Creativity Kiosk: Interview with Laura Guokė

Hi, it’s great to get to know better. We noticed that you mostly work with the graphics’ technique. How did you discover this technique? Why is it the one you chose? Did you try or are you trying out other techniques?

I would link my choice of graphics’ technique with the fact that I studied in Vilnius’ Art Academy and in Šiauliai University because I finished this discipline recently. It’s hard to say what inspired me to choose graphics seven years ago. It might have been the pieces that I saw and that I perceived in my own way and professors, who organized the introduction courses… Even though I never was and never wanted to be an example graphics’ student, technique will always be only technique. Technique that was available and mastered at that time and which helps to create and creates a space for artistic (self-) expression.

At the moment, all objects that I create are always changing. Maybe there is less graphics left and more photography, sculptural objects, sound/image experiments appear (by using various materials). The most important object of expression in my art is the human body. However, I don’t want to forget graphics or drawing completely.

You participated in a lot of exhibitions in Lithuania as well as beyond its borders. What do you think is the goal of an exhibition? What do you think about the format of an exhibition? What exhibition could we call a successful one?

I try to participate in exhibitions and projects abroad because it’s a good way to test whether we are really interesting artists outside of our cities and our country. There are no protections, recommendations in most exhibitions. There is only you and your ideas. The question is if they are going to be accepted and interesting to all? Of course, it would be naïve to expect that everyone’s going to like your artwork but art is one of the ways to communicate and share experiences with other people who work in the artistic field and who usually have completely different experiences, which are determined by a bunch of factors.

I don’t participate in exhibitions just so I could put some sort of plus or another entry in my diary of artistic activity. I choose topical projects that have something in common with the topics that I analyze in my pieces and that represent ideas, the variety of expression possibilities and goals of the youngest generation. It’s also important if I haven’t participated in project held by the country’s organizations, institutions, galleries etc.

I don’t divide exhibitions/projects in more or less meaningful. I think that participation in projects that are held in virtual space is as useful as taking part in those, which are held in a real space.

It’s very difficult to describe success of an exhibition. Maybe it could be the number of visitors or reviews, sales? Or maybe it’s the obtained experience and an e – mail address from a young person, saying that he would like to do something similar?

How much influence do new technologies, the Internet and accessible programs have on your art, knowledge and possibilities? Is this important to you?

Recently, I haven’t had the chance to meet ant artist to whom this would not have any influence. Technologies, of course, expand the possibilities but you should have a solid material base and also partners, when talking about a purposeful use of technologies in art projects or the integration of new technologies.

It’s important to me that technologies enable quick distribution, resonance of certain ideas and that they also provide the possibility to realize projects faster and for people from different countries to work on a single project.

 



What do you think are the difficulties that artists who work in Eastern Europe face? What is your opinion about art industries in post – soviet countries? What good or bad characteristics could you point out?

One of the main minuses is that more often we are needed not to our cultural environment but to other countries. That is determined by the constant shortage of funds and the fact that there is not enough cultural need (or absence of the right strategy) in a small market.

Activity of art industries is only making its way in Lithuania. There are attempts of creating centers of art industries in Lithuanian cities (in Šiauliai at the moment as well), whilst carrying out the strategy of culture industries. That is very important if we want to expand the communication between cultural and business sectors. It’s quite difficult for every new phenomenon in Lithuania to make its way. Modern decisions should be made in cultural industries if we want to reach mutual connection between art and business.

I believe that critical analysis of today’s situation will help understand the importance and benefit of cultural industries by expanding the circle of art industries’ consumers, which is essential if we want to create and sustain centers of cultural industries by creating a useful product, which can represent us in a broader audience.

We know that you don’t only make your own art but you also lecture. How do you manage to connect these two different activities? Could you say that you already found you harmony?

I don’t think that these two activities are not connectable with each other because I am lecturing about art disciplines. I think that it’s important to correctly reflect your experience and to present it to students in accessible ways (talking about lecturing). My goal is to encourage to experiment in the general meaning.

