Animation - Quest (1996)

In my last post I wrote about Daniel Dociu and a specific kind of scenery, which always inspired me aesthetically and conceptually when I created a new world on paper or as a production designer in movies.

This "dream" can be seen as an experience of deep loneliness and exploration. Once again, my description of it:

I always loved the idea of being thrown into an extremely abstract, strange world, abandoned by all human beings. A world, just filled with gigantic building-like complexes and enormous empty space that surrounds you. Built by someone or somewhat, but you have no idea by who or what. 

You look at that never-ending horizon, consisting of complexes, spaces and paths, but you're completely alone. And, on the other hand, you may assume that this world must have been populated once, because the surfaces and buildings don't seem to be created by nature. Nevertheless, they're just there now. 

And you're the only one living being at all who is left and can explore this world.

The following animated short movie Quest was a kind of creative revelation to me.

The film was made by Tyron Montgomery and Thomas Stellmach at the school of arts and design Kassel, Germany, and released in 1996. They were even awarded with an Oscar and the movie was highly critically acclaimed.

The film contains the basic elements of my "dream" and it explores a lot of philosophical issues, telling a simple story which takes place in a surrealistic, abstract environment. It mostly speaks for itself and, in my opinion, it easily takes its place along other masterpieces like Stanley Kubrick's 2001-A Space Odyssey or Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now Redux, despite the extremely different length and budget. It just doesn't matter, because its universal issues and depth isn't any less convincing.

Take your time, when you watch it. It's worth it.

Concept / Digital Art - Daniel Dociu

I always loved the idea of being thrown into an extremely abstract, strange world, abandoned by all human beings. A world, just filled with gigantic building-like complexes and enormous empty space that surrounds you. Built by someone or somewhat, but you have no idea by who or what. You look at that never-ending horizon, consisting of infinite structures, spaces and paths, but you're completely alone. And, on the other hand, you may assume that this world must have been populated once, because the surfaces and buildings don't seem to be "naturally" created. Nevertheless, they're just there now. And you're the only living being at all who is left and free explore this world.

This abstract "dream" is a basic scenery which has always aesthetically and conceptually inspired me. This post about Daniel Dociu and the next one, involving a specific short movie, are basically motivated by that "dream" of mine. And I think some others will follow.


New Worlds..
I started to draw and design things on paper at a very early age. There were two essential themes that I always referred to. Monsters and robots. I'm still fascinated by both of them.
And when you're trying to create such beings, it's almost inevitable to find appropriate environments and new worlds they can live in. I've always been driven by creating such new utopian spaces in my mind until now.
This passion for utopias, fantasy or science-fiction themes in general, had an enormous influence on my creative activities and studies in scenographical design as well.

Films..
My other great passion have always been the movies. Surrealistic, sci-fi like ones in particular.
Especially when you're personally involved in filmmaking as I was, you're always becoming a part of a new world. It doesn't matter if it's a fiction or nonfiction story the filmmakers want to tell, you are creating a unique atmosphere, set in our everyday reality or an artificial one. As a production designer, I experienced both of them. Nevertheless, it's always about creating a new world.

And then, this one artist..
When remembering all the films, exhibitions, galleries and museums I've seen and visited in my life, there are countless artists that touched my heart. But there hasn't been one so far who really seems to have stolen some of my oldest, deepest and, unfortunately, unrealized dreams. Until now. About one or two months ago, I discovered some works of conceptual artist and video game lead art director Daniel Dociu.
Born in Cluj, Romania, he graduated as an industrial designer. He found his way to the United States in 1991, and from there into the world of video games. He has worked for many companies, including EA Games, Microsoft, Wizards of the coasts and for the last few years he has been at ArenaNet in Seattle.
It wasn't just awesome to look at them. It was really breathtaking.
The landscapes, the buildings, the creatures and the whole atmosphere and the worlds he created, combining all these elements, overwhelms me again and again. Especially because they literally regenerate my two big interests, new worlds and films, which I described in the beginning.
My creative roots mainly consist of drawing in its pure version. When I looked at Dociu's works for the first time (and ever since then), my hands immediately began to itch and indeed, I sat down and started to draw again after quiet a long time.


Actually I don't want to write too much about all the statements Daniel made on several websites. I just want you to present my selection of his pieces of work, which, by the way, was a really, really tough thing to do.


All the shown pictures below are copyright 2012 Daniel Dociu.

see them also on

www.tinfoilgames.com

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

  

 

Big Small Worlds - Jiang Pengyi

When I was watching TV as a kid, I always enjoyed the old asian disaster movies from the 60s, 70s or early 80s. Actually I never watched one of these movies in full length, but I remember several scenes on land, mostly on the sea or inside a ship. Crewmen fighting Godzilla, or other monster creatures, coming from deep water or outer space, attacking them.
Sometimes, they were roaring, or they just acted without any sound (At least I believe to remember some of them not being loud, but surrounded by the noise of destruction caused by them. Looking back, I think all these mute creatures, the bursting, cracking and sinking ships, the sound of the waves, the screaming people and the often used slow motion in these sequences were creating the special atmosphere and trashy, but unique mood in these films).

Of course, CGI effects weren't used during that period. At least until the early 80s. But that's exactly one of the reasons why these old disaster and fantasy movies look so authentic and real in a way, especially the ones from asia (another favourite example of mine is "The Neverending Story" (1984), directed by Wolfgang Petersen). In general, I'm a big fan of any pre-CGI effects, used in films like "2001-A Space Odyssey" (1968) by Stanley Kubrick, or well done combinations like Duncan Jones' "Moon" (2009) or Christopher Nolan's Batman Reboot Trilogy and "Inception" (2010).

Now, I found these works of Chinese photographer and artist Jiang Pengyi (born in Yuanjiang, Hunan Province in 1977, he currently lives in Beijing, China).

I can see destruction, devastation and loneliness in the images, combined with a hopeless, desperate mood, that fascinates me. 

Nevertheless, I remember the endless streets and amounts of cars moving thru cities like Shanghai, Mexico City, Los Angeles or Cairo, tons over tons of metal and steel, transporting billions of people every day, every hour, every second. Huge vivid urban spaces, and on the other hand, there are memories of pictures of abandoned, destructed places by war or ecological, geological events. Movement and standstill, Life and death.
There seems to be a war between civilization and nature, that results in casualties on both sides. On Pengyi's images, the remaining elements of cities that "invaded" nature's space, not only seem to have lost that battle, they look "lost in nature" in every possible way. But it doesn't change the fact that nature and artificial (human) constructions aren't separable anymore.
There's also a strange, slightly utopian mood in the artist's images, that stunned me.
If I try to imagine the scenarios as real sized cities and places, I can see the contrary of a war between nature and man. It could be a symbiosis of artificial elements and given natural environment. Built, grown and living at the same time in the same space.

Pengyi himself commented his work as "photographs of miniatures which communicate recurrent themes like the excessive urbanization, redevelopment and demolition in the Beijing City" on www.blindspotgallery.com.

Unregistered City, No.1 (2008-2010)

All Back to Dust, No.2

Unregistered City, No.7 (2008-2010)

Unregistered City, No.5 (2008-2010)

Unregistered City, No.3 (2008-2010)

Unregistered City, No.2 (2008-2010)