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“I, like a painter, create my own reality, form my own composition in such a way that things and materials familiar to us come to life, transform and begin to look different.”
Capturing The Everyday: The Art of Scanography
Viktor Artemev, from Batumi, Georgia, has gained recognition for his distinctive high-resolution prints, specifically designed for large-format interior printing. Although his love for visual arts encompasses both painting and photography, it is his innovative use of scanography that sets him apart. Scanography, or scanner photography, is an art form that employs a flatbed scanner instead of a conventional camera to generate images. By placing objects directly on the scanner bed, high-resolution, two-dimensional images characterized by exceptional detail and vibrant color are captured. The close proximity of the scanner’s light source reveals textures and nuances that traditional photography often misses, resulting in images with remarkable depth and richness.
Artemev’s mastery of scanography allows him to blend painting and photography ingeniously, capturing the realism and vitality of photographic images while crafting compositions that transform familiar materials into novel and evocative forms. This innovative approach breaks the boundaries between documentation and creation, showcasing a profound ability to recontextualize the everyday.
Viktor Artemev: Transforming the Mundane
Viktor Artemev stands as a beacon of innovation, demonstrating a profound capacity for transforming the commonplace into the sublime. His work manifests a remarkable metamorphosis of everyday materials, such as paper, foil, and packaging film, into mesmeric landscapes and celestial scenes that captivate the imagination and evoke a profound sense of wonder. This alchemical process of transmutation, wherein ordinary paper transfigures into starry skies, mountains, and clouds, is indicative of a larger thematic preoccupation with transformation, not merely on a visual level but also in terms of the conceptual implications of such a metamorphosis.
Artemev’s style is characterized by a meticulous arrangement of materials on a scanner, followed by their skillful manipulation to create images that teem with motion and vitality. The foil, for instance, transforms into shining leaves, undulating waves, and the expansive sea, adding a dynamic quality that permeates his oeuvre. This not only showcases his technical prowess but also serves as a metaphor for the ever-changing, fluid nature of reality.
The subtle variations in shade and tone in Artemev’s pieces do more than lend a tangible sense of the materials; they contribute to the creation of an atmosphere imbued with magic and mystery. This atmospheric quality, in conjunction with the innovative use of materials, places his work within the realm of magical realism, a genre that merges the ordinary with the fantastical to create a world that is at once familiar and otherworldly.
Drawing upon the rich tapestry of art history, Artemev’s distinctive approach finds echoes in both the Dada movement and the powerful currents of expressionism. While the Dada movement of the early 20th century repurposed everyday materials to craft artworks that disrupted the conventional norms of reality, often with a touch of humor and chaos, Artemev takes a different path. His creations, although grounded in similar mediums, radiate a profound sense of order and harmony. Channeling the emotional intensity of expressionism and abstract expressionism, he masterfully infuses the ordinary with an almost divine significance.
Viktor Artemev: Influences and Innovation
Artemev’s artwork exemplifies a modern innovative exploration deeply embedded in historical art movements such as pop art, surrealism, suprematism, and expressionism. These manifold influences not only shape his artistic approach but also reverberate throughout his oeuvre. His work not only challenges conventional sensibilities by making audacious and influential statements inspired by the pop art movement but also traverses recurring themes in art, including religious and mythological motifs, the cosmos, creation of life, landscapes, and abstract compositions.
A quintessential illustration of this is “The Black Moon Rise,” a significant piece that encapsulates the feelings of despair and guilt that can engulf one’s existence. This iconic artwork showcases Artemev’s prowess in infusing his art with profound symbolism and challenging societal norms through provocative imagery. Furthermore, it unveils the untapped potential of unconventional mediums.
Artemev’s approach marries the stylistic elements and thematic concerns of various past art movements, yet it remains distinctly modern and forward-thinking. His innovative technique, coupled with a profound reverence for tradition, culminates in visually pleasing and intellectually stimulating art, making his work a noteworthy contribution to contemporary art.
Artemev’s style is a melange of various past artistic movements, yet it is distinctly modern and forward-thinking. His innovative technique is not only a homage to tradition but also a catalyst for evocative and engaging art. This blend of the past and the present, tradition and innovation, results in art that is both aesthetically pleasing and thought-provoking, thus solidifying his work as a significant contribution to the contemporary art scene.
Beyond Imitation: A Creative Rethinking
Viktor Artemev is known for his innovative use of scanography, deep understanding of art history, and commitment to creative rethinking. His work transcends conventional subjects and mediums, shedding light on the unnoticed aesthetic qualities of everyday objects while drawing from a rich tapestry of artistic traditions and influences.
Scanography involves the use of a flatbed scanner to capture high-resolution images of objects, which are then artistically manipulated. This medium allows for an intimate exploration of texture and detail that often goes unnoticed by the naked eye, bestowing a renewed sense of wonder and appreciation upon the commonplace. The novelty of scanography lies in its ability to transform ordinary objects into extraordinary works of art by revealing intricate details and textures that are often overlooked. This innovative technique not only revitalizes our perception of everyday objects but also challenges the traditional boundaries of visual art.
While it is manifestly clear that historical art movements and illustrious artists have left an indelible mark on Artemev’s oeuvre, it is paramount to acknowledge that his creations are not mere pastiches. Rather, they embody a process of imaginative reconfiguration that melds novel techniques and approaches. This modus operandi entails not merely deriving inspiration from bygone eras but also proactively contributing to the ongoing metamorphosis of art by venturing into unexplored realms and challenging the confines of customary artistic mediums.
Artemev’s artistic journey is a testament to the metamorphic potential of art and the artist’s capacity to unveil beauty in the most unsuspecting locales. By transcending customary subjects and mediums, he underscores the hitherto disregarded aesthetic properties of quotidian objects while concurrently tapping into a diverse spectrum of artistic traditions and influences.
For direct contacts with Viktor Artemev:
Instagram: @got_your_art
Email: scanographywork@gmail.com