An artist is still a closed up organism in Lithuania. It’s surrounded by a bunch of myths and bad clichés. I am no exception but any new activity expands your possibilities and provides more various experiences.

I don’t know about that harmony. A feeling that there are things that I have to say and do in one or the other form has led me all my life…

Tell us about your art series “Presentiment”. What is it about? How did the idea to create it came to you?

Everything happened organically and that’s why I called these pieces presentiments. At first, the artwork appeared and later because of various reasons (I’m talking about personal as ones well) graphics’ pieces assumed more and more different meanings. It’s an “image” presentiment of events that happened later: my Mother’s injury, the catastrophe in Japan and a lot of other meaningful events.

The majority of people have experienced (experience now) intuitive presentiments of future events that, as it turned out, were right. A lot of these presentiments can be accredited to the field of the depths of subconsciousness while others are, of course, only coincidences, collective pranks of the subconsciousness that appeared because of forgotten or already experienced events. However, sometimes, the presentiment, which wasn’t very believable (even if we don’t make any assumptions that that event can happen), whilst balancing on the brink of conscious perception, can hold coded information about the future in itself. The World is a constantly changing dynamic creation and todays politic, economic and other situations provide us with a lot of thoughts about the future. Now I ask myself, if the images that invade our nerve system can accurately foresee events of the future or at least mark the landmarks of upcoming events, can we collect and systemize those images that invade us only for a couple of seconds or those that constantly repeat themselves and presentiments that visit us on their own irrespective from our location, life experience and beliefs?

I use the word presentiment as a term that means the conscious recognition of society, personal etc. future events. When presentiments are real, we experience anxiety before the appearance of more important images. The objects are presented as hints, modifications of the subject and links in drawing or silk – screen to the viewer. I had the chance to sketch and analyze my presentiment during an artistic process. Later I thought the presentiment through again and checked the information coded in it. Art was important as a tool to record the exploration of experienced presentiments.

If you had to describe the main sources of your inspiration, what would they be?

The experiences of life.

What project that you worked with left the most good impressions and useful experience? Tell us more about that.

I could not single out one. The experiences and what I learned depended on the specifics of each one of them. You can appreciate a time distance, the state when you “burn” and live by one or the other idea differently, while trying to successfully “export” the result of these ideas to an audience.

Any biyearly or triyearly, or any other event that has long traditions fascinates to its tiniest details, arranged by the organizational machine. It’s great when you don’t need to worry about various trifling details that take up a lot of precious time.

Do you notice any trends going around in graphics? If yes, what do you think about them?

We ourselves are a part of a trend. The whole surrounding environment, information that’s been obtained in various ways, culture forms our understanding, the visual expression. This is the mindset that I evaluate every trend by. We create it ourselves. A never ending process is going on, which rejuvenates one or the other global phenomenon. The most important thing is that graphics lets you to be a part of the continuous experiment and do research without any constraints.

We all can participate in the creative process, to experience the artistic act and it does not matter where you are: a gallery, a specially modified space of a project or at home and it’s all thanks to today’s technologies. We concentrate not on techniques but on ideas and that’s why our pieces show the wish to create the graphics’ process itself from the beginning by using innovative technologies (that are a bit more difficult to get for us Lithuanians) and to find a lot of unexpected endings.

Sense

Sense

Why do you think such artist as you would be interesting to the Western Europe’s audience?

I think that they would be interested in me just as much as I would be interested in artist Rachel from New York or artist Buddha from India, Carlos from London, Sylvie from France etc…

If you could choose the perfect scenario, what would you do and what would you live off after five years?

I’ve learned from my experience that it’s nearly impossible to plan even just a one day because so many things happen that change your plans. It’s way more difficult to talk about five years. I would like to spend all of the time that I have just the way that I’m spending it now: to create and find myself over and over again. I think that the form of expression will certainly change after five years. Maybe I’ll start writing intensively, maybe create plays or do something else.

I would like to have the possibility to improve and express myself in any field of culture and maybe help certain social, cultural groups.

Thank you.

You’re welcome!

Man as a Sign

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Deconstructing ID book

Body Identification

Agora