What is North?
Text by
Sasha Souther, PhD
10 May, 2022
Livingston, USA
Sasha Souther, PhD
10 May, 2022
Livingston, USA
The North and its culture were always a rich piece of soil for science-fiction writers, musicians and, of course, visual artists. We can assume that that interest may be powered by the global image of the ruthless cold, surviving topic, plus with mythology that Northern cultures have.
The Game of Thrones, Vikings, Marvel's Thor movies – all of them were an injection of Nordic concern. Even those of us who were indifferent started looking up true and false information on that subject, or make their own fantasies visible for us the viewers.
In this text I will try to overview how Nordic motives appear in different creative practices. This way the reader will have an understanding how this theme may be visualized straight forward, as a metaphor, as a refence, etc.
The Game of Thrones, Vikings, Marvel's Thor movies – all of them were an injection of Nordic concern. Even those of us who were indifferent started looking up true and false information on that subject, or make their own fantasies visible for us the viewers.
In this text I will try to overview how Nordic motives appear in different creative practices. This way the reader will have an understanding how this theme may be visualized straight forward, as a metaphor, as a refence, etc.
Mark Melnikov
One of the first artists that would be mentioned is Mark Melnikov, who often finds the inspiration in Nordic cultures' tales. Relying on the existing concepts, he creates his own fantasy world – cold, unsettling yet intriguing. Using the approach of stylistic interpolation, the artist has managed to achieve unexpected results. His artworks sustain the obvious influence of Gothic and Roman styles, but he combines them with many other including the Northern Renaissance and adds his own unique features, placing such designs into a completely new context.
Melnikov's art's pipeline includes both traditional and digital mediums, which allows him to use the best of both. On the one hand, modern technology provides the opportunity to skip routine and focus on the pure creative process. On the other, he preserves the authentic feeling of the artworks by adding some textures and imperfections manually.
His works are quite recognizable for their illustrative aesthetics, low key dense somber colors. This way the viewer may be confused of what he/she is looking at: depiction of an ancient Northern myth, detailed movie sketch, video game landscape or else. This way the artist makes his practice interdisciplinary and "feeds" on the fusion of different areas.
Melnikov's art's pipeline includes both traditional and digital mediums, which allows him to use the best of both. On the one hand, modern technology provides the opportunity to skip routine and focus on the pure creative process. On the other, he preserves the authentic feeling of the artworks by adding some textures and imperfections manually.
His works are quite recognizable for their illustrative aesthetics, low key dense somber colors. This way the viewer may be confused of what he/she is looking at: depiction of an ancient Northern myth, detailed movie sketch, video game landscape or else. This way the artist makes his practice interdisciplinary and "feeds" on the fusion of different areas.
Anastasia Kostina
Anastasia Kostina has a slightly different approach in her oeuvre. Thr artist's Siberian origin often becomes an inspiration for her creative work. She mainly uses, but is not limited to such printed arts as lithography, linocut, woodcut, dry point and other techniques. She also exploits computer graphics and painting technologies, if necessary, for her works. This way she maximizes the possibilities of implementing ideas. Consciously using traditional techniques with the capabilities of modern graphics, Kostina aims to fully convey her ideas in her pieces and strives to inspire the viewers, give them some food for their thoughts.
As a visual artist, she fully expresses her motives, this is the part of the completeness of interactions in society that cannot be denied. Some of her artworks may be associated with book illustration, due to the fact that some of the imagery has an unwritten/unspoken narrative behind them. E.g. her dry point "After the Storm" may be a snapshot of a landscape described in an adventure book about the North, but we may assume that this image is just a memory picture that the artist has from her Siberian childhood.
Anastasia Kostina has a slightly different approach in her oeuvre. Thr artist's Siberian origin often becomes an inspiration for her creative work. She mainly uses, but is not limited to such printed arts as lithography, linocut, woodcut, dry point and other techniques. She also exploits computer graphics and painting technologies, if necessary, for her works. This way she maximizes the possibilities of implementing ideas. Consciously using traditional techniques with the capabilities of modern graphics, Kostina aims to fully convey her ideas in her pieces and strives to inspire the viewers, give them some food for their thoughts.
As a visual artist, she fully expresses her motives, this is the part of the completeness of interactions in society that cannot be denied. Some of her artworks may be associated with book illustration, due to the fact that some of the imagery has an unwritten/unspoken narrative behind them. E.g. her dry point "After the Storm" may be a snapshot of a landscape described in an adventure book about the North, but we may assume that this image is just a memory picture that the artist has from her Siberian childhood.
Cool coloring that she constantly employs in her works creates the atmosphere of the North itself. Even when she demonstrates us a colorful rainy sky we automatically assume that there are some glimpses of the Northern shining behind it. Due to that Kostina tricks her spectator to come to an emotional state where he/she is driven into a silent dialogue with one of her art pieces. This way we see a tint of modernity in her practice from which the artist that only the important 'mechanical' details that enrich her visual language.
But visualization of Northern themes is not always as direct as the two artists mentioned in the above demonstrate us. It may be planted as a feeling or a hint in someone's visual artwork.
But visualization of Northern themes is not always as direct as the two artists mentioned in the above demonstrate us. It may be planted as a feeling or a hint in someone's visual artwork.
Zoey
Chih-Ying Chang
Chih-Ying Chang
Zoey Chih-Ying Chang constantly demonstrates a "wish to cool off", or a clash of fire and ice in her art. As a typical post-internet society representative Chang understands her visual appearance both in the digital reality and the tangible world. Nevertheless, her main focus is online identity and web aesthetics. Due to that Chang is interested in appearance of limitation and the existence of absence.
