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By
Julia Dudnik-Ptasznik:
“Love
Within Us” is Scene 360’s
debut digital book, created to bring a bit of
joy to our readers at this time of global political
uncertainty. The full Flash version of the book
includes detailed information on the selection
process and criteria based on which submitted
works were evaluated. Although this was not a
formal competition, we would like to take an opportunity
to highlight works which we feel have extraordinary
merit, and to celebrate the vision, talent, and
achievement of the artists behind the three Editors’
Picks.
Our most sincere thanks
— not only to the three artists profiled
in this section, but also to all the rest of the
authors whose work appears in the book —
for providing wonderful, multifaceted interpretations
of such a broad theme in a visually stimulating,
conceptually intriguing, and generally thought-provoking
manner. Most of all, thanks to everyone who submitted
work for making the “Love Within Us”
project possible.
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| First
Place
The first work that
instantly caught our attention is Pavel Chervenkov’s
photo-montage “Passion,”
for its patently bizarre approach to the subject
matter: The piece depicts a man violently
slicing a loaf of bread. This unorthodox,
completely unexpected, fashion-inspired take
on the theme communicates the all-consuming
intensity of love beautifully, aptly proving
Chervenkov’s often cited opinion that
the “human face can express deep social,
psychological and aesthetic insight.”
Importantly,
the overall concept is well supported by
top-notch execution. The pre-shoot styling
by Chervenkov’s friend and colleague
Marieta Tzenova greatly contributes to the
quality of the final piece; no detail is
overlooked, from the model’s make-up
to clothing and props. When asked about
the creative process behind the piece, Chervenkov
brings a cultural dimension to the work
when he suggests that “slicing the
bread is traditionally the duty of a woman,
a housewife. A man does it to show he is
taking (or taking over) control in a manner
usually associated with despotism. There
is a Bulgarian saying, ‘he holds both
the knife and the bread,’ which, in
essence, means to be dependent on someone
who judges you and determines your fate,
at least in the present moment.” What
an excellent interpretation of one of the
many facets of love, that of relinquishing
total control for the sake of rising to
a new level together.
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Born in 1976 in
Sofia, Bulgaria, Pavel Chervenkov
is a professional photographer and member
of the Bulgarian Photoclub since 1991. He
has studied at the College of Photographers
(Faculty of Journalism, Sofia University of
Kliment Ohridski) during 1996-97, and is currently
enrolled in the Art and Applied Photography
program of the National Academy of Theater
and the Arts. He has been a staff photographer
at Egoist magazine since 2001, and
has contributed to five issues of Playboy
Bulgaria during 2002. Take a look at
the images below for additional examples of
Chervenkov's work. Site:
justaperfectday.com
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| Second
Place
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We weren’t
surprised to find out that another favorite, “Field
of Love,” is the work Tamás
Kósa, better known as Kilfish in the online
community. It’s not that we recognized his
style — in fact, just the opposite, in that
every time we are fortunate to see Kilfish’s
work in various online venues, we find a new dimension,
an experiment, or evidence of individual artistic
progress. “Field of Love” inspires the
same sentiment: First and most notable is that despite
the small dimensions of the work and its on-screen
presentation, the piece evokes — by applying
the principles of geometry, landscape composition,
and contrast — an epic feeling, reminiscent
of the grandeur of big-screen graphics on productions
such as “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”
and “Aliens.” Equally notable are the
use of a seemingly cliché heart symbol in
an entirely new context, the lack of expected color,
and the superb technical savvy with which it’s
all put together; the piece nearly comes alive with
its surreal yet near-photographic feel.
The author’s take
is slightly different: “Just before reading
the call for ‘Love Within Us,’ I decided
to make a series of images imitating microscopic
shots, inside the body of creatures with cellular
textures, or as if they were shot at the bottom
of the ocean.” Then, Kilfish set out to
see if he could adapt this execution-driven concept
to the given theme by creating an imaginary “place
within a human body where potential love could
grow.” Whichever way you choose to see “Field
of Love,” it is indisputable that Kilfish
is among a very small number of contemporary artists
who have the vision to create new worlds in their
minds and the technical expertise to make them
believable.
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Tamás Kósa
(a.k.a. Kilfish) lives in Budapest,
Hungary, where he has been making a living as
a web designer for about three years. Previously,
Kilfish has worked in television, focusing on
animations created for advertising. He separates
his commercial work from what he calls his “artistic-like
things,” never mixing personal work into
his online professional portfolios. As many other
artists, Kilfish is unable to define precisely
why he does what he does: “These things
just occur to me, and I create them.” As
his strongest influences, he cites the works of
Floria Sigismondi,
Dave McKean, Trent Reznor, Hieronymus Bosch, Bradley
Grosh, and Marc Stricklin. Take a look at the
images below for additional examples of Kilfish's
work.
Sites: kilfish.com,
budapestdigitalized.com
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+ view
artwork
Untitled digitally created
piece featuring Bird Head
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+ view
artwork
Images from the “Budapest
Digitalized” series
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+ view
artwork
Character design from “Porn
for your children” project
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Third Place
The third and final Editors’
Pick is “everydaylove”
by Tomas Fernandez Presas. Initially, it stands
out from the rest due to its sleek, almost commercial
and highly professional execution similar to that
of top-dollar print advertising, where everything
from copy to images is thought out to the last detail
and works together seamlessly as one coherent concept.
The concept itself is magnificently minimalist;
it is simple, straightforward, and instantly makes
the intended point. Custom photography further enhances
the message with quaint, familiar, globally recognizable
imagery. The copy, overall layout, typography, and
color scheme make it obvious that the author is
highly skilled in making an emotional connection
with the audience by imploring a proven commercial
formula in combination with a unique personal perspective
of the subject.
This piece “couldn’t
be a painting or a poem,” comments Presas.
“Based on the concept I had in mind, it
had to be as real as the love we feel for the
little things in life, the kind of daily love
that has a million representations — a simple,
pure love that doesn’t need words to be
expressed. It’s hard to describe something
that’s so personal and so common at the
same time.” Presas also hits a chord when
he expresses a sentiment similar to ours with
respect to the reason for producing “Love
Within Us.” He says, “I only participated
in this digital project because I carry love inside
me. Not just the kind for the woman I love, but
a love for being alive. It’s a result of
being conscious of who I am, of loving and being
loved, of knowing love that communicates, of loving
my neighbors… This is the kind of love that
multiplies itself with every opportunity during
our existence; it is what helps us make this world
a worthy place in which to live.” Indeed.
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Brazil-born Tomas
Fernandez Presas has lived in Barcelona,
Spain, since 2000. He credits his initial involvement
in the arts to his first job in a design studio
when he was 16 years old. Since then, he has obtained
a formal degree in Visual Arts, focusing on product
branding projects which he felt allowed him to
express his creativity in a different way. Continuing
along this commercial path, he spent five years
working as an advertising art director prior to
his move to Spain, where he got involved in new
web and multimedia technologies. He currently
freelances in order to dedicate time to personal
projects such as painting and collaborating with
a group of others on an urban landscape project.
Take a look at the images below for additional
examples of Presas's work.
Site: tom14.com
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+ view
artwork
CD packaging design for Omar
Sosa’s “Ayaguna”
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+ view
artwork Promotional design
for RA restaurant’s website
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+ view
artwork Corporate identity
and stationery package for dBrain
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