


Face to Face. 2006

Brian Sherwin: Kika, where did you study? Who were your mentors?

Kika Nicolela: I graduated in Film and Video at São Paulo University. I started very young, when I was 17, and studied there for seven years. I’m not sure if I have mentors, but there were some exceptional professors at this course, and they all had some influence on me. People like Jean-Claude Bernardet, Arlindo Machado and Ismail Xavier, who are very respected film and video scholars in Brazil and abroad.

In the last years of my studies, I started an internship at a film production company in São Paulo and there I met and worked with some great Brazilian filmmakers, and that experience was also very gratifying. I was very much impressed with Tata Amaral, for example, who was one of the few Brazilian female feature film directors at that time (and still today we have no more than five).

In 2002 I went to live in Los Angeles for almost a year, and I did some continuing education courses at UCLA, which was extremely important to me, because the classes were very much hands-on and the students worked very hard, so I was able to complete about 8 short films in only 7 months. That was the beginning of developing my own voice and finding the themes that interested me.

I also met amazing film professionals in seminars, such as: Sophia Coppola, Mike Figgis, Paul Mazursky, Conrad Hall, Janusz Kaminski, Sam Raimi, Curtis Hanson and Callie Khouri, among others. It was so inspiring to talk to them and learn from these people. But it was right after I came back to Brazil that I really started working with contemporary artists and that led me to video art. I found that it could be a much more personal rewarding and free art form than classical filmmaking.

BS: How did your studies help to shape the work you create today?

KN: I think it’s very hard to say how much of this or that helped to get me where I am today. We’re made of so many different experiences, and sometimes something seemingly not important has actually a profound effect on us, and only later we realize that. I believe I’m very much concerned with using elements of film language in new ways; I also have a strong sense of narrative and structure that are somehow present in all my works.

BS: Kika, tell us about your installations, films, and photographs. What are the themes you deal with in your work?

KN: Examination of the relationships between the camera, subject, author and the spectator. I always seek new ways of exploring this complex bonding between the audience and the audiovisual, mediated by the point of view of a 3rd person – the artist. Another theme that has been very present in my latest pieces is the connection between man and his environment, between the body and its surroundings, being those urban or natural.

I perceive these two lines of work as different ways of approaching the same theme: (un)communication in the contemporary relationships and art. Another relevant question is: how to use art to produce unique perceptive experiences?

BS: What about influences... who has influenced you?

KN: Ingmar Bergman, David Lynch, Jean Luc Godard, Bernardo Bertolucci, Alain Resnais, P.T. Anderson, Pedro Almodovar, David Cronemberg, Peter Greenaway, Bill Viola, Mathew Barney, Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry. Those are some names that just came to my mind right now.

BS: Can you tell us more about your artistic process... your philosophy, so to speak? How do your ideas become a reality?

KN: In general, I could say that my artistic process include having an idea, finding out the essence of it, researching about the themes and/or techniques involved, then writing a shooting script - not a screenplay per se, but a script of the things I want to shoot, a kind of blue print to guide me, but at the shooting itself I always keep an open mind and improvise a lot.

I either work by myself or with other partners, it depends on the project, but I love to have other people’s creative inputs to my ideas. One of the people that has contributed many times with me is my husband, who is a great director of photography. Sometimes, I worked with other artists from scratch, so the concepts are both theirs and mine. And then comes what I consider the most important and delightful moment: the editing.

The editing is actually the most creative part, in which the film really takes form. I experiment a lot, but always having in mind the essence of what I want to convey or express with the work. I do my best not to get impressed by easy effects, because there are so many available. I also avoid following stylistic tricks and trends. I try to find the right tone, rhythm and look for that particular piece I’m working on. And then comes the difficult task of knowing when it’s ready, when to stop and say: "that’s it, that’s the best I can do right now".

Concerning how my ideas become a reality… this is a tricky question, because there are many ways this can take place. I mean, I always have many ideas floating in my head at the same time. Then something triggers the process of starting the project itself. It could be the invitation for a specific exhibition, a grant that fits the profile of one of my ideas, a partner who invites me to do something together, or just an event that happens in front of me and I record with my camera, later transforming it into a new piece. I try to be always open to new opportunities and inspirations. And I always keep a camera nearby.

Working with video can be really simple and cheap, or incredibly expensive and complex. I’ve done both kind of works, and everything in between!



FLUX. 2005

BS: Kika, can you go into further detail about FLUX(2005)? Tell our readers about the meaning behind this piece. What inspired you?

KN: FLUX is a project that started with an invitation. The visual artist Suzy Okamoto had this beautiful exhibition space called Capela do Morumbi - which is a very old chapel in São Paulo that was transformed to receive contemporary art installations - available for her to make an exhibition. She wanted to make a video work, but she had never made one before. She had seen another video of mine and invited me to work with her on this one.

The first thing we decided was that we wanted to shoot part of the video in the chapel itself, and the sensation that we had inside that place was the foundation. The building was made of a kind of mixture with earth, very rough, and very sensual in a bizarre way. And we wanted to express this feeling and this exchange between our skin and the "skin" of the building, its walls, the grass outside, its stairs etc.

This was my fourth video in which I tried to translate a very abstract feeling, emotion or memory into audiovisual experience. It’s painful to explain its meanings, because the work is supposed to lead the audience to an abstract state of mind, and I hope that each experience is unique. But I can talk about my inspirations: the feelings that I had in that place were related to something animal, something primitive and untamed inside of me. The video speaks of the relation between our body and the environment; our ever lasting whish to return to a more primitive state. The performer we invited for this video is Leticia Sekito, a great dancer with whom I have collaborated many times in the past 4 years.

FLUX was primarily a video installation, composed of 4 different projections in the chapel itself. Then I edited this single-channel version that has been shown in many festivals and is now available on You Tube.

BS: What type of equipment do you use? Also, in regards to working with others... how do you choose who to work with?

KN: I have used many types of equipment in my videos; from snapshot still cameras that also shoot MP4 videos, to high tech High Definition cameras. I’m very keen of technology and I try to be always in synch with what’s happening in terms of new equipment, codecs and softwares. Right now, I have two different cameras: they’re both High Definition, but one is a Panasonic Handycam, which shoots in SD memory cards, and the other is the Panasonic HVX200, which is a wonderful bigger camera with a more complicated workflow.

My last video, WINDMAKER, was shot with the latest, and it’s amazing how beautiful the images are. I sometimes still use the Panasonic DVX100, which was the camera I used in FLUX for example, because I consider it the best standard definition camera out there. And now I’m looking forward to work with RED, which is a new digital cinema camera, just released in the US. I believe it will definitely change the way both filmmakers and video makers work – it will blur even more the lines between these two arts.

Concerning the softwares, I’ve used Sony Vegas for many years for editing, but I switched to Final Cut Pro recently (yes, I’m a Mac now). And I’ve used both Resolume and Arkaos as Vjiing softwares. In regards to working with others, I balance two things: their work and their personality, that is, first of all I have to admire their work, but I also need to feel an empathy for them. With some collaborators I’ve worked for months or years with, and it can become a traumatic experience if we don’t get along. Well, unfortunately, sometimes we only find out that some person is terrible to work with during the process…

BS: Kika, I've read that your work has been exhibited in more than 30 countries. Tell our readers about a few of those exhibitions. Which have been the most exciting for you?

KN: One of the things that I love the most about video art is that I can exhibit it in many different ways, and each way influences how the work will be perceived. I can show the same video in a small LCD screen on the wall of a gallery; I can show it on the web; I can make a site specific installation with it; or it can be projected on a large screen during a festival.

I’m a big fan of film and video festivals. The experience of sharing the dark room with hundreds of people, and watching films on the big screen, still fascinates me. Besides, festivals, especially video art ones, always bring together a variety of works from all over the world - some good, some bad, others spectacular - and usually I find the screenings inspiring and rewarding.

I’ve been fortunate to be selected to some great festivals, like Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin De Nouveau Cinéma Et Art Contemporain (France and Germany), Kunst Film Biennale (Germany), ACA Media Arts Festival (Japan), VAD Festival Internacional de Vídeo i Arts Digitals (Spain), Exis Experimental Film & Video Festival (Korea), Videolab (Portugal), International Short Film Festival Hamburg (Germany), just to name a few.

Not always I’ve been able to attend the festivals; rarely they have enough budget to invite and cover the directors expenses. My favorite ones were AluCine Toronto Latin@ Media Festival (Canada), which I attended in 2006 and 2007, because I love their selection (all genres, but more experimental), the organizers are great, they welcome the guests in a very warm way and Toronto is a fabulous city; Videoformes New Media & Video Art Festival (France), which I participated in 2004 and 2007 but only attended this year, because they select only experimental videos and very good ones, I met great artists there, I got the main award (which is always a nice experience), and I just love France; and International Electronic Art Festival Videobrasil (Brazil), which I participated in 2003 and 2005, because they take place in São Paulo, where I live, it’s one of the biggest video art festivals in the world, and they have an important role in promoting video art in Brazil for the past 20 years. All of these 3 festivals also organize great exhibitions and seminars beside their screenings.

