"Residence" officially over, and I have officially completed 1 artwork. I present, "Contemporary Art: Catch 22."
Contemporary Art: Catch 22
Link: http://minkaart.net/spectacle/spectacle.html
Honestly I was hoping to get more works done in the time frame, but I'm glad to see this guy launched and out there!
Check it out! Try it out: Try scrolling, resizing the window, dragging the frame. Try to make it stop. :)
A more thorough response to the time spent at the lab (and plans for the future) is forthcoming, but for now... enjoy this project!
Minka
Announcing "The Post-It/Emoji Project" or I *heart* sticky-notes...
It's Thursday, which makes today Day 4 of this experiment. I had hoped to be posting a completed "Art" before now but alas, there are still tweaks to be made before "Spectacle" can be released upon the world. For those who have been in VarnaLab, you may have seen the scrolling text, 90's nightmare that is this project. For those who have not, fear not: you will have the pleasure very soon!
So, Spectacle might be loosely related to the activities that are otherwise occurring in the VarnaLab space, but this post is more about announcing that I have decided on an "Art" that directly engages with the space. This work as of now, has no title... so we'll call it "The Post-It/Emoji Project" until I come up with something better.
As I mentioned in my last post, I've been thinking a lot about words and communication. This is something that I have spent a great deal of time thinking about over the last few months, and has been built upon during my time in VarnaLab. One thing that I find impressive and interesting about VarnaLab in the early afternoon is how quiet it actually is - particularly considering how much actual communication is occurring! Capitalizing on this thought process, I have been trying to come up with some way to engage with "quiet communication" that is reinforced by the digital world.
Some of you may have noticed by now that there is a growing wall of Post-Its (sticky-notes) just inside the door of VarnaLab. I have set up this wall in order to collect the emotional states of the people in the lab. I am collecting these words in order to create a data-set of the standard moods that affect those in VarnaLab in order to build a Lab-specific emoji/emoticon set for the lab. The plan is to create a series of illustrations that represent the moods I have collected, and communications I have witnessed. These will be published as a web-font, and also released as a set of images for VarnaLab members (and others) to use. I am going to leave the Post-Its/sticky-notes in place for about a week (will pick them up next week) in order to get a good dataset, and then I will build the font.
I invite lab members to engage with the work by writing their moods and adding them to the wall as they enter/leave VarnaLab. Perhaps this will also allow us to create a vision of our emotional states throughout the day, and increase our mindfulness, which isn't a bad thing either! :)
Have fun, and feel free to express yourselves! I look forward to collecting a rich dataset!
PS - I really do LOVE! sticky notes! If you want to discuss with me the aesthetic of the sticky note and its overall importance in my life, please feel free!
PPS - Do you call these pieces of paper with adhesive backs Post-It notes? sticky-notes? something else?
So, Spectacle might be loosely related to the activities that are otherwise occurring in the VarnaLab space, but this post is more about announcing that I have decided on an "Art" that directly engages with the space. This work as of now, has no title... so we'll call it "The Post-It/Emoji Project" until I come up with something better.
As I mentioned in my last post, I've been thinking a lot about words and communication. This is something that I have spent a great deal of time thinking about over the last few months, and has been built upon during my time in VarnaLab. One thing that I find impressive and interesting about VarnaLab in the early afternoon is how quiet it actually is - particularly considering how much actual communication is occurring! Capitalizing on this thought process, I have been trying to come up with some way to engage with "quiet communication" that is reinforced by the digital world.
I invite lab members to engage with the work by writing their moods and adding them to the wall as they enter/leave VarnaLab. Perhaps this will also allow us to create a vision of our emotional states throughout the day, and increase our mindfulness, which isn't a bad thing either! :)
Have fun, and feel free to express yourselves! I look forward to collecting a rich dataset!
PS - I really do LOVE! sticky notes! If you want to discuss with me the aesthetic of the sticky note and its overall importance in my life, please feel free!
PPS - Do you call these pieces of paper with adhesive backs Post-It notes? sticky-notes? something else?
Day 1: Waking up is hard to do #failing
It is the morning of my second day “in
residence” at VarnaLab; a small 'report' seems in order.
Officially, waking up is very difficult, though easier this AM.
Yesterday, I arrived at VarnaLab at about the same hour I am used to
rolling out of bed. As no-one was at the space yet, I elected to
arrive about an hour later today.
Monday was particularly “quiet,” I
believe because of the (ongoing?) holiday. After making some
adjustments to my own Tumblr (and realizing that I actually could not
make the adjustments I needed to my Tumblr), I began working on
“Spectacle.”
Spectacle is a project that I abandoned
almost exactly a year ago; I hope that I will be able to finish it
during this week, however – the process is already disheartening.
