Vasilis Papageorgiou

Previous Posts: here and here
Rob and Rose’s posts

For this project, my group – Rob and Rose- and I had to interview an artist called Vasilis, Vas for short. His studio was located in the Testing Grounds where we had been many times before and it was easily accessible. Previous to our interview, I knew little about Vas’ work or the ideas that he presents throughout his pieces. Whilst Rob and Rose were lucky enough to have a chat with him the night we had our dinner at the Testing Grounds, however I wasn’t able to due to my timetable (I had to leave early). Therefore, I was only able to meet him during the night of the interview and I was absolutely mesmerised by the way he works and how he conjugates his thoughts and ideas for his artworks.

Vas works on both 2D and 3D planes, looks at themes based upon fascism, sacred geometry and the universe as a whole. He also loves producing both abstract and realistic pieces which would depend on the theme that he was exploring at the time.

However the one idea that really interested me was that of sacred geometry.

Defined as “patterns, designs and structures from the most minuscule particles, to expressions of life discernible by human eyes, to the greater cosmos.” (The Geometry Code, 2015).  It insinuates that nature follows “geometrical archetypes,” (The Geometry Code, 2015) such as the golden ratio, where “the ratio of the whole to the larger portion is the same as the ratio of the larger portion to the smaller portion” (The Geometry Code, 2015). This particular ratio is found in many paintings and when used is pleasing to the eye.

Sacred Geometry is “symbolic of the underlying metaphysical principle of the inseparable relationship of the part to the whole.”(The Geometry Code, 2015), this means that certain symbols (like the golden ratio) make up the fundamental “architecture” of all forms of life. Shapes such as; sphere, circle, point, square root, spirals, toroids, dimensionality, fractals, triangles…etc.

Vas’ depicts the “union” between humans and the way nature uses these shapes and equations. In the artwork that he showed us during the interview, he explained how he saw the outlines of faces and in logs and trees and he simply carved them out so we could see it too. He depicts sacred geometry as a “blueprint for the mind to the sacred foundation of all things created” (The Geometry Code, 2015). Vas believed that we all started out as energy, and through that energy shapes were formed and those shapes then became our faces, bodies and animals, elaborating that we would be able to see similarities between all these forms in nature.

Whilst the artwork he showed us was a log, he also wanted to produce faces from stones and other shapes be might find in nature. He wasn’t limited to a single type or form of art, as he wanted to experiment more than anything else. I loved how he was able to develop ideas over time and then be able to express so freely but with such depth, the carving of the face intrigued but also allowed me to understand the connection between nature, human faces and the “cosmic significance of geometric forms” (Crystalinks, 2015) .

After the whole interview was over, the toughest task was culling down the footage that we had accumulated during the 2+ hour interview, while it was initially suppose to be 30min, Vas began showing us previous artworks and exhibitions he had and we ended up staying behind a lot longer to we had more footage of his actual pieces.

In the following week I was away during classes because of work and so Rose and Rob had decided to complete the first part of the editing and then I would take over and finish off by sorting the remainder of the footage. So at the end of the week I met up with Rob and grabbed the footage off him, this worked out perfectly as he and Rose were going to be away for the weekend and so I could just finish it off and post the final video on Youtube.

However disaster struck when the file I had ended up being damaged and so I had to push through and restart during the weekend, working my way back up to where we had left off and then completing the video. Despite the large task ahead I completed the video with time to spare and both Rose and Rob were happy with the final documentary.

Ultimately, Vas gave me a lot of insight into the way he summarises and develops his ideas, his views and beliefs have greatly influenced me, not only as a media artist but also on a personal level and in the way I see everyday items.

For those looking for an artist that has their own  unique style and ideals, please check out Vas; Vaspap64@gmail.com you won’t be disappointed!!

References

Introduction | The Geometry Code:Universal Symbolic Mirrors of Natural Laws Within Us. 2015. Introduction | The Geometry Code:Universal Symbolic Mirrors of Natural Laws Within Us. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.geometrycode.com/sacred-geometry/. [Accessed 13 September 2015].

Sacred Geometry, Golden Ratio, Nature, Art, Music, Cosmology, Consciousness and Reality – Crystalinks. 2015. Sacred Geometry, Golden Ratio, Nature, Art, Music, Cosmology, Consciousness and Reality – Crystalinks. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.crystalinks.com/sg.html. [Accessed 13 September 2015].

So today we were presenting our second project –  “From Here to There”, everyone had really amazing and original ideas, all stemming from different concepts we found in our readings.

My video received mainly positive feedback, however I was able to gain some ways to improve the video or many other ways I could have approached it.

One thing that I could have done was to make the sound/noise more raw and less altered, it seemed that at times the two elements of video and sound did not go together.

I enjoyed many of the different locations that everyone else provided, abandoned warehouses, bridges and even a bathroom!!

Reflection:

For this assignment we were encouraged to deter from our usual areas and to explore places and space that are distant and unfamiliar to us. While “From Here to There” suggested we focus on “notions of journey, transformation, departure, arrival and everything in between.” I wanted to contrast those ideas and suggestions and instead focus on the ‘here’ and ‘not here” thereby exploring the topic of ‘anti-space’. In my video, I cut different scenes from a full day of footage at a park, slicing between the habited and inhabited, depicting the arrival and departure without the simple progression of people walking in and out. Instead, I attempted to use sound as a method to create a more time fluid environment, one that does not progress in a straight line.