BS: What do you like most about exhibiting?

KN: I adore watching people watching my works. It is so rewarding to see a spontaneous strong reaction to something I did. To me, art is all about communication; it’s the most complete communication there is, because I try to put my heart and soul in my works. I also believe in the power of the audiovisual experience and the possibilities it offers us, that is, we (artists) can change the world, or at least try to do it.

BS: Kika, in your opinion, what are some of the main issues facing video artists today?

KN: In my opinion, a great deal of video artists tend to get seduced by new technologies and medias and just loose themselves. I’ve seen so many bad Vjiing events that proclaims themselves art, so many interactive works that seem like a game for kids to press buttons, or horrible videos using game or second life excerpts like they were doing something revolutionary. I just think that we have to try to reflect about all these new tools, and remain true to ourselves.
BS: As a video artist, do you ever have any concerns about censorship?

KN: I have faced some problems regarding this. I have a project that deals with porn actors and it’s really hard to get a grant or funding to do it, mainly because of its subject. And I made a video called TROPIC OF CAPRICORN which is one of my favorite works, and despite the fact that it was my most exhibited and awarded work, it just got censored in You Tube, after months of being shown there. I sent them a letter complaining, but they never answered me. It was made with transvestites, and it displays a little bit of nudity and a lot of dirty talk. Still, it’s a touching video and it shouldn’t be censored.


WINDMAKER. 2007

BS: Kika, what are you working on at this time? Can you give our readers any details about your future projects?

KN: I’m finishing a single-channel version of my video installation WINDMAKER; I have about 4 projects in the process of getting funding; and I’m writing my first experimental fiction feature film.

BS: Do you have any exhibitions lined up? Also, where can our readers view more of your art?

KN: Yes. From October 10th to December 2nd, my video "Ecstasy Poem" will be part of a big contemporary art exhibition in São Paulo, called Cut and Paste CRTL_C + CRTL_V; I was just invited to be part of Supermarket of Art International Biennial, in Warsow (Poland), which will start end of October; and a retrospective of most of my works is being organized to take place in São Paulo on the first week of November.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

KN: Making art and showing it are the most rewarding things in my life. And I love to have feedback and exchange ideas – so please, whoever is reading this, just watch some of my stuff at www.youtube.com/kikanicolela and leave your comments!

You can learn more about Kika Nicolela by visiting her website-- www.dilemastudio.com. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Julian Hatton

Julian Hatton is an interesting painter in that he is not concerned with contemporary hype. In my opinion, he is a painters painter-- meaning that he focuses on his work instead of trends or what is going on in the art world today. This individualism is obvious when viewing Julian's paintings-- many of which are relatively small compared to what we normally view in the contemporary art world. Julian is an artist who will not allow himself to be defined by dictated standards or painterly 'rules of engagement', so to speak. He does not seek press or prizes, but that has not stopped him from receiving both.


Run Off . 24" x 24" . oil on canvas on panel . 2005-2006

Brian Sherwin: Julian, you studied at Harvard College and the New York Studio School of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture. Can you recall any of your experiences from that time? Who were your mentors?

Julian Hatton: I got the idea to pursue a career in the visual arts while taking time off from college. I had been drawing cartoons for the newspaper and trying to get on the Lampoon, but I was far from funny enough so I never made it. School, my sophomore year was a bummer, for various reasons, so I decided to bail for a while. I was invited to spend time in Spain with a painter, Fernando Zobel. I had a great time for a couple of months and decided to change my major to art history. Fernando advised me not to pursue painting until after college, if, by then , I still wanted to.

Obviously, I did. I painted my first oil painting a few months before I finagled my way into the New York Studio School. The school gave me a paradigm of studio mores, working from observation, some good studio habits and some bad ones. The funny thing about the Studio School during the early 80’s is that I attended for a couple of years, yet I still feel self-taught as a painter. Perhaps it’s because you really are on your own in the arts, for better or worse.

Woody V. . 24" x 24" . oil on canvas on panel . 2005-2006

BS: Julian, your art has been featured or reviewed in several publications- The New York Times, Art in America, The Villager... you have also won several major awards, like the Pollock-Krasner Grant. How do you feel when your art gains exposure like that? Do you get excited? Nervous? Does it 'keep you on your toes' or do you try to keep it in the back of your mind... and just focus on painting?

JH: I’ve always felt like an outsider. My friends didn’t attend MFA programs. We worked odd jobs and made ends meet while we made art. My sense of myself as a painter didn’t change until I attended the MacDowell Colony in 1992.For the first time I started to believe that maybe I really was an artist. Then a gallery took me on. Those were big changes, compared to the string of grants and awards that I’ve garnered since then. Yet big awards reaffirm your status, in case you were in doubt. And that never fails to be significant. Just this spring the American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded me a prize in art for outstanding accomplishment. John Updike gave a short speech, along with Garrison Keillor and other blue chip culture heroes. That type of experience makes you feel like you’re at the very least no longer an outsider.

Persian Miniature . 24" x 24" . oil on canvas on panel . 2005-2006

BS: Julian, you are known for creating paintings that are a mix of discipline and play. How did you learn to control your surfaces in order to experiment playfully while remaining serious and true to desired goals for each piece? Would you say that it is important for a painter experiment in this manner?

JH: Some call me a "process painter". Translation: I am an improvisational painter. I respond to what’s on the canvas. Some call that playing. Nature, either observed, remembered or copied from another source, starts the ball rolling. Because my work grew out of a decade of en plien air nature studies, and because I find that subject infinitely flexible, I continue, in the studio paintings, to use the vocabulary of landscape but strive to freely respond to what’s happening on the surface. Soon after my starting point, often an en plien air sketch or old en plien air painting, I need to get lost, to not know where I am going, so to speak, in order to be fully engaged in the painting process. That is a recipe for failure and success, and lots of stress, frustration and hard work, but ultimately thrilling when one succeeds. Because I don’t have a plan, it takes a lot of effort and discipline to succeed when painting the way I do. Every painting is an experiment, in the sense that each composition and color scheme strives to be different. An exaggerated sensitivity to "already been there" seems to drive this habit.

Bean Bag. 60" x 60". oil on canvas. 2001-1

BS: Julian, your paintings often depict the bare essence of nature. This vivid distortions often capture this in manner that is both whimsical and mysterious. Your work is often organic... full of life... yet there is a somberness about them at times. Can you discuss the motives behind these images? How has nature influenced your work. Also, are there any social implications behind your work?

JH: I have been painting and drawing en plien air in nature for more than 30 years. I spent eight year painting in Prospect Park almost every day, except when it was below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I have a bad case of biophilia—a love of nature. It is rejuvenating, while painting is draining. Since 1995 I have done a lot of work in the studio, where now most of the work happens. I spent about ten years becoming somewhat fluent in the language of painting while also memorizing, unintentionally, an idiosyncratic vocabulary of forms and shapes based on direct observation of nature. Because mimesis doesn’t interest me, and because now I like to re-work the imagery so much, I have to avoid over-complicating the forms. Hence things tend to drift toward exaggerations, simplification and distortion. Yet I am not interested in simplification. I would like to be as inclusive as possible, to have as wide a range of colors, forms, textures as possible. Naturally (pun intended), my abstractions reflect their source.

Regarding social implications, let me say that in the context of 9/11, paintings about nature seemed out of touch. But, in the context of global warming, painting that responds to nature is an important place to be. One could site the American Transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreaux as related influences. The work touches on ideas of the individual in nature, pantheism, the purely aesthetic response to nature relative to the socially activist response to nature. It touches on the idea wilderness relative to man-manipulated nature. It connects with Cezanne’s attitudes relative to working from and abstracting from nature, formalism, academic tradition, etc. and especially "modernism", which arguably started with Cezanne.

Pass. oil on canvas and panel. 24" x 24. 2005-06

BS: Julian, who has influenced you? Your work is often compared to early American modernist works- Georgia O' Keefe, Arthur Dove... there are also traces of Gauguin and the Fauves. Are you influenced by any of these artists or movements?

JH: I am most influenced by the New York School and the improvisational way of painting (process). So, the late Gorky, de Kooning, Joan Mitchell guide me. When thinking of the connection drawn by critics between my work and early American modernists, I don’t emulate their style, although I do like their painting, but I do emulate their sense of trying to figure out things on their own.