The project will be a single web-page intended to address the
temptation to create the spectacular over the insightful. I think it
speaks to a certain ambivalence that seems to plague most
contemporary artists, particularly myself. However, I think it also
speaks to the ambivalence I see within this “residency” proposal.
I find myself constantly torn between the quiet reflection of simply
'being' in a space, and the desire to do something which is visible
or obviously worthwhile. Additionally, a similar ambivalence has
punctuated my time in Bulgaria – in general. I find that while I
feel a certain responsibility towards affecting change, my innermost
desire is to remain completely hidden – unnoticed.
Regarding the technical aspects of
“Spectacle,” for those interested. I am creating the work with
jQuery, and am having to figure out jQuery's animation queue
functionality. Yesterday, I managed to get the project back to where
it was a year ago, before I broke it. :) The day was filled with many
wtf!?!? → “I am a genius!” moments. I imagine today will be
similar. We shall see.
Finally, I am thinking about words...
the words that I have and don't have, the words that we use to
describe. I think that whatever I end up doing – it will involve
words.
For your enjoyment – my emotional
states yesterday, maybe you have been in a similar position:
Beginnings - Minka Stoyanova, Artist
I am excited to start my "residence period" at VarnaLab tomorrow (Monday, 5 May)! I would like to take this time to introduce myself to VarnaLab members who may not have met me yet, and to introduce members to my work overall.
I am foremost, an artist. I am also a researcher, theorist, technologist, and maker. I enjoy investigating and learning new technologies, methods, and ideas always with a mind towards questioning their theoretical and philosophical effects.
My website can be viewed at: MinkaArt.net There, you can find many of my artworks and my research.
I also maintain a Tumblr MinkaArt Tumblr where I blog, highlight my personal popular culture interests, and announce my newest art projects.
I assume that most individuals at VarnaLab, or following this project from afar are wondering what I plan to work on at the lab. I have a number of art projects that are currently underway, so I would like to spend some time working on at least some (if not all) of these.
Also! While much of my artwork does take the form of video/net art and performance, I am always willing to lend my abilities to any projects that members have ongoing, as I am able. Feel free to ask for my advice etc... if you would like it.
I look forward to working with you all!
--Minka
I am foremost, an artist. I am also a researcher, theorist, technologist, and maker. I enjoy investigating and learning new technologies, methods, and ideas always with a mind towards questioning their theoretical and philosophical effects.
My website can be viewed at: MinkaArt.net There, you can find many of my artworks and my research.
I also maintain a Tumblr MinkaArt Tumblr where I blog, highlight my personal popular culture interests, and announce my newest art projects.
I assume that most individuals at VarnaLab, or following this project from afar are wondering what I plan to work on at the lab. I have a number of art projects that are currently underway, so I would like to spend some time working on at least some (if not all) of these.
- I have one "net-art" project, a dynamically generated animated text web-page that has been in some stage of production for about a year -- I keep abandoning it. I would like to spend some time on that experiment while at VarnaLab.
- I have a video work currently underway which engages with the apparent isolation on can experience within social media that I will likely complete during my time
- I am also working on a video which will engage with the Occupy movement in a reflectionary manner using YouTube clips from Occupy Wall Street and Zizek's speech
- Inspired by the work of Barbara Krueger, I have a photo+text series that I will launch as a Tumblr account (see All Your Text for an idea of what this might look like.
- Finally I have an ongoing project that involves collecting recordings of individuals reciting their browser histories. This work is intended to question the ways that we associate our online browsing patterns with definitions of our selves. If anyone would like to participate in this project, please let me know!
The Documentary
: As some of you may know, I have been working on collecting footage for a non-linear documentary that focuses on the open-source, technology, and art communities in Bulgaria. I will likely be working on this documentary while at VarnaLab, and would (of course) appreciate any insight you would like to bring to my research.Possible Artist's Talk
: I am interested in the possibility of giving an Artist's Talk towards the end of the week of residency if anyone is interested. Please comment below or come chat with me if you would be interested in such a thing.Finally!
This entire experiment is about exchange! While I will be in the space working on my own projects, I will also be viewing what is happening in the space, and trying to find some way in which I can create an artwork specifically suited to and inspired by VarnaLab and VarnaLab's members. Towards this goal, please feel free to interrupt my work, chat with me etc. I may also invite members to engage in activities that will help me to define how members relate to the space, and how I, as an artist, can best engage with that relationship.Also! While much of my artwork does take the form of video/net art and performance, I am always willing to lend my abilities to any projects that members have ongoing, as I am able. Feel free to ask for my advice etc... if you would like it.
I look forward to working with you all!
--Minka
VarnaLab AiR contract
I'm excited to run this pilot experiment starting next week! Stay tuned for my initial blog post, which will cover what art I intend to start work on, and what I hope to get out of the residency period.
-- Minka
-- Minka
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