So, what are the Nordic motives in her art? Well, let's find it out. High key bright jazzy colors she uses refer to her Taiwan origin. But some of the imagery the artist produces can be connected with the "Northern" threat, which in Taiwan's case is China. E.g.: Chang crated a painting "Patriotic Rush" where the foreground is captured by a Photoshop-like cutting of a tank inside of which the actual image of a tank becomes a focal point. This post-digital aesthetics adoption creates a unique atmosphere of the coldness of reality poured on us as if it was a bucket of ice-cold water. So, by this metaphorical cutting out the Northern threat Chang probably hopes to escape this real-life danger.
So, what are the Nordic motives in her art? Well, let's find it out. High key bright jazzy colors she uses refer to her Taiwan origin. But some of the imagery the artist produces can be connected with the "Northern" threat, which in Taiwan's case is China. E.g.: Chang crated a painting "Patriotic Rush" where the foreground is captured by a Photoshop-like cutting of a tank inside of which the actual image of a tank becomes a focal point. This post-digital aesthetics adoption creates a unique atmosphere of the coldness of reality poured on us as if it was a bucket of ice-cold water. So, by this metaphorical cutting out the Northern threat Chang probably hopes to escape this real-life danger.
Such Northern invasions are often covered not only in fictional stories like the Game of Throne's White Walker threat, but also in history. All of us remember how Vikings naval findings helped them not only travel in order to find trading areas, but also to conquer different territories.
Some of Chang's abstractions produced in 2020-2021 refer to the important balance of hot and cold. This violent smash of warm and cool colors creates an aggressive atmosphere, as if one color tries to conquer another like the forces of good and evil in any super-hero movie.
This way we can state that in Zoey Chih-Ying Chang's oeuvre the North with its coldness of the air plays a role of a villain that creates a constant threat to the warm atmosphere of the South. So, the "wish to cool off" in Chang's paintings is more of a desire of living in peace and having a true balance between to fighting with each other worlds.
Some of Chang's abstractions produced in 2020-2021 refer to the important balance of hot and cold. This violent smash of warm and cool colors creates an aggressive atmosphere, as if one color tries to conquer another like the forces of good and evil in any super-hero movie.
This way we can state that in Zoey Chih-Ying Chang's oeuvre the North with its coldness of the air plays a role of a villain that creates a constant threat to the warm atmosphere of the South. So, the "wish to cool off" in Chang's paintings is more of a desire of living in peace and having a true balance between to fighting with each other worlds.
Victoria Dmitrenko
Victoria is also an artist, who does not use the direct North image in her practice. Being born in the Far East of Russia she understands this environment as one of the nature's wonders.
Due to the fact that Victoria was also involved in professional acting that had influenced her visual language. If we look closely in to her background, we will find that she was a lead actress at the New Stage theatre in Los Angeles as well as directed her own show "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn".
Most of her works are a ruff combination of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein's approach. Collageness in a mix with loud pure colors and comic book aesthetics that she uses in her art are an appropriation of the classical Pop Art imagery. By that Victoria carefully builds the mystification her artistic persona lives in.
If we look into her original statement, we will find some peculiar facts. She writes: "... I was born in 1946 at the age of 26. I was partying at the Silver Factory in New York in 1965 with Andy, Lou, Nico and Edie, swirling around UFO club with Syd in London in 1967... I live in London now remaining at the age of 26". What we get from this is that Victoria uses a Dorian Grey concept: a forever young artist that works in the new media sphere of generative and video collage that is created on a personal computer.
Due to the fact that Victoria was also involved in professional acting that had influenced her visual language. If we look closely in to her background, we will find that she was a lead actress at the New Stage theatre in Los Angeles as well as directed her own show "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn".
Most of her works are a ruff combination of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein's approach. Collageness in a mix with loud pure colors and comic book aesthetics that she uses in her art are an appropriation of the classical Pop Art imagery. By that Victoria carefully builds the mystification her artistic persona lives in.
If we look into her original statement, we will find some peculiar facts. She writes: "... I was born in 1946 at the age of 26. I was partying at the Silver Factory in New York in 1965 with Andy, Lou, Nico and Edie, swirling around UFO club with Syd in London in 1967... I live in London now remaining at the age of 26". What we get from this is that Victoria uses a Dorian Grey concept: a forever young artist that works in the new media sphere of generative and video collage that is created on a personal computer.
Her interest in the North is connected to the Hyperborean people from the ancient Greek mythology, which sometimes, are connected with the Northern European nations like the British, Scandinavians, Siberians and etc. Kola peninsula is the place that Hyperborean inhabited is located in North-East Russia between two coldest seas: Barents and White seas. The local nature is so stunning that the artist dedicated one of her generative mixed-media collages to it. As Victoria says herself: "This piece represents my fascination with this magical land that I wish to visit once during my lifetime". In her piece "Searching for Hyperborea" the artist has produced some non-typical moves for her. This time Victoria works with low key colors. In this piece it is hard to select a pattern as we usually do in ornaments, or some of Warhol works. This way the artist demonstrates us bits of a chaotic myth, as if Hyperborea is a known piece which we still need to discover for ourselves. Maps, signs, bits of the Northern shining – all of that make us believe that the artist is really taking us to her imaginary journey…
In conclusion I would like to say that Nordic motives can be understood by each artist in his/her own way: a representation of a beloved mythical world, a memory snapshot, an aggressor's land, an ancient world that can be located in real life. By that we can create a picturesque landscape of Northern motives in contemporary art where every approach will find a special area.
Text by
Sasha Souther, PhD
10 May, 2022
Livingston, USA
Sasha Souther, PhD
10 May, 2022
Livingston, USA
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