My fearless use of color often aligns me with the Fauves, in the eyes of critics. What most critics fail to write about is artists who use primarily color to compose a painting. They also fail to distinguish between painting in which color depends on interaction and interdependency versus paintings in which colors stand alone independently and do not make a difference relative to each other, such that substitutions would seem to have little adverse effect on the work.

K.I.S.S. oil on canvas and panel. 24" x 24". 2005-06

BS: Julian, you often stay away from creating large abstractions- your works are often no more than 24 inches square. Why did you choose to work in a smaller manner than your peers? When one thinks of abstract painting he or she thinks of large, heroic, paintings. Why did you decide to 'go against the grain', so to speak?

JH: "Improv" painting on a large scale is very difficult. I have painted large, some more successful than others. Given my time constraints, like having to run a small business to "buy" painting time and pay rent, I have been more successful painting on a smaller scale. It’s really just pragmatism. You need to find a creative method that keeps you engaged and advances your project, a method that lasts decades if not forever. Small, as part of my method, has consistently worked better than large.

BS: Julian, critics have stated that you are giving new life to traditional methods of modern art... that you are exploring techniques and methods that many observe as already mapped out. Do you think it is foolish when people decide that certain manners of painting are 'outdated' or should be 'left behind'. It seems you are an advocate for exploring the roots of contemporary art in order to show that fresh art can be created from those anti-traditional traditional methods and themes, is that so?

JH: Given my background and opportunities, my inclinations were somewhat pre-determined. I connected with painting from observation. I found a subject that kept me engaged. I love oil paint. I love objects, artifacts, art, in nature, in museums, in flea markets. I like what the hand does after the brain processes the information. I like idea plus material, the brain responding to the outside world then using oil paint to reify the response. So, it’s no wonder that my work grows out of earlier oil painters. That was their idea, too. I also love to incorporate all the art I love, past, present, foreign and folk. So I am interested in all painters from whom I can steal a good image, idea, technique, etc..I like to think oil painting can still make an all inclusive, responsive metaphor for contemporary life.

Channelling. oil on canvas and panel. 24" x 24". 2005-06

BS: Julian, where do you paint? What is it like to be in your studio? Do you have certain conditions that must be met in order to start painting? Also, can you go into detail about how you start a painting? When do you know a painting is done?

JH: I paint en plien air and in my studio. Sometimes I’m in Manhattan, or Brooklyn, sometimes in upstate New York. I start a painting many different ways: from an on-site sketch, from a watercolor, from an older successful painting. I choose a ground, sometimes cotton duck glued to wood, sometimes gessoed canvas on stretcher with a solid wood backing. I start thin and often set aside a successful start in order not to bury it’s all too important and all too subtle nuances. Then I’ll a start another oil painting the exact same size, either a fresh canvas or an old canvas the same size with the old painted images knocked back by wet-sanding (never dry sand, the dust is toxic) If this doesn’t succeed, I’ll do it a third time. Usually this will get me to a point where I leave behind the original idea and dive into unexplored territory. At some point I either succeed or declare it a failure.

It’s usually pretty clear when the idea of the paintings achieves a clarity of form, color and composition such that I can call it a successful statement of a visual idea. Or, a painting is done when my wife comes into the studio and orders me to back away from the canvas and put my brushes down. She has saved many visual ideas from over painting, which is a big problem when you’re in uncharted territory, making it up as you go, while keeping one foot in naturalism, the other in abstraction, painting improvisationally and struggling to sort out the overwhelming formal choices that every painter has to deal with—color, form, space, etc..

If it’s a failure, I’ll recycle the unsuccessful painting and use it as background for a new painting. Almost all of my paintings are many paintings on top of each other. I use the old shapes to help solve problems in the current painting.

BS: Julian, do you have an suggestions or advice for young painters who are seeking gallery representation or simply trying to put their 'foot in the door'?

JH: Try the newest galleries who are still gathering a group of artists for regular shows. It’s the work that counts. But who you know often counts as much as the successfulness of the work when trying to get shown.

When the Beech Trees Dance. oil on canvas and panel. 24" x 24". 2005-06

BS: Julian, where can our readers view more of your art?

JH: At Elizabeth Harris Gallery in Chelsea, Kathryn Markel Gallery in Chelsea for monoprints, Hidell Brooks Gallery in Charlotte, N.C. for more monoprints, the Ober Gallery in Kent, Connecticut for a couple more paintings. Or, try my website: www.julianhatton.net or www.eharrisgallery.com.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the artworld?

JH: An under-emphasized point in painting is mastering the syntax of visual language, as in the illusionistic space of the 2-D surface, where most painting happens. There are rules to any language, as in syntax. Some parts of languages you can invent, some you have to borrow. There is no adequate pedagogy in art classes that successfully explains how the most successful abstract paintings work in terms of creating an orderly spacial illusion, as used by Jackson Pollock to Julie Mehretu. The art world rewards those who invent their own language. We all have to invent our own visual language, to some extent, not only to succeed in the art world but to have fun. The trick is inventing a visual language that others can understand and enjoy. There is more to be said about this but I’ve probably gone on long enough.

You can learn more about Julian Hatton by visiting his website--www.julianhatton.net. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Don Ritter

Don Ritter is a Canadian artist and writer living in Berlin, Germany. Since 1986, he has created electronic artworks that audiences control with their bodies, voices, or music. His large scale video-sound installations have been been exhibited at festivals and museums throughout Europe, North America and Asia, including SITE Santa Fe in New Mexico, Metrònom in Barcelona, Ars Electronica in Linz, Sonambiente Sound Festival in Berlin, New Music America in New York, and ArtFuture 2000 in Taipei. He is considered a pioneer of interactive video-sound installations and performances.

Vested, interactive video and sound installation, 13 x 15m, work in progress

Brian Sherwin: Don, I understand that you were born in Canada. You are currently living in Berlin, Germany. How did moving to Berlin make an impact on your art? Did you move to Germany for your work?

Don Ritter: Yes, I was born in Camrose, a small city near Edmonton, Alberta. I also lived in Toronto, Boston, Montreal or Brooklyn between 1979 and 2005, and in 2006 I moved to Berlin. My move to Germany was important for my art career because for the previous sixteen years I had been a full-time professor of art; now I can focus completely on my art activities.

Culture and art are very important to many people in Germany, especially in Berlin, making it an invigorating place for anyone in the arts. The country has a very intellectual and serious approach to culture and it seems especially fond of artworks that are dark and brooding, such as those by Max Beckmann, George Grosz, or Joseph Beuys. I am not sure if Berlin provides more opportunities to an artist than one living in New York City, but it offers a rich cultural environment and a large studio at a lower cost.

Since I began exhibiting in 1988, my work has always received support from Europe--especially from Germany-- but the main reason I moved to Berlin was because of a personal relationship with a Berlinerin that started in 2003.

FIT, interactive video and sound installation, 5 x 9 m, 1993

BS: Don, you are considered a pioneer of interactive video-sound installations and performances. Since 1986 your works have been exhibited at festivals and museums throughout North America, Europe and Asia. With that said, can you recall your early years... how did you get your start?

DR: I had been drawing, painting and making sculptures since I was six years old, but I was also interested in electronics—especially audio and video equipment. I was repairing the family television set at ten years old, and by high school I was an audiophile. I started oil painting when I was seventeen and copied Van Goghs and Picassos. After completing high school, I studied electronics engineering at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, hoping this background would support my future art interests. After I completed these studies, I worked for the telecommunications company Northern Telecom in Toronto. I worked in an engineering department on the design of telephone switching systems, large electronic boxes that connect together thousands of telephones, but I would paint in the evenings and on weekends.

I had a few exhibitions in Toronto during those days, and some of my friends and engineering colleagues bought my paintings. After three years working in telecommunication design, I started studying fine arts at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. I also started a second degree in psychology at Waterloo with a concentration in social psychology.

During my fine art studies, I painted, sculpted, and made a few installations with sound. My favorite professor at Waterloo was artist Basia Irland, who now teaches at the University of New Mexico. During my summer breaks, I worked for Bell-Northern Research (BNR) as a human interface designer. My colleagues at BNR were mostly European industrial psychologists who specialized in human cognition and perception. That experience was very important to my development as an artist because it led to my understanding of human interfaces, which I would later use within my interactive installations. My artworks during this time tended to be very organic and they usually contained human forms, but no electronics. My influences included Joseph Beuys, Eva Hesse, William de Kooning, Francis Bacon, and Titian.

Defenestration, interactive video and sound installation, 5 x 8 m, work in progress

BS: Don, I've read that you've studied film at Harvard University. Who were your mentors during that time? Also, care to give our readers more information about your academic past? Where did you study... have you taught as well?