I established my concept through the idea that “Place and non-place are rather like opposite polarities: the first is never completely erased and the second never completed” (Marc Auge, 1995). My video provides examples of both space; “a ‘frequented place'” compared to a “more abstract” definition of it. By contrasting the park with both people/animals  and desolation I am able to “allude to a sort of negative quality of place, an absence of the place from itself”, and although I have scenes where no humans are present, I still include the sound of footsteps and birds as to symbolise life being present in the image. However, in complete reverse, I also included some scenes (that eventually flash to a long pause) of dead silence and a completely abandoned area, signifying the “anti-space” as the place is no long what it was or what it was used for.

It was also important for me not to only create large details, but small “observations” too. Whilst my foreground contained most of the movements and people, I wanted to “make a distinction” (Mason, 2002) between the background and foreground. By allowing small movements within my background I was able to “distinguish some ‘thing’ from it’s surroundings”. At certain times there were other people playing or acting in the background as well as the noise of birds to fill in the empty space as well, and because the eye was constantly pulled towards the swing and sign at the front, viewers are expected to go pass “ordinary-noticing” and instead perceive a little deeper into the footage. On the other side, I also provided footage where there was nothing to delve into, and instead viewers are baffled by silence and a empty slot of footage, where the park has no one and no sound, a distinction from the remaining of the video.

The filming of this video took a whole day to complete, I spent a day at the park recording a few of my friends in different spots around the park and in the swing. However the most difficult part was collect a good variation of sounds that I could play with and use to create the effect I desired. All the sounds I found were either in the area naturally, or I created by banging certain objects (kicking the side of the slide), and then edited in Garageband. For me the texture of noise would be crucial to how the final video came out. As previously stated; my video was to give a sense of time fluidity, where time would seem to flow in back and forth phases rather than consecutively.

Overall, the concept of my piece was to explore both space and anti-space in a way that depicts the contrast between the two. It was an interesting topic and I liked the fact that I chose a more experimental manner of doing so, rather than just completing it within my own comfort zones and what formulas I usually set.

References
Auge, M, 1995. Non-Places:Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity. The Near and Elsewhere, 1, 1-120.

Mason, J, 2002. Researching your own Practice: The Discipline of Noticing. Forms of Noticing, 1, 21-884.

So for this week we played with some of the sounds we recorded for our first project, we all looped and edited the sounds in GarageBand. From there we all placed our laptops together set out on an adventure! We walked around the halls and went into the elevator, all with these sounds looping together.

Robbie’s posts here and here

I really liked the texture the tones have and would probably want to play with sound more for my future projects or ideas!

This week for our excursion we visited the “Testing Grounds” an area behind the arts centre. I was late so I wasn’t able to look at any background information on this place, however it turns out that the testing grounds are a free and open art space for any artist to use. By the time I had arrived a large amount of information had been distributed to the other students, but I did manage to catch some facts that we were told, such as the current artist that is inhabiting the area and the type of work he was doing. His pieces were highlighted by some signs pinned to some crates, I also realised later on that it wasn’t a single artist that had contributed, but rather a fair few.

The image above are from the excursion that day.

So for our next lesson, we all presented our first Project about our homes. This assignment consisted of a collection of images, sounds and 10 second videos. For my project I was focusing more on the rituals and shadows that me and my family have cast upon my house from the past 17 years we’ve been there.

The main part that Robbie enjoyed most was the making and unmaking of our beds, but a suggestion for the future would be to focus in on that one part. Such as having the camera at a single angle taking images of the bed being made/unmade.

In general, my projected needed to be a little more focused on a particular area rather then just having a more umbrella idea. Doing more macro shots since there was just too much going on within a singular image and instead zoom into one element.

One final thing would be to incorporate more readings into my reflection and to quote them as well.

The first project made us look at our own homes and the space that we are currently residing in. I decided to focus on the aspect of “rituals” and “emptiness” for my images, sounds and videos.

As I’ve been in my home for over a solid decade I have grown accustomed to it’s surroundings and it has very much become a part of who I am. Growing up in a singular environment – especially during your teenage year – really build certain processes or “rituals” in your everyday life as I have discovered. I realised that my whole family (consisting of my parent’s and I) have very specific and direct mannerisms when going about the house. Similar to the images above; our slippers will always be left at the door before we leave and I will always leave my bed unmade in the morning even if I have time to make it.

Of course as time has passed, things around the house has changed and therefore our rituals have changed as well. Such as gaining an extra laptop around the house, which then cut the amount of time my parent’s watched television as well as all of us purchasing smart phones. This all affected the way in which we carried ourselves around our home and changed the way we performed certain tasks. However, despite the changes, there are many aspects that we also keep the same, e.g. sitting by the heater, mum making sure I have fruit, our shoes…ect. In my selection I have a mixture of both the everyday dull “rituals” that we perform but at the same time my small interests and funny moments I see (i.e. my dog)

Another part of my home that I wanted to delve deeper into was the part about the “emptiness”. Since our family is rather small we often find the home empty and abandoned during the day especially if both my parents have any plans. I often find myself coming home to an silent house, where my parents have left certain places in certain ways as well as my mum often leaving her chores half done. It was easy to find myself alone to film/record and take pictures without distraction and this also made it easier to capture certain image because areas had been left in a specific way automatically due to familiarity.

However, this caused difficulty when I was trying to capture video and sound to portray this theme. I used footage of the washing machine and sound of the aircon to depict an quiet house where people have left items/tasks half completed and will eventual return to finish them. I feel like the washing machine footage best implies this idea, as in reality the washing is left overnight and then completed over 2 days.

Overall, this assignment was a slow and steady start to Specific for Site, by allowing me to look at my person home and space it also allowed me to start discovering how places can be affected by those who live within it’s confined spaces. Depending on if you’ve been there for a decade or for 10 weeks, each house and home is unique to those who live within them.