To be understood is not an artist's job. Sure, having a statement or a manifesto might help to clear things out, but that's optional. The work speaks for itself. If an artist needs such crutches to get the piece working - that's his problem. The thing with the majority of artist's attempts to be understood is that it undermines what they are trying to do. Usually, it is just awkward, but sometimes it can be detrimental to the artist's work. Being understood is an aftereffect of the work done. There is a long standing and hideously pointless debate on whether or not art should be accessible. I think it is a matter of perception. As the one on the receiving end - i think it is my responsibility to understand what i'm perceiving. If you make an effort - you will probably get the point no matter what. If one wants the point to be chewed and digested for him - that's not an artist's responsibility. No one's entitled to explain anything.
Humor is a transformative force. While everyone know for sure what it is - it is beyond definition and it can take any shape or form depending on the field of use. Basically, it is an artistic equivalent of radiation. Its use always results in something else. And it is really hard to handle in an effective manner.
As for Kotlyarevsky's Eneida - you gotta respect Eneida for what it really represents. It is not just a travesty as it commonly referred to. If you simplify matters - it is just another loose tongue-in-cheek translation of Virgil's Aeneid and in turn based on Osipov's parody of Virgil's original. But somehow it managed to transcend its sources and go beyond so far the very fabrique of reality cracked and everything stopped making sense. In that regard, it is very much like Tristram Shandy - way ahead of its time. Eneida is one of the most viciously subversive pieces of literature ever. It took the plot and the gimmick elsewhere and then spun it the other way around - making it new in the process. It is punk AF. The reason why Kotlyarevsky's Eneida is such a powerful work is because it flipped the bird and started doing its own thing. Because "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law". It wiped the floor with the rules so clean the surface became mirror-like and it reflected the rays of the sun back at it and the sun got roasted on its rays. That's how you make art.
- My biggest poetic success was in Lviv, when I shouted my poems to over a hundred people. What are the most important and interesting places in Ukraine where visual poetry and similar arts are presented? Or is it simply internet?
Short answer: Don't know - don't care.
Long answer: I've stopped caring about that a long time ago and don't want to bother any time soon. Despite the fact that there are seemingly a lot of platforms and channels for the poets to operate in Ukraine - all this infrastructure is designed to perpetuate the existing status quo. Publisher's forum, its Poetry Festival, Meridian Chernovitz, Art Arsenal and so on - it is more of the same or even more of the same or so much more of the same it is more of the same all over again.
Let's get this thing straight: I'm the man who built his entire career on the internet. No one gave a flying damn about me, no one helped me, no one gave me the opportunities, no one endorsed me. All i got in Ukraine was complete ignorance, mockery and ridicule. And i'm bitter Back in 2014 i was interviewed in 3AM magazine which is rather well-respected and prominent publication. Was it any useful for my position in Ukraine? Not in the slightest. I wasn't even mentioned in the study of foreign affairs of ukrainian writers. However, old dudes who get low-key translations are all over it. I'm omnipresent digital man. I don't exist in Ukraine. I'm a citizen of ether.
I think it is stupid to differentiate forms of creativity. No matter how you call it or categorize - it is still creativity. As for categorization - there are commonly accepted forms with certain criterias. There is no point in making things up when you can call simply as what it is. The titles are trickier. I tend to title something after it is finished. I don't like to go title first - it is not very productive outside of mental exercising. The way the title is given depends on the case. Sometimes it is general summary of the thing. Other times it is more about tone or theme of the thing. Then it can be something random.