DR: After I finished the undergraduate degrees at Waterloo, I began my graduate studies in 1986 at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was officially a student of CAVS, but I also took classes at the Harvard Carpenter Center and the MIT Media Lab, a research facility that focuses on new media technologies. Since the 1960’s, CAVS has a history of artists using video, lasers, holograms, and many other technologies. Artists who had been in residence at CAVS included Nam June Paik, Charlotte Moorman, Peter Campus, and Antonio Muntadas.

I first started combining my interest in art, technology, and psychology at MIT in the form of videotapes, electronic music, video installations, and computer animation. My primary professors during those studies were artist Otto Piene (MIT), film maker Richard Leacock (MIT), and film theorist Vladimir Petric (Harvard). MIT and Harvard are sister institutions, so students at one institution can take classes at the other.

Petric had a sincere enthusiasm about film and life, and through him I learned about cinematography and film history. Through Leacock, I learned how to make documentary videos, which would became important for documenting my installations. Otto Piene is a German artist who has a long history of working with technology in the creation of very large artworks. Otto was the director of CAVS and my primary advisor.

In my final semester, I developed a software, called Orpheus that enabled video to be controlled by live music or sensors. I used this software to create my master’s thesis, a 30 x 30 ft interactive video installation titled Stithy (1988). Orpheus became the technical basis of my work for many years.

At MIT, I also made interactive performances that featured video controlled by live music. My primary collaborator was trombonist George Lewis, an improviser and pioneer of interactive music. In conjunction with an electronic music class, our first performance was presented at the MIT Media Lab in 1988. Between 1988 and 1990, George and I performed at various new music festivals in US, Canada and Italy, including New Music America (NYC) and the Verona Jazz Festival.

I held full-time positions as a professor of art at Concordia University (Montreal) from 1989 to 1996 and at Pratt Institute (Brooklyn) from 1995 to 2005. I taught BFA and MFA students the use of new media technologies to create videos, animations, web sites, digital images, and installations. My main responsibilities at Pratt were to supervise MFA theses and develop curriculum for the artistic, non-commercial use of new media. I worked with many outstanding students at both schools.

BS: Since those early years your work has made a huge impact. For example, your installation Intersection (created in 1993) has been experienced by over 600,000 people in seven countries. How does it feel to know that so many people have interacted with your work?

DR: I am very happy that Intersection has been so well received over the years, and that it is still being exhibited today. Intersection is a very experiential work. Visitors respond to it quite emotionally and they find the work either funny or frightening.

Intersection, interactive sound installation, dark space, 16 x 13m, 1993

BS: Don, Intersection is one of your most widely exhibited works. Intersection is an interactive sound installation presented in a large dark room. The work presents the sounds of four lanes of car traffic that respond to audiences by screeching to a halt, idling, accelerating or crashing into each other. Can you recall your thoughts behind this piece? What inspired you to create it?

DR: Although I had used audio in previous works, Intersection was my first sound installation. The idea behind Intersection is based on an experience I had as a teenager. I was walking down a street one evening and encountered two freight trains that were stopped on parallel tracks crossing the street. To continue on my way, I crawled over the first train; when I was standing between the trains--which were less than three feet apart--they both started moving in opposite directions. Fearing I might be hit by something sticking out from a train car, I lay down on the ground, parallel to the trains while they increased in speed. This situation went one for a few minutes until the last cars had passed. It was quite frightening because I didn’t know if I would get hurt or not. I didn’t get hurt, but it was still a stupid thing to do.

Intersection is a reference to that experience, but not in a literal sense. It refers to our fear of the unknown, the fear of not knowing if we have encountered something harmful. The installation is exhibited in a completely dark room, usually 45 x 40 ft. After entering the installation, people hear four lanes of car traffic traveling across the room and through the darkness. If people intersect with a passing car as they move across the room, the car will screech to a halt and remaining idling in front of them. If a person moves away from the path of a stopped car, it will accelerate and continue across the room. If a person remains in front of a stopped car for more than a few seconds, the sounds of subsequent cars traveling down that lane will smash into the stopped car.

Vox Populi, interactive video and sound installation, 13 x 15m, 2005

BS: Don, one of your most recent works is titled Vox Populi, an interactive video installation that enables audience members to become leaders by reading political speeches to a large projection of a cheering crowd. Can you tell our readers about the motives you had behind this piece?

DR: Vox Populi was completed in 2005, but the idea developed around 1994. The installation enables visitors to feel like leaders while reading political speeches from a lectern to a video projected crowd. The lectern has a microphone and also a computer screen containing historical political speeches. As a person reads a speech within the installation, a computer analyzes the speaker’s voice, determines the speed of the scrolling speech, and selects the response of the video projected crowd as being supportive or not. The specific speeches used in the installation are less important to me than having visitors feel like leaders, like they are controlling others through their speeches. The installation uses one or three video projections, depending on the size of the space. When it was shown at SITE Sante Fe in 2005, three video projections were used to create a 45 x 12 foot video image of a screaming crowd—it was very intimidating.

o telephone, 8 channel interactive sound installation, 6 x 6m, 2007

My most recent work is o telephone (2007), an interactive sound installation. Within o telephone, six modified 1960’s telephones are arranged in a circle within a darkened room and each randomly rings with a distinctive sound. If a viewer answers a ringing phone, "om" is heard through the handset and through the body of the phone. When viewers answer other ringing phones, the resulting "om" sounds will pan through all the answered phones and create a circle of audio traveling around the viewers. If no ringing telephones are answered, the telephones spontaneously begin a new composition comprised of "om" sounds. The idea for this work came from my yoga practice while living in Brooklyn. Hearing twenty people chant "om" is a very calming experience. According to Hinduism, "Om" is the sound of existence.

o telephone, 8 channel interactive sound installation, 6 x 6m, 2007

BS: Don, your work was initially recognized by institutions associated with new media art, such as Ars Electronica and MIT, but it now receives more recognition from museums and festivals of contemporary art. What do you think caused this shift in interest?

DR: I think there are a few reasons for this change. Since the early 1990’s, many of the international festivals that focus on new media art have become increasingly interested in commercial applications of digital technologies and less interested in work containing a fine art component. Also, many of the smaller new media festivals cannot accommodate large or costly installations. Intersection is relatively expensive to exhibit because the organizer must prepare a completely dark room, provide a multi-channel sound system, ship my equipment, provide my transportation and accommodation, etc. It seems that fine art venues are more able to afford my work. Also, I think the humanistic aspect of my work is of more interest to fine art venues than new media ones.

I used to aggrandize the technologies within my installations, but I now downplay their role. I still spend thousands of hours dealing with the technical construction of my works, but I am now more interested in how my works are relevant to audiences. For me, the medium of an artwork is less important than its meaning. I think this perspective is also of more interest to the fine art world than the new media art scene.

I have spoken to many new media curators regarding the acceptance of new media art into the contemporary art world, and most say that it has not happened to a great degree. I think the reason for this situation is that new media art is often evaluated according to its technology, while contemporary art is usually judged according to its relationship with art history. When I exhibit at a new media venue, people are always interested in which technology I use--such as the model of computer—but fine art venues are relatively unconcerned about those details.

Digestion, interactive video and sound installation or performance, 5 x 10m, 2003

BS: Dottie Indyke (ARTnews) stated the following about your work-- "Ritter's play with his viewers' phobias recalls the anxiety-provoking tendencies of Surrealism.". With that said? Would you say that there is a great deal of psychology within the context of your work? What are your motives behind revealing-- or exploring-- the human condition? The majority of new media work is about the technology itself... why do you choose to study the human condition by utilizing technology?

DR: I think all artworks are about psychology, not just my own, because all artworks relate to how humans behave and think. I consider all media as mechanisms for promoting certain entities, making them more authoritative, more powerful, and wealthier. Artworks from the Italian Renaissance promoted the Papacy using imagery from the Bible, while contemporary works use modern imagery to promote something else.

Since 2003, I have been writing a book on media literacy called The e Decision. The content of the text is based on interviews with art curators and information from the fields of art, psychology, philosophy, aesthetics, and new media technologies. The book explores the function of media in general and it proposes that all media—including artworks-- have the same general function: to promote something within a society. In my own artworks, I am less interested in contributing to this social mechanism, preferring instead to talk about the existence of these mechanisms and their functions.

I have always been interested in psychology and considered becoming a psychologist after I competed my BA in psychology. It took many years for me to realize that the content of my artworks are often reflections of social behavior. Within my installation TV Guides (1995), for instance, viewers encounter a living room with a television that plays live commercial broadcasts. In response to any movement by viewers within the installation, the television sound and imagery fade out, followed by text on the screen that requests viewers to remain motionless. The imagery and sound resume only after everyone within the installation is motionless for at least five seconds.

