Video installation by Samuel Cepeda in Korcula

Samuel Cepeda: The Clouds have no nation at grey) (area – space of contemporary and media art, Korcula:

4 – 14 . 8. 2009. Opening: Tuesday 4th August . 21 – 23 h. free entrance

The Clouds have no nation is a project made for grey) (area space of� contemporary and media art in Korcula, Croatia. It consists of a site-specific video installation in the gallery space and a public action�of distributing art prints by the artist himself in the city of Korcula.

“The Clouds have no nation” is part of the Cloudwalkers project (since�2005) which explores different ways of questioning the knowledge that�we have about reality through the clouds. Artist state “The project�makes us remember when we were kids and tried to find real objects in�the shapes of a cloud. I tried to have people experience and�participate in my artwork keeping in mind� the question: why not?.”

An extended exhibition presented several phases of the “The Cloudwalkers project”. It was held in 2008 at the Centro de las Artes�CONARTE in Monterrey, curated by Darko Fritz. During the exhibition,�Cepeda made a interactive action with children in ages between 8 -�11. For the first time, its results and documentation are now�presented. Among other activities, children made drawings of actual�clouds while looking through the transparent plastic sheet size 4 x15�meters, placed above them. Now the same sheet with drawings is placed�at the ceiling of the gallery space.

Cepeda chose the clouds as objects over which science has difficulties�providing fixed answers on their physical constitution. It�s hard to�describe them within their nature and shape, which usually last for�less than a second because they�re changed by a huge number of�physical dynamics that are going on in nature�s permanent flux.

The project is focused to produce, contextualize and display the�imaginary forms triggered by the ever-changing visual appearance of�the clouds watched by humans. This is represented by means of visual�imagination of different people that participated in this project. The�most important motivation for the realization of the project was to�requestion realities throughout aesthetically means of fine arts,�which its approach is impossible or very difficult to make, throughout�the methodology and language of science. Artist is using and reversing�the scientific language and methodologies. He summarized his project�as “… ironic tendency to question the unquestionable”.

The sites of Cepeda’s works ranging from institutions of contemporary�art to the public spaces, as intentional institutional critique (the�bar, the city streets and crossroads), appropriates both political�activist, mainstream commercial propaganda and involvement methods.

The old and new media and communication systems are used in the�Cloudwalkers project. Making use of the polaroid photo in this project�is significant as such media implicate instant authenticity, as well�as including the photo-process and its distribution at once.�Significally, at the time of preparing the first overview of the�Cloudwalkers project (2008), the Polaroid company announced closing of�its factories for further production of polaroid films and cameras.

Samuel Cepeda (1977, Monterrey, N.L. México) New media artist, he has�two technical degrees one in graphic design and the other in computer�design (1995). He graduated with a Visual Arts degree from the�Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in 1999 as well as a Graphic�Design Degree from the Universidad Metropolitana de Monterrey in 1998.�
Due to his interest in New Media Art he studied an MFA in Transart�Institute and Danube University in Austria, and an MA in Arts at the�Universidad Autónma de Nuevo León. He is teaching at the Universidad�Autónoma de Nuevo León and the Centro de Estudios Superiores�Universitarios de Diseño de Monterrey.

Cepeda’s artwork use video, photography, audio and digital tools as�media to produce multidisciplinary projects with Installations, Public�Actions, Performance, Happening, video art and digital art. Some�exhibitions: “1ra Serie festival multidisciplinario” Mty, N.L. Mex�(2009) public action, performance; “The cloudwalkers project”,�Monterrey (2008) Public actions, documentation, performance; “The�cloudwalkers project_1” Linz, Austria (2006) video installation,�
performance; “Acthung-roof” Krems, Austria (2005) public installation,�video documentation; “Identity” Santa Catarina N.L. (2007)�Installation; “Casa de la abuela” Mty, N.L. (2002) Installation,�Public intervention.

website Samuel Cepeda: www.samuelc.com
website Cloudwalkers project: www.cloudwalkers.org

Korcula Blog Topics