Vasilis Papageorgiou
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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].