TV Guides, interactive video and sound installation with live television, 8 x 5m, 1995

In many ways, my installations are like narratives with audiences as the actors. At one time, I was obsessed with using technology as an art medium, but I am now more interested in creating works that are meaningful. Artworks usually convey meaning through symbolism--certain imagery, symbols or whatever--but I am interested in conveying meaning by presenting audiences with particular experiences. In TV Guides, people feel the control of television, in Vox Populi they feel control over other people, and in Intersection they feel fear of the unknown.

BS: Don, what are you working on at this time? Do you have any upcoming exhibitions?

DR: I am currently working on a collection of installations called Roman Holidays. The term "Roman Holiday" originates in the 19th century and it refers to any situation where people watch the suffering of others as entertainment, such as the gladiator events of ancient Rome. I see this phenomenon happening today as portrayals of real and fictitious suffering are presented in films, television programs, news programs, newspapers, etc. The installations within the Roman Holiday series will permit audience members to enact suicide through interactive video and sound installations while being watched by other people.

My next exhibition is in Lille, France, October 11 to November 11 at the Maison Folie de Moulins. The festival is called Les Chants Mécaniques, and I will be presenting Intersection and o telephone. In November, I am a speaking about The e Decision at the Interactive Futures conference in Victoria, Canada.

BS: Don, do you have any advice for installation artists who are just starting out?

DR: I think there are many factors that contribute to an installation artist’s success. The ones that I think are important are the following. Know what you want to say through your work and, also, what your audience thinks you are saying. Know your media; get familiar with all the aspects of installation art, including architecture, theater, visual art, music, robotics, and whatever. Know art history and world history, and how it relates to your work. And finally, know the art business and how to interact with audiences and curators. Unfortunately, I am not a master of these items, but I am pretty sure they are all important.

BS: Thank you for answering my questions.

DR: Thank you Brian!

You can learn more about Don Ritter by visiting his website-- www.aesthetic-machinery.com. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Mark Melvin

Mark Melvin is one of four artists who will be featured in Saatchi's 4 New Sensations exhibit-- a Channel 4 Prize for STUART 2007 graduates. The four were chosen from a selection of twenty finalists. Mark Melvin is currently based in London where he experiments with various cycles and levels of repetition, be it a discussion of the habitual and routine, investigations into recollection and memory or appropriation from popular culture. These loops and repetitions are always fractured by a series of interruptions and reworkings, so that although the pieces are often cycles of appropriated songs, films or words in their entirety, a linear narrative or harmony is always broken, which arrests overlooking the passing of time.

Same Again (A sign from Cyndi)

Brian Sherwin: Mark, you have been chosen as one of Saatchi's 4 New Sensations. How did you feel upon learning that you had been selected? Also, can you tell us anything about the project you plan to create for Channel 4?

Mark Melvin: I was really quite surprised initially to hear I was selected for the final twenty let alone the final four. It’s really quite flattering and unexpected. With regards to the project, I hope to create a new neon work around the themes of the competition itself and continue what is a relatively new way of working for me.

Performance for wallbanger and solo percussion

BS: Mark, can you tell our readers about your background. When did you know that you wanted to be an artist? Where did you study? Who were your mentors and early influences?

MM: From an early age I knew I wanted to be an artist and it was something that I was good at at school. I knew I should pursue this interest and studied from foundation level to MA at Leeds College of Art and Design (UK), Glasgow School of Art (UK), Maryland Institute College of Art and Design (US), Konsthogskolan Valand (Sweden) and then now Central saint Martins College of Art and Design (UK). I think that a real turning point for my practice was during my BA at the Glasgow School of Art where I was taught by many influential people, David Harding, Ross Birrell, Stephanie Smith, Bryndis Snaesbjornsdottir and Peter McCaughey to name a few.

Peter introduced me to the music of Steve Reich during my first year; a composer whose music is concerned with the loop, synchronicity and the changing same. Reading about and around his music laid the foundations for the sculptural, video, collaborative and curatorial work that I have been making to date and my interest in repetition.

My brother, composer Adam Melvin, has also influenced my practice and I have worked on numerous site-specific, cross-disciplinary projects with him and hope to continue our interest in pairing music and visual art. In terms of contemporary artists I think that Pierre Huygue, Martin Arnold, and Christian Marclay, are definitely artists that I find interesting.

BS: Mark, you often experiment with various cycles and levels of repetition-- stating that, "Repetition is the key to an understanding of my practice". With this theme you focus on aspects of habit and routine-- you also investigate recollection and memory. Can you go into further detail about the use of repetition within the context of your work? How would you describe your work to someone who is not familiar with it?

MM: Sure. What I feel can be seen in my pieces through out is a preoccupation with the work as process, and in turn looping, sequence and rhythmic iteration have been prominent in their construction. Repetition is important to my practice and I often experiment with various cycles and levels of repetition. American Minimalist music has especially influenced my approach to video and performance and I have adopted similar cyclical and repetitive compositional tactics to provide structure for the processes in my work.

With my most recent video work I have ventured into the world of cinema both reconstructing and appropriating sections of film. This can be seen as a natural progression from the use of music in my work as I moved to an exploration of the musical as a film genre, amongst others. In pieces like Von Trapped 2005 and Tomorrow Remember Yesterday 2006 my practice has moved towards the familiar territory of popular cinema. Within the last ten years alone, film as a found object for manipulation or recreation has become a prominent genre in contemporary art: from Stan Douglas’s looped re-creation of a scene from Marnie (Subject To a Film: Marnie 1989) to Pierre Huyghe’s shot-by-shot remake of Rear Window (Remake 1995) or in the majority of Douglas Gordon’s work. But, in contrast to those re-enactments of film in contemporary art or cinematic samplings of artists such as Candice Breitz, Martin Arnold or Christian Marclay, I am less interested in narrative or representation than I am in cadence and gesture.

Von Trapped

In my sculptural work I have been exploring the language and formal aspects of signs, editing and accentuating elements in a performative manner. With Applause 2006, I began dealing with the written word and particularly wordplay in relation to signs. The sign is viewed in place of the thing itself, the "thing" existing in the present and simply being referred to by the sign. The sign therefore represents the present in its absence by replacing it. It is essentially a signifier for when we cannot fully experience the thing in the present.

The sign in a sense, could be perceived as a deferred presence. The circulation and distribution of signs defers the moment in which we can encounter the thing itself and interact with it. Whether we look at the signified or the signifier, language has neither ideas nor sounds that exist before the linguistic system itself, but only conceptual and phonic differences issued from it. With this in mind I have developed my sculptural ideas to explore what occurs when the sign becomes itself the "thing" and where language is deliberately constructed to make it difficult for us to encounter the signifier in the absence of the thing; where are initial interpretation is halted by a delay and where the subject of language becomes self referential. This idea of the sign as object is something that is prominent in the works of artists like Bruce Nauman and something I have tried to explore in sculptural works like Stop Making Sense 2007 and Stammer 2007 for example.

Another aspect of my practice is my collaborative practice. Over the last few years I have been working with International musicians and composers on projects, continuing with my interest in combining musical performance and video/installation both in traditional and non-traditional art settings. With these projects we concentrate on the idea of creating cross-disciplinary and often site-specific projects combining music both elements in a manner where no one element musical or visual gains overall prominence. Examples include: 4/4 2003, Speak 2004 and Three Glimpses 2006.

BS: Mark, you often work in collaboration with your brother, composer Adam Melvin. Can you discuss some of the projects you've worked on together? Also, Minimalist music has influenced your approach to video and performance-- would you say that your brother is part of this inspiration?

MM: Well. As I said before, Adam is an influence. Its very hard for us not to influence each other when you work so closely in tandem on these projects. Our projects have been quite prolific working with Juice Vocal Trio and Duo X on recent occasions. I suppose two good examples which show the diversity of our practice are 4/4 2003 and Speak 2004. 4/4 was a site - specific project at the Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Museum.

The project designed and curated by myself used the space as both its venue and inspiration, acting as both subject and site for the development of an evolving process. 4/4 was intended to open up the possibilities for musicians and contemporary visual artists to respond to each other, investigating the inspiration for the construction of music and video and attempting to articulate how the two can operate together, where neither is subsidiary to the other.

In constructing a process whereby architecture fed music, music fed video, and video inspired live musical improvisation, the aim of 4/4 was to expose and become the product of the separate stages of its own development. A four minute compositions was made, four artists asked to respond to it in the form of four silent video works and four musicians asked to improvise to the four videos in four performances. The project was a work in itself, dealing with the cyclical and very characteristic of my approach to my solo practice.

Speak 2004 is a multi-media piece which uses video and music in a uniquely intimate way, focusing on and exploring the ways in which the two art forms can be manipulated in close relation to one another. It is something of a theatrical piece in essence, the video element takes the form of a performer in much the same way as each of the musical performers do, working in close dialogue with the singer in particular.