For example, my last book "Roadrage". Originally, the title stemmed from the document in which i was gathering drafts. It was called like that, because that way it would have been in the very bottom of the folder and easy to locate. Why that particular word? Because i don't like gibberish titles and there was a document named Rice. However, that document was basically a dump of stuff I liked but couldn't use anywhere. It was broken, scattered and disjointed. I was trying to make sense of it but it just wasn't coming together. I was suffering from burnout and extreme prostration at that time so i was clanging to anything like a drowning man - and so i was staring at the title of the document and dawned on me. Roadrage is an aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by a driver of a road vehicle. Why just not write poems that do just that? That's how concept of what eventually became Roadrage came together. Then the title fell off as i wanted to make it more specific. But none of the alternate titles ever stuck and i kept calling the thing Roadrage regardless. When I approached the publisher regarding this issue he simply said that there is no point in changing the title if it perfectly describes the concept. That's how the book got titled.
- When do you reject works submitted to Brave New World Magazine and other projects that you edit?
1 If the submission somehow violates the guideline.
2 if the submission contains abusive, racist, sexist, otherwise hateful content
3 oddly enough, the other reason to reject is when the mag is called Brave New World instead of Brave New Word. It is not that hard to memorize if you give a shit. Which is usually not the case.
Over the course of last two years i've got around a thousand of submissions and more than a third send pieces to Brave New World Magazine. What a way to present yourself in a good way.
- How important is contrast in visual poetry, and in other forms of creativity?
Contrast works when you have something to compare with. Otherwise - depends on the context and the artistic intent. No "one-size-fits-all" solution.
Depends on the context and the artistic intent. There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution. Some stuff works when it is all flowery. The other stuff works when it is dried up to the skeletal form. Some stuff really shines when it is torn apart while the other needs to be drowned in the verbal matter in order to do its carnal business.
The use of different fonts is motivated in the same manner. Sometimes it makes sense to do it. Sometimes not. Sometimes it doesn't really affect the piece in any substantial manner.
- Could you say something about the project with the black comic panels?
I read a lot. I take a lot of notes. As a side-effect of this practice - i get a lot of stuff that ends up in my Cabinet of Curiousities. One day i noticed that i have a lot of black panels culled from different sources. I find them fascinating. So i decided to make a blog about it. In a way - it is an abstract narrative. An appropriate perpetual abstract narrative. The reason why i made it as a blog is because for some reason it was never done before. I thought there must be a blog about black panels.
- I would like to develop something I call "neopoemics". What to do to promote it? How to create interesting pieces?
The promotion of the novel aesthetics requires a significant amount of connecting the dots. You need to set up the lineage of the concept - explain where does it comes from. At the same time, you need to work out the tools for the thing. The key is to explain how it works, what it is and what it is not and what makes it different or special. You need to describe what it is in an exquisite details and deconstruct the whole thing so that the mechanics would be completely accessible. Then you need to gain multiple perspectives on the subject. It is important to get them from the credible and well-respected sources. Otherwise, the whole affair will be deemed as a self-promotion antics.
As for the second question - every aesthetics got its own portfolio of sorts - all possible combinations of the concepts or just prominent ways of applying it. At the initial stage - i would concentrate on gathering as many diverse examples as possible and commenting their innerworking in detail.
- Are poems objects? For example when there is a photo of a visual poem, is the photo more important, or the specimen (the particular piece of paper with ink on it)? How important is the form of publication for you?
The form of publication is an illusion for the most part. It is the way the thing can be consumed by the reader, watcher, listener, et al. The piece can be presented in a variety of ways and provide different or equal experiences if done right. I don't think the piece should be locked in a singular state if it can be transformed or translated into another form and retain its artistic qualities. For me, the key is - whether the thing works at all in a specific medium. If yes - then why not. If not - I just don't use it.
Every medium got its merit. It is a matter of perspective and purpose. Some stuff works better on paper and some stuff works better on the screen. Then there is some stuff feels better when it doesn't exist. It all depends on the particular piece and the way it works.
Behance: https://www.behance.net/bil_sababfdc0
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bilsabab
Blog: https://interstellar-superunknown.blogspot.com
BNW: https://bnw-mag.blogspot.com
Roadrage: https://zimzalla.co.uk/049-volodymyr-bilyk-roadrage
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz