Loss of Creativity : Part 2

Upon my arrival I began to notice that quantity is not always quality. Even though we have a thousand channels there is "never anything to watch", and even though the refrigerator is stuffed, there is "nothing good to eat". Artistically I find little inspiration around me, and as an art student now I feel at the mersy of the clients and the sensors. God forbid we ever challenge the public, and give them something enlightening to think about. The committees are boiling everything down to the basics, no one is funding art anymore, and no one values it as much. I have to admit though, that when I think about back home, the people did not and do not have the luxury to complain about such petty things. I guess I should be lucky to be where I am and have "too many choices". The piece I did is about an individual who thinks about things and contemplates the world. His creativity fluorishes until the "textured" lines and stripes smother his creative being. At the end things return to where they began. The title is Nostalgia because people feel this way about times past when the certain problems discussed did not exist.

Loss of Creativity : part1

Oliviero Toscani brings up a fascinating point when he says that art is dying. Because I grew up in a different country I can see the difference clearer, I see with my own eyes how creativity is beginning to rot as a result of committees and our over/under sensoring. Toscani states, " magazine editors have lost their editorial independences, and work for committees of publishers. TV scripts are vetted by producers, advertisers, lawyers, research specialists, layers and layers of paid executives who determine whether the scripts are dumb enough to amuse what hey call the "lowest common denominator." Film studios put films in front of focus groups to determine whether an ending will please target audiences. All cars look the same. Architectural decisions are made by accountants. Ads are stupid. Theater is dead." Although considering the possibilty of this being true is depressing, I seriously consider this statement, and although only partially agree with it admit that it is largely valid. My backround I think makes me look at this issue from a different perspective. Born in Kharkov, Ukraine in 1986, I lived with my parents in a one room dormitory while they attended art college. Soon after my birth an enormous explosion at a petrochemical plant in Chernobyl took place. The government covered up the embarrassing accident for months, and my family was extremely fortunate not to be effected. When I was two years old my parents and I relocated to Baku, Azerbaijan to reside with my grandparents. In a few years the political situation in Baku worsened as the conflict between the Azerbaijani people and the Armenians escalated. After fleeing the country we were lucky to be able to arrive in America.

Newspaper Piece

This project was especially interesting for me to explore. I used my artwork and some typed articles that I found in old Russian newspapers. The one article that I kept in mind throughout the project was one about sensorship and people not being able to express themselves for fear of severe punishment. This is what a large body of my work is about and this piece is a comparison between my works and the works of artists affected by what was written in the article at the time. I found some interesting similarities. The music is by Alexander Vertinsky, who was himself persecuted during the revolution.

Van Dongen Sound Piece

This sound piece was meant to be eclectic and confusing. The piece is a compilation of different french music, and sound art that I have found. I have carefully pieced it together in order for the audience to feel the same sort of tension I feel looking at the painting. The gaze of the woman at an unknown creates this sense of confusion.

Fab Boris

It has long been a practical joke between my brother and I. The assignment was to make a piece inspired by music. I chose a George Harrisson song. The meaning behind it is quite brilliant I think. "without going out of your door you can see the ways of heaven", and "the further one travels the less one knows". The images I used were mostly all photographs that I took or manipulated a great deal.Philosophically, I tried to create a flowing image that is stable and in one spot but also moving like the lyrics imply.