The visual animation assumes the role of a silent performer, complementary yet integral to the performance structure of the piece. The narrative of this video projection comes from and influences that of the musical performance and composition, constructed in the manner of a musical part. The character projected is choreographed to move in and out of sync with both the live vocal performance and musical material at different stages, echoing and mimicking what the audience will see and hear. I think it is quite successful and in a sense influenced my use of language in my new neon works.

BS: Mark, you have noted an interest in Nietzsche’s concept of ‘eternal recurrence’, in Freud’s speculations on the repetition compulsion and the death drive, in Derrida’s discussions of ‘iterability’ and in Deleuze’s theories on repetition and difference. Tell me... what is your personal philosophy in regards to your art?

MM: Yes it is the writings of these philosophers on the subject of repetition that is of interest.
I feel that a temporal category, like repetition, is a subject that can be found in much of contemporary theory. What can be seen from these philosophers is that the question of repetition imposes itself once the idealistic system of thought exhausts its resources and becomes blocked.

In Nietzches theorizing on eternal recurrence, he suggests that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur in the exact same self-similar form an incomprehensible and unfathomable number of times. This theory deals with the idea that we are destined to repeat the same actions, mistakes, etc. again and again and only through clear communication and learning can we possibly create hurdles for inevitability. With this in mind, I have tried to explore the cyclical and repetitive in my practice. In doing so Derrida has also brought up ideas for exploration.

Derrida’s differ(a)nce, for example, a word which belongs neither to the voice nor to writing in the usual sense, and which could be even understood as being located in a space between. The verb differer in French has two meanings, which are quite different. Firstly it can mean to defer and secondly to differ. The double meaning occurs simultaneously so I think it is important to try and understand and explore how differ(a)nce as temporization and differ(a)nce as spacing might be brought together. I suppose I have tried to react to these theories by moving my practice on incrementally with knowledge that each new work should complement my whole body of work so far.

BS: Aside from music and philosophy... what else inspires you?

MM: Film, writing, theatre. I often appropriate texts and films reinterpreting moments from past works.

Applause

BS: Mark, this year you were awarded the Nationwide Mercury Prize Art Prize with your piece "Applause". Can you tell us more about this prize and how you felt upon learning that you had been chosen?

MM: The prize is a competition for student artists and you applied online. The winners work was shown on this years Nationwide Mercury Music Prize album. It was an incredible success and again unexpected. It seemed to be a music related competition and therefore something that I should apply for with the nature of my practice. I felt the selected work, worked well as a kinetic light piece and in documentation for the cover. Its amazing to think that your work will ever appear on the front cover of an album. I walk in music shops now and keep seeing it in multiple. It somehow seems fitting to see it again and again repeated across the shelves.

BS: Mark, I'm certain that you have been very busy lately. Have you found it difficult to find balance between your recent success and remaining devoted to your artistic process?

MM: It has been a successful year for me and it has also been busy. But I believe this success had enabled me to develop my work. I am a driven person and am only trying to keep the momentum so that I can continue to practice as an artist. Its difficult but its what I want to do. The two residencies I carried out during my degree (one in Traverse Theatre Edinburgh and one at CESTA, Tabor, Czech republic) were tough to balance with the degree commitments but I accepted them because they would inform and develop my practice on all levels, which I feel they have.

As soon as I finished my degree I went to Gallery Uhoda in Belgium to work on a new group exhibition with colleagues from University. I have just got back and am full of new ideas for work. I think that these experiences have fueled me to make new work and experiment more. That’s what you hope for as an artist I would have thought. I am thrilled to be given the support to keep going.

BS: Mark, can you tell us about any projects you are planning for the future? Where will your work take you next?

MM: Its hard to say really. Duo X, Adam and I are planning to work on developing a project combining neon and music where the buzz of neon contributes to and intersperses with musical material. This is one of many collaborative ideas Adam and I have been developing.

The show at Uhoda has also spurred Lia, Mike, Marcin and I to seek out spaces to continue our ideas for exhibition. The show worked well and the pieces were complementary to one another. We will certainly be working towards exhibiting together again soon. Ultimately I just hope that people continue to be interested in my practice so that I can continue experimenting with ideas.

Muted Score no. 1

BS: Mark, how do you start a piece? Do you draw up plans? Do you write it out? Tell us†a little about the process itself.

MM: It really depends on the idea and medium. With my video works I often begin with a moment from film, music or text and obsess over it until I find a process to begin production. With my more sculptural works they start life as drawings.

BS: What kind of mediums do you use?

MM: I work predominantly in video, with musical instruments, and neon. I have been known to use other mediums from turntables to mobile phones. I don’t want to restrict myself. My ideas often dictate the appropriate medium to use.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the art world?

MM: I am not sure what else to say really. I have only touched on a few of my works. I could talk for hours about the work but for now its probably time to stop.

You can learn more about Mark Melvin by visiting his website-- www.markmelvin.co.uk. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Myartspace.com: New York, New York, 2007 Competition Winners!

Vincent Como
Minkyung Lee

The New York, New York 2007 Competition winners have been announced. The jurors-- James Rondeau of the Art Institute of Chicago, Jessica Morgan of the Tate Modern, and Steven Zevitas of New American Paintings --selected 50 finalists and then chose 4 winners from that pool. The winners are: Vincent Como, Minkyung Lee, Svetlana Rabey, and Masha Ryskin. Congratulations to all of the winners! A lot of great work was submitted, and, as always, there was not enough room to showcase it all. Thanks to the editorial staff and the jury for the fine work, and thanks to the sponsor, Blick Art Supplies, for their support. You can find out more by visiting the following link: http://www.myartspace.com/contestresults/nyny07/ . You can read my interviews with each of the winners by going to the following page: www.myartspace.com/interviews

Svetlana Rabey
Masha Ryskin

Art Space Talk: Masha Ryskin

We are pleased to announce that Masha Ryskin is one of the four winners of the Myartspace.com NY, NY, Competition. She and the three other artists were chosen from a group of 50 finalists. The Myartspace.com team would like to thank the jurors-- Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern), James Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago), and Steven Zevitas (New American Paintings). We would also like to thank everyone who participated in the competition.

Masha Ryskin is a Russian-born painter, printmaker, and installation artist. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She has participated in a number of national and international residency programs and has worked in both United States and Indonesia, Finland, Costa Rica, Norway, and Spain. Her work has been featured in a number of publications, most recently in the New York Times.

Coffeescape II (detail), This is a detail of the site-specific wall piece Coffeescape II, 11 ft x 10 ft

Brian Sherwin: Masha, you are one of the Finalists of the Myartspace.com NY, NY, Competition. How does it feel to know that the jurors-- Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern), James Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago, and Steven Zevitas (New American Paintings) selected you as a winner?

Masha Ryskin: I am really happy and flattered to have been chosen as one of the winners.

BS: Masha, tell us about the work you submitted. Why did you decided on those five images?

MR: This is one of my latest works and one I am the happiest with. I used the detail shots that I thought highlighted different aspects of the installation.

Coffeescape II (detail 2), 11 ft x 10 ft, coffee, intaglio, collage

BS: Masha, the media that you use ranges from painting and printmaking to installation. Can you tell us about your educational background? Who were you mentors? Also, what artists have influenced your work?

MR: My education is in traditional painting, followed by a Bachelor's degree in printmaking, and later an MFA in painting and mixed media. I also started working with fibers in graduate school. There really are too many mentors to mention here - I have been very fortunate - but the two wonderful people that I still turn to are Joanne Stryker from Rhode Island School of Design and Randy Williams from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

BS: Masha, you were raised in the Soviet Union. You now live in the United States. Can you tell us more about your background and how it has shaped you into the artist you are today?

MR: It was quite a difference to experience the education in the United States after the Soviet schools. The variety of things I was exposed to in this country was unbelievable. But, at the same time, I always draw on the foundation received in Moscow.

Coffeescape II (detail 3), 11 ft x 10 ft

BS: Masha, you have stated that your painting are like imaginary landscapes and that some of them are influenced by Russian folklore. Can tell us more about these paintings and the stories behind them?

MR: Well, there is not an overt narrative in my paintings, but the idea of a journey is always present. I use elements of nature as metaphors, in a subtle way.The personification of nature and especially trees is central in the Russian folklore.

BS: Masha, aspects of nature are a constant theme in your work. Why do you feel so connected to nature? Can you explain that connection?

MR: I grew up on the eighth floor of a concrete building in Moscow, so my encounters with nature were always very special.

Coffeescape II (detail 4), This is a detail of Coffeescape II, 11 ft x 10 ft, coffee, intaglio, collage

BS: Masha, I've read that you have collaborated with other artists. Can you tell us about some of the collaborations you've been involved with? Why do you enjoy working in this manner?

