Project EUCIDA brings together the artists of Rezekne
At the end of February, a seminar cycle on digital artistic opportunities created by European Connections in Digital Arts – EUCIDA (Latvian – “digital art covers Europe”) was launched in the municipality of Rezekne, in collaboration with the local government of Rezekne in cooperation with the digital art centres in Dublin (Ireland) and Belfort (France). As the project continues, in similar interactive and exciting lectures until 2019, it will be possible to participate in any future or existing artists from Rezekne municipality, the city of Rezekne and all Latgales.
At the seminar, the Latvian authoritative researchers in the field of digital art – textile artist, Latvian Academy of Art (LMA) Latgale Brangale Brangale Gundega Strautmane and RIXC founder of the new media cultural centre RIXC – have been participating in the seminar, which has been active in the contemporary media art field since mid-90 s, combining art with science and new technologies.
“The municipality of Rezekne is extremely lucky to be a partner for such an interesting project and to establish contacts with prestigious art centres in Ireland and France, which is not simply simply,“ emphasized the seminar Lectores. “Especially because there is no institution in Latgale to deal with digital art, the opportunities for learning digital art are limited. The municipality of Rezekne has gone ahead. '
As regards educational opportunities, the artist acknowledged that classical education was also very important in the art of young media: “the art of young media is like a giant umbrella, under which a variety of digital art genres can fit. It is later not essential that the instrument is used – a computer mouse or hammer – the main is the ability to think and visually express,” says Gundega Strautmane. It should be noted that a good basis for the education of new media art in Rezekne will be the speciality of multimedia designers that can be learned in the secondary school of Rezekne and Design already this autumn.
Looking back at the history, the textile artist Gundega Strautmane said that, in the 70 s to which the computer came, artists who used digital impulses to create art also appeared. “But there is no need to be a computer system — a computer can be one of the tools that help you create something for non-repeatable graphics, sculptors, photographs, or other art forms.“ But it's important to remember that not everything can be called art. ”If a person has just learned how a certain instrument works, it can't be called art – it is craftsmanship.“ The art key words are emotions and intellect. The art must be educated, inspired by emotions, excitement, and what kind of mood. 'As LMA says: “the artist is the one who has the artist's heart, not the one who can hold the camera or computer mouse in the hands.”
The new media art acquaintance was told about digital art projects that inspired, for example, to create their daily routings as a geographical data visualization art. Similarly, the sound can be an expression of art expression, such as the “Rēzekne sounds” project, and then printed by different sound tracks – dog barrels, church tower bells, psalm singing, train. Through digital art, you can even explore how technologies have improved, such as the quality of webcams through times, “discovered by artist.” “Inspiration can be achieved everywhere – another of it is by dipping INTO THE LED light ocean in television shows, another in nature, another watching the computer on the White screen.”
As the RIXC Founder Smite emphasized, the time to understand what the current technologies are and how they operate in the society is very familiar in digital art. If the most important thing in the pre-start of the Internet was to see everything live – now and now, then there is a timelapse video right now, when a frame is taken every certain interval, by creating a video in which several hours, weeks, or even months of real-time events have been filled in a couple of minutes. Similarly, the current reality of digital art – a 3D printer that makes it possible to get a tangible form.
Although art lovers do not yet acquire digital artistic works for their collections, the idea is that art is only what can be applied to the wall, but it is expected that new media professionals will have full hands in the coming years: “for more binding and comprehensible information, the visualisation of researchers' works, interfaces in museums and interpretative graphics will be increasingly necessary in the future. Nothing is overdue! The digital art is still looking for his place!" the young artists urged Lectores.
Modern art fans are invited to use the project website www.eucida.euin order to obtain information not only on the achievements of the project but also on the opportunities of artists' residents and exhibitions in Europe. It should be noted that the first exhibition in Rēzekne Municipality WILL be organized already this summer.
The project coordinator Inta Rimšāne said that for the next two years, all stakeholders will have the opportunity not only to look at the digital art exhibitions created by Irish and French artists IN Lūznavas Manor, but also to meet the artists of different countries, visit creative workshops, as well as test the possibilities of digital laser equipment in the creation of artistic works. The equipment acquired as a result of the project will be a valuable contribution to the development of this art sector and modern, new talent-based cultural environments in the municipality of Rezekne.
Madara Burtina,
Public relations specialist of the municipality of Rezekne
Photo: Eduard Medvedev