For the second of our monthly talks we have Igor Ballyhoo - artist and multiple
UWA 3D Art & Design Imagine Challenge winner. Twenty two avatars gathered at 3pm SLT Saturday 20th February on the
UWA Artist Talks Platform on UWA sim to hear Igor talk about works he has entered in the competition and some others, in so doing he demonstrating the wide ranging skills and interests of this dedicated artist.
What follows is the usual edited transcript of the talk and questions with images taken by quadrapop to illustrate the discussion.
If you do not see your contribution to the discussion it means we do not have blanket permission from you to publish your chat at the Artist Talks.
Igor Ballyhoo: this thing
(Igor rezzed his Imagine Challenge winning piece "Kunst der Fuge")quadrapop Lane: if the piece is a bit big for the area you can rez to one side
Igor Ballyhoo: I think it is fine
quadrapop Lane: :)
Igor Ballyhoo: ppl seen it anyhow already :)
but I realised many ppl have no idea what I made
this is my visualisation of one of J.S.Bach's masterpices
"Kunst der fuge"it is strange musical work for more reasons
first of all it was never instrumentalised
so it was played on many instruments from organs to saxophone
second, many music historians donet even consider it for a serous work from Bach
they suspect it is only his intelectual practice
like we do while we think about serious things, drawing on piece of paper without plan
most important view for me
many ppl think it is written as mathemathical formula
it has elements of binary code
IF we look at it from that point of view
it would be first digital music ever...
quadrapop Lane: :)
[here is You Tube of Glen Gould playing
Kunst der fuge ]
Igor Ballyhoo: long before term digital existed at all
Kunst der fuge for me has fine grid cage
inside it I felt demons wjo were not hostile
I tryed to put it all in one sterile unlimited space dimension
of this white cube with no defined walls
this "chaos in order" cage is exactly frame which I hear in Kunst
that is all I can tell about it...
it is beautiful work from Bach, I feel just like instrument which adapted it for eyes
quadrapop Lane: this piece won both the Imagine Challenge and the People's Choice award for December
Igor Ballyhoo: since kunst was never instrumentalised, I guess visualising it is not wrong at all
in case some of u never listened to "Kunst der fuge" I sugest u search for Glen Gould's performance of it
he does it on organ and piano
quadrapop Lane: Do you see all your works as visualisations of specific things (a piece of music for instance)?
Igor Ballyhoo: should I talk about some other work?
Igor Ballyhoo: no
sometimes I make statements
difference between what I do and most artists is
that I have no boundaries of recognizable style
one day I make this, other day I make political statement, next day I make butterfly
I use art to empty my mental stomach
we eat every day and we empty our intestins every day
we consume info every day
we should empty it as well
Gumby Roffo: it never ceses to amaze me the types of displays that are here each month, so much thoght, and the application of techniques to capture and display that thought, TY Igor I find this one most mezmerising.
quadrapop Lane: you build something every day?
Igor Ballyhoo: I made so far about 5000 builds
in less then 1000 days of my sl
Gumby Roffo: ahh I have seen that before
Igor Ballyhoo: I like to play with idea of perpetual motion
quadrapop Lane: :)
Igor Ballyhoo: perpetuum mobili for example
it is pure surreal build
I made it with idea of recycling in mind
pure eco stuff
quadrapop Lane: I have noticed that in the works of yours i have seen - a certain surreal element
Igor Ballyhoo: no big idea behind it
quadrapop Lane: do you have a favourite surrealist?
Igor Ballyhoo: I even sometimes make some builds many will see as religious themes, even if I am not religious
Igor Ballyhoo: all group formed around Dada, BUT!
Man Ray is the king
quadrapop Lane: :)
quadrapop Lane: I thought De Chrico when i saw your lounge
Igor Ballyhoo: some ppl see this as pure religious work
quadrapop Lane: but yes Man Ray :)
Igor Ballyhoo: this work for example is pure observation of deviation of society
we are all aware of this
and we all take it for granted
noone I met dissagree with this
yet noone talk about it
quadrapop Lane: I loved this piece
it says it all
Igor Ballyhoo: it is just machine that turn green in to the red and red back in to the green
quadrapop Lane: Igor I'd love to know the symbolism and story behind your current work in the imagine challenge - it is a powerful image
Igor Ballyhoo: it is "Lost childhood"?
quadrapop Lane: yes
Igor Ballyhoo: u ask about that?
stollen childhood exactly
it is abstraction in surrealist maner
abstraction not in meaning u got used to
abstraction in meaning that all that storry is put in few symbols
there is scissors that cut umbical cord of childhood b4 it is time to grow up
childhood is represented with tricycle,
which is old and rusty
since childhood never really stoped in that storry
child never become man, man never stoped beeing child
child realised it's time is passing before it should
and become opsessed with observing time it has left
there are also two figures
of mother and father
who act like they admitt their fault
and accept guilt
but red silk shawls
they have on their necks
show us their hypocracy
and how in fact they are selfish
if u dont mind, I will paste u few lines from one poem
by Peter handke
When the child was a child
It walked with its arms swinging,
wanted the brook to be a river,
the river to be a torrent,
and this puddle to be the sea.
When the child was a child,
it didn’t know that it was a child,
everything was soulful,
and all souls were one.
When the child was a child,
it had no opinion about anything,
had no habits,
it often sat cross-legged,
took off running,
had a cowlick in its hair,
and made no faces when photographed.
Audience member: Der Himmel über Berlin....
Igor Ballyhoo: yes, Peter was cowriter on that film
Audience member: so beautiful piece
Igor Ballyhoo: yes, I adore that film
any questions ppl?
quadrapop Lane: the poem adds beautifully to teh artwork Igor Ty for sharing that with us:)
Igor Ballyhoo: that is only part of poem
rest u digg urself, u will find it is beautiful I am sure
in case some of u didnt see that movie, I warmly recomend it
der himmel über berlinty for coming
quadrapop Lane: TY for all coming to hear Igor speak
Scottius was to talk today as well but has had to postpone as he is not well;(
we will have Scottius Polke and Miso Susanowa next month
Thank you Igor for an illuminating talk
Igor Ballyhoo: I must remember that word
All typos in the chat are the responsibility of the speakers.