MR: Collaboration really allows you to step out of your comfort zone, and, if you work well with the other person, enriches your work tremendously. I have collaborated with Margaret Yuko Kimura, a printmaker who now lives in Cleveland, for about ten years now. We have complete trust in each others judgments, which opens up a lot of doors during our work together. I think it is difficult to find a collaborator you can work with well, so I really treasure the opportunity to work with Margaret. I have also collaborated with musicians and dancers.

BS: Masha, tell us about your studio space? Do you follow a routine when you are working on your art? Also, can you tell us more about your artistic process?

MR: I have a studio at my house and also get a lot of work done at artist residencies. I do not follow any specific routine, and my work is very intuitive, the pieces undergo many changes before they become final. I usually work on many pieces at a time.

Coffeescape II, This is a site-specific piece done directly on the wall, 11 ft x 10 ft, coffee, intaglio, collage

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

MR: Not at the moment but anybody who has further questions is welcome to contact me through my Myartspace page.

Thank you reading my interview with Masha Ryskin. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Vincent Como

We are pleased to announce that Vincent Como is one of the four winners of the Myartspace.com NY, NY, Competition. He and the three other artists were chosen from a group of 50 finalists. The Myartspace.com team would like to thank the jurors-- Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern), James Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago), and Steven Zevitas (New American Paintings). We would also like to thank everyone who participated in the competition.


Vincent Como focuses on the color black with his work. In a sense, he explores the significance of black through projects that involve drypoint prints, drawings and a cube cast in ink. Vincent creates thought provoking works that blend concept and technique by investigating the artistic, scientific and cultural significance of the color black.

Things in My Studio That Make Black- Every available medium in my studio at the time which makes black, 22 x 30in, Mixed media on paper

Brian Sherwin: Vincent, you are one of the Finalists of the Myartspace.com NY, NY, Competition. How does it feel to know that the jurors-- Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern), James Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago, and Steven Zevitas (New American Paintings) selected you as a winner? Where were you at when you found out? Also, why did you decide to enter the NY, NY, Competition in the first place?

Vincent Como: I moved to New York (Brooklyn) about a year ago from Chicago, where I had spent the previous 9 years, so I have been pretty familiar with the exceptional curatorial work James Rondeau has been doing at the Art Institute. I've also been very familiar with the New American Paintings publication for many years and while comparatively, I wasn't nearly as familiar with Jessica Morgan's work, I certainly know about the Tate's programming and reputation. So as far as the decision to enter the competition it was really based on the quality of the Jury. To have an opportunity for these three professionals to view and assess my work was not something I'd pass up willingly, so with regard to my feelings on being one of the four selected by this jury it's definitely an honor.


History Of Painting- Series of 40 drawings chronicling the history of painting as an object, 11 x 8.5 in. each, Gouache and Ink on Paper


BS: Vincent, tell us about the work you submitted. Why did you decided on those five images?

VC: I felt that these particular works represented pretty well the whole of what it is I'm trying to accomplish with Black. Dark Matter relates to the scientific investigations, the History of Painting series of drawings relates to, well the history of painting. Basically taking the idea of contextual elements applied to works of art and exploring their impact on the reading of said work, as it has been done throughout history with different aesthetic stylizations. 4.5 cubic inches (Volume of the inside of my head) is a cast block of sumi ink which corresponds both to the idea of my head being filled with blackness, and also as an independent object a very miniature black "monolith" making reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Things in My Studio That Make Black is an ongoing drawing project which basically describes my studio practice. It depicts the materials I have on hand at the moment to make these Black works, and every few years I have occasion to re-visit the project with a slightly different format and somewhat different materials depending on what I've been working on. Black, Darkness, Matter is a drawing which explores the different facets of my ongoing investigation. Not unlike Solid liquid and gas, these are properties that I am interested in exploring and applying to the work I do.


4.5 Cubic in. (Volume of the Inside of My Head), 4.5x4.5x4.5 in, Cast Sumi Ink


BS: Vincent, what are you working on at this time?

VC: Why, I'm working on making things Black, of course... The Dark Matter drawing is the first in a series of three large-scale drawings accompanied by footnotes containing tertiary information, which reference properties of Black Holes/Dark Matter/Dark Energy so I'm continuing into the second of these, as well as a series of black monochrome paintings utilizing classical oil painting techniques. Then the ever-present research into all things Black, which is a mainstay of my studio practice. I've spent alot of time this past summer reading up on alchemical practices, particularly because of the Mandalas which they generate to describe and categorize different properties and transformations. I've been sketching out some thoughts on how to apply this to mapping out different properties of Black, Darkness, Matter etc. That's the most recent development.

BS: Vincent, tell us about your educational background. Where did you study art? Who were you mentors?

VC: I went through the Cleveland Institute of Art's rigorous 5-year BFA program, majoring in Drawing and also studied alot of Printmaking. I think the instructors I had the most interaction with, and the most discourse with were Holly Morrison, Ralph Woehrman, and Michael Houlihan. All of whom had a focus toward Print/Drawing.

BS: Vincent, what artists-- or art movements-- have influenced your work?

VC: I'm very fond of the Arte Povera Movement which was happening in Italy, with Kounnellis, Merz, Pistoletto etc. I'm very fond of what Spencer Finch is currently doing. I'm really interested in the specifics of his thinking process and how that translates into the works. The obvious influences are the Malevich, Reinhardt, Black Square Mafia who I'm also greatly indebted to.

Dark Matter- The first in a series of large-scale drawings referencing Black Holes accompanied by smaller drawings as "footnotes", 75 x 116 overall, Guoache on paper with additional drawing


BS: Vincent, can you tell us about your artistic philosophy? What are the motives... the thoughts... behind your work?

VC: To put it very simply, I'm really interested in Black. I'm interested both in the challenges of working with what many consider an absolute, and in doing so, I'm interested in how to keep challenging myself to bring in something new to the conversation about black...

BS: Vincent, tell us about your studio space? Do you work in silence or do you listen to music? Do you follow a routine when you are working on your art? What is it like to be in the studio of Vincent Como?

VC: I have a modest studio in Brooklyn that's a pretty straightforward white cube with a wall dedicated to shelves and storage for finished work and supplies. I work directly on a wall for larger pieces and have a table for smaller projects. Pretty much the first thing I do after entering the studio is plug my MP3 player into the speakers, usually before taking off a coat or doing anything else. And yes, there is a great deal of Heavy Metal that can be heard on the other side of my walls, but it all depends on what I'm working on that day, and how well a project is going. So it could vary from Om and Electric Wizard to the Velvet Underground or the Smiths to Bach or Ornette Coleman.

I'm pretty much nothing without a routine. I'm in my studio at some point almost every day and it's the only way I've found that works for me. It took a couple of years out of school to realize that I really needed to put myself in that head-space every day in order to keep the momentum of a project going and to make more fluid the progression from one series or project to the next without a huge gap in the process. So even if I'm spending alot of time reading and researching I try to do it at the studio to be in the space and really engage the space as a dedicated space to "Making things Black".


Black, Darkness, Matter, Mixed Media on Paper


BS: Vincent, can you tell us more about your artistic process? How do you start a piece?

VC: I guess part and parcel to the engagement of the studio space, the beginnings of the works are very often just notes scribbled on index cards as I read or strange blurbs/phases that i hear. There is usually a pretty long gestation period while I'm working on a project the next series is always at the back of my mind, so when I've completed the physical production of a show or series of work I'm pretty well ready to try and answer any questions I've thought of in the interim and get started in laying out the next ones. That's the Cliff Notes version, but it usually happens over the course of several months or for some thoughts even years rolling around in the back of my mind until something sparks and the right thing falls into place.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

VC: I'm pretty pleased with the direction of my work and feel that I have alot of ground to still cover with regard to the focus on Black/Darkness, so I hope a few of the readers will check in from time to time and come along for the ride.




Thank you reading my interview with Vincent Como. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.


Take care, Stay true,


Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Minkyung Lee

We are pleased to announce that Minkyung Lee is one of the four winners of the Myartspace.com NY, NY, Competition. She and the three other artists were chosen from a group of 50 finalists. The Myartspace.com team would like to thank the jurors-- Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern), James Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago), and Steven Zevitas (New American Paintings). We would also like to thank everyone who participated in the competition.

The work of Minkyung Lee must be viewed within the context of the complex relationship between identity and place. Minkyung focuses on her situation in relation to her surroundings and to the circumstances that are attributable to the spaces she encounters. Place-- which can be used as a both noun and verb, is about the situation, a process of involvement, and intuitive experience that Minkyung moves from one place to next.

