ART Habens Art Review // Special Issue ART Habens Art Review - Special Issue #89 | Page 134

ART Habens
Irena Romendik
Ukrainian intelligentsia: we studied so many
things that were unknown and generally
prohibited in Soviet times, such as Luchism
or travelling puppet theaters. Luchism
traditions of less known Ukrainian artists
were extremely influential for my own work
-- I still rely on Larionov’s ‘invisible light’
when I need to make “a photorealistic
depiction” of a soul.
(Here is a link to the example of that:
School selfportait
https://www.flickr.com/photos/voidit/46129
27511/in/album-72157623950555335
https://www.flickr.com/photos/voidit/album
s/72157623950555335
https://www.flickr.com/photos/voidit/10456
7358/in/album-72057594070514181/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/voidit/37890
3501/in/album-72057594070514181/
Pratt is a wonderful place that opened to
me all range of other possible expressions
and techniques: it’s a bit weird, but in US,
you can’t get official credits for educational
degrees achieved before the age of 18, but
since I came with a bulky portfolio of
artworks, I was waved from all foundational
classes and was free to take any electives I
want instead. That was a feast of creation
for me -- I did everything starting with
traditional photography, film, hand drawn
and experimental animations, 3D,
sculpture, painting, lithography (Pratt still
has stones!), drawings, silkscreens, code,
video mixing, and anything in between. My
skills of building something out of nothing in
Soviet scarcity landscape suddenly got all
the materials imaginable.
Aftermath
ITP at Tisch is an extraordinary place where
I added many digital skills to my set of
expressions, but most importantly, the
notion that everything is possible if you
want it, and put some thought, soul, and
energy in it.
Special Issue
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