Her photographs could theoretically be a kind of documentation that reveals segments of reality without interpretation. However, still sharing this attitude, her approach is to find a balance between the two extremes by uniting a authenticity with anonymity. In these places, she consciously removes the personal criteria of her social and cultural status, she becomes a nomad who does not leave traces. Minkyung took pictures of actual places that she had lived or passed by and made miniatures of those places. Her images are miniatures of those places.

The Temporal Moment- Foreign Home series, Digital Print

Brian Sherwin: Minkyung, you are one of the finalists of the Myartspace.com NY, NY, Competition. How does it feel to know that the jurors-- Jessica Morgan (Tate Modern), James Rondeau (Art Institute of Chicago), and Steven Zevitas (New American Paintings) selected you as a winner? Where were you at when you found out? Also, why did you decide to enter the NY, NY, Competition in the first place? Did you feel lucky upon entering, so to speak?

Minkyung Lee: When Brian Skiba called me Wednesday morning, a holiday in Korea, I was on my way to observe Roni Horn’s show in Seoul. It was a mundane morning. Honestly, I felt as if I were in a dream when I got the call. Also, I couldn’t believe that the jurors, very big names in art world, really selected me. A mundane day turned into an unforgettable moment.

Three weeks ago one of my friends talked about MyArtSpace and mentioned the NY, NY, Competition. I was skeptical about the competition, because I applied to competitions thousands of times when I was a graduate student, and never had been selected for anything. At that time my friend told me, "It would be great if we became artists of 40 people in finals." I was persuaded after that. However, I never expected to be one of the four winners. This is a great surprise!

BS: Minkyung, you are an art instructor at Yeungnam University in Deagu, Korea. I understand that you earned you MFA degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Can you explain the difference between how art is instructed in Korea compared to the US... or is there a difference? Are there different viewpoints in Korea about art compared to what you found in the States? Also, would you mind telling us about the department you work in?

ML: I must first tell you that this is my own opinion. In Korea the art education system and curriculum are similar to those in United States. Before undergraduate school, Korean students are trained in basic drawing and painting intensively for a couple of years and that makes a difference. Upon becoming college students they have well-trained hands, but they are often slow to learn how to express their ideas with those skillful hands. In the United States it is different-- when I taught a basic drawing class, at the University of North Carolina, it seemed that most of students knew what they wanted to express even though they had some technical problems. Still at graduate school, one of most important things is the ability to talk about art works. In Korea, maybe it is due to a cultural difference, but graduate students are careful when speaking about the concepts in their artwork.

I teach a basic printmaking class in the Painting Department. The Painting Department is very much like studio art-- including basic photography, basic printmaking, drawing, painting, video, and installation. When teaching the technical course of printmaking I find that one-on-one discussions with students is the most important process in the class.

Hallway, 49 x 67 inches, Digital Print

BS: Why did you decide to travel in order to study art?

ML: I was born and raised in Daegu, a quiet and calm city. It was a good place to live. Because I lived in the same place with the same people for 23 years, I felt living was some kind of habit. I believed art was about the ideas of artists ideas and the story that came from their experience. To me, art is the way to understand oneself, people, and their issues through my experience. I felt limited experience restricted my expression in visual language so I decided to travel. It was good to travel in order to study art. Studying art in various places is the fun way to travel.

BS: Minkyung, before attending Cranbrook you worked as a printmaker and with a camera. After your studies you continued to work with traditional printmaking and with a camera... but you now utilize computers and other methods of artistic creation as well. How did your studies at Cranbrook influence this growth?

ML: I applied to many graduate schools in the United States. During that time I got a lot of reaction about how I was a poorly skilled printmaker and I was not even an amateur photographer. After spending a year at the University of North Carolina, I was accepted to Cranbrook.

During my first day in Michigan I went to the studios in my department and found out there was a big clean room next to the studios. For two years, in that clean room, 14 colleagues and I shared each other’s ideas and critiqued our works freely. In the Print Media Department, we did not care whether works were drawings, paintings, wall papers, fabric sculptures, videos, photos, digitally manipulated prints, or installations. We just talked about the work... what it was about, how it was interpreted. Two processes existed-- working and talking. Critiques allowed me to find out clear and accurate methods visually and conceptually,

Opened Door, 33 x 63 inches, Digital Print

BS: Minkyung, you took part in the Summer Residency program at the School of Visual Art, New York in 2005. How did that experience influence your visual language? What did you study while you were there? Also, who were your mentors at that time?

ML: That summer for the Residency at SVA was memorable due to the expensive dorm room and meeting Cindy Sherman. After the flight from Michigan to New York, I was squeezed into a tiny room crowded with a bed and a desk and spent my first night in New York. Honestly, I was not excited about being in the art Mecca. I was frustrated with the pressure to make good works.

After a couple of days in NY there were visiting artists’ studios planned by SVA. One of the artists was Cindy Sherman. As a person, she looked shy, but as an artist she was passionate. What I was impressed about was the fact that she didn’t have a fancy studio in Manhattan like most big artists. She instead worked in the attic of her house. It gave me an idea that a person was able to decide the use of a space... from there the space would determine a person’s role. After returning to my dorm room I started taking photos of my cleaned and occupied room. That was beginning of the miniature series I have worked with so far.

Judy Linn, a very thoughtful and experienced teacher, and Peter Garfield, a passionate man full of new ideas, were my mentors at that time. They always listened to my concepts with curiosity. They let me learn-- good mentors are good listeners.

BS: Minkyung, you have stated that your work has always been about the question of who we are and how we live. You have went on to say that your work is not just from the situation of being a Korean in America-- instead you focus your interest to know true identities beyond the concept of time, culture, society, country, and situation. Can you go into further detail about this philosophy?

ML: Basically my concept starts from the belief that all human beings live in temporal lives while they desire something more and something eternal. Also, I believe the desire would be the motive force for displacement. Some of my works are the images of dorm rooms, some are interiors of middle class home, and others are images of one bed room apartments. Most images are from my place and from Korean friends living in America that shows American style interior. Like me, they also moved from their home-town or country to a foreign place. Because of my limited choice for the images, there is a possibility that my works reflect the issues of social class, status, culture, certain country and situation. Essentially, the idea is about their displacement in foreign places. The images questions why they have to leave their home, what they are longing for, and what they want to search for in their present dwelling.

The Space for Everyone- Foreign Home series, 104 x 43 inches, Digital Print

BS: Tell us about your artistic process. How does your work get from point A to Point C, so to speak? I understand that you observe your work as a form of documentation-- can you go into further detail about that?

ML: First, I choose a place and take photos of component parts of the place, such as the ceiling, wall, carpet, floor, windows, furniture, and everything in the room. Then through the computer, I reduced the sizes and try to make it close to actual impression of the place. It is like an architect making a small model for his future planned building in a different order and it is the process of preserving the common moment of the room. I might not be able to bring everything to my miniature completely, but the purpose is reappearance of the place.

BS: Minkyung, you have stated the following, "These days I have worked with the notion that people including me who lives in post (maybe post-post) modernism era are all nomads and exiles."... can you go into further detail about that statement and how it is of importance to your work?

ML: In this era, it is believed there is no absolute truth or unchangeable concept. In the theory of knowledge from Buddhism or modern philosophy from western society, the essence might be the changeable personal experience. For example, the monitor I have been watching is not a monitor but something I have known that is a monitor. In this absence of absoluteness, the lives that people have can be temporal and instant. Like the lost orphan, people would desire to search for essential truth.

As temporal beings in limited time, the human being’s searching could be endless and lonely like a nomad, who carries every personal belongings and a small tent instead of a stable home. In this notion, nomads and exiles that I have mentioned are not political and social terms but the definition in the mental and spiritual part.

BS: Minkyung, tell us more about your Room series. Can you go into further detail about the thoughts behind this series?

ML: A room is a restricted space with limited time in my definition. Also, when a room is an empty space, it reflects perfect anonymity. Then while it is occupied, it conveys the owner’s identity. The room can be the life itself, or the person’s identity.

Father's Room, 42.5 x 35, Digital Print

BS: What kind of equipment do you use in your work?

ML: My equipment is not fancy. My cameras are Nikon 801 and 70s and a Nikon Coolscan 5000 film scanner. Sometimes I use a Cannon IXUS for fun. I make small drawings of the places before I actually take photos.

BS: What are you working on at this time? Also, do you have any upcoming exhibitions?

ML: These days I have worked on the ‘Foreign Home’ project. Some of my friends moved out from their home countries or states and live in new places. I interviewed them about why they left and asked them to take some photos of their home. I have been working with the images they have sent. The group show for young artists is opening in October 9th in Deagu. I have two solo shows starts December 13rd and January 23rd, 2008.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the art world?

ML: For now that is all. I am more than happy to have this precious opportunity to talk about my works. Thank you.

Thank you reading my interview with Minkyung Lee. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin