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Dina Catalucci
Dina Catalucci is a self taught textile based artist, who experiments with making wearable and soft sculpture. Her DIY attitude, and easy going approach to living and creating breaks tensions, makes her work hilarious and endearing, and emphasizes the importance of sentimentality. She has developed an interest in creating stuffed animals/characters that evoke themes of familiarity, humour and joy through universally nostalgic items. Her work asks us to touch, hold, wear, play and connect with it. (This bio was graciously written by my friends, Sahra Soudi and Rae Burns)
Interview
1. We're excited to have you here. To start off, we'd love to get to know you! Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do!
My name is Dina Catalucci. Born and raised in Hamilton ON, I now reside in Montreal QC. I am fond of embroidery and sewing plushies and appreciate all other textile arts greatly. I grew up spending too much time unsupervised on the computer and owe my artist beginnings to the Hilary Duff message board I joined in 2004 that taught me how to crack Photoshop 7 and merge various pics of Lizzie McGuire together.
2. Can you walk us through your creative process for this piece? What were the key stages, and how did your initial vision evolve throughout the process?
The first thing that came to my mind from "Vortex" was kind of negative and a projection of how I was feeling at the time. I immediately thought of spending too much time in a black hole on my phone and that idea immediately overshadowed every other thought. Just like when I'm engaged in the actual activity of aimlessly spending 2 hours on my phone swiping up and down, the idea of doing anything else is improbable. I initially wanted to create a full soft sculpture of a computer with a little man coming out of the screen holding a tinfoil hat but I started making the computer with fabric and thought it was ugly. Then I walked by my landlord's house and they were getting rid of a small VHS TV. I scooped it hoping I could find a home for it only to find out the VHS input was broken. I tried to fix it (any excuse to wear my headlamp) but nada. So then I had this random semi-broken VHS TV in my apartment. I didn't want to throw it back out, it had been raining a lot and the thought of completely killing this thing seemed too sad. After a few days of not being able to figure out the fabric computer thing, I started making the character girl instead and then looked at this TV and thought I could probably attach this gal onto it. I got an HD Media box to attach to the TV so I could create a video collage of archival VHS commercials and documentaries.
3. The concept of a vortex often implies a powerful force or transformative energy. Can you interpret this idea within your art, and were there techniques used to convey this sense?
This piece is kind of like... the character coming out of the TV, is potentially a 20-something girl in the 2020's who is consumed by doomscrolling in her day-to-day. Her shirt reads "Is the Earth flat and/or is it heart shaped?" Because she's engaged with way too much surface level media on Facebook she really can't decide what she believes in. She wants to believe in love and goodness, but also, why do all these people believe the Earth is flat and what do they know that she doesn't? She somehow figured out how to time travel. Maybe she doomscrolled for 4 weeks straight and unlocked the vortex. She was able to propel back into simpler times. This character arrives back to the (very very late) 1900's (1995) where there is no sight or idea of a TikTok or IG Reel, yet she's shocked to find that whoever's TV it is, seems eerily familiar. The TV is jumping from conspiracy theory to sewing tutorial to advertisements and back to conspiracies. She almost doesn't recognize what's going on at first due to the information being relayed at a slower pace. Are we just in a vortex of a vortex of a vortex forever on repeat going faster and faster and faster every time we blink................
4. In a scenario where everyday objects are sent through a vortex, which one would you choose to send. You decide who is on the other side...
There's that meme about showing a Victorian kid something from this century and it immediately killing them or freaking them out or whatever and I imagine sending a case of Coca-Cola and Mentos to them to be pretty wild and history-changing. Or Pop Rocks.
5. What are some key influences or experiences that have shaped your artistic practice?
I really admire Niki de Saint Phalle and Margaret Kilgallen for all the visual art and style they have brought into this world. My favourite fiber artists are Mason McPhee (Elmer Gomer) and quilters of Gee's Bend like Quinnie Pettway, Willie "Ma Willie" Abrams, Lola Pettway, and Irene Williams. Jim Henson. The Creators of Nanalan.
6. Anything else to add?
Just wanna say thank you for all your hard work and passion >:-)
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Monday, November 4, 2024
9:18 PM
⭐️
Connect to Content
Add layers or components to make infinite auto-playing slideshows.
Analog Doomscroll
Dina Catalucci
Dina Catalucci is a self taught textile based artist, who experiments with making wearable and soft sculpture. Her DIY attitude, and easy going approach to living and creating breaks tensions, makes her work hilarious and endearing, and emphasizes the importance of sentimentality. She has developed an interest in creating stuffed animals/characters that evoke themes of familiarity, humour and joy through universally nostalgic items. Her work asks us to touch, hold, wear, play and connect with it. (This bio was graciously written by my friends, Sahra Soudi and Rae Burns)
Interview
1. We're excited to have you here. To start off, we'd love to get to know you! Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do!
My name is Dina Catalucci. Born and raised in Hamilton ON, I now reside in Montreal QC. I am fond of embroidery and sewing plushies and appreciate all other textile arts greatly. I grew up spending too much time unsupervised on the computer and owe my artist beginnings to the Hilary Duff message board I joined in 2004 that taught me how to crack Photoshop 7 and merge various pics of Lizzie McGuire together.
2. Can you walk us through your creative process for this piece? What were the key stages, and how did your initial vision evolve throughout the process?
The first thing that came to my mind from "Vortex" was kind of negative and a projection of how I was feeling at the time. I immediately thought of spending too much time in a black hole on my phone and that idea immediately overshadowed every other thought. Just like when I'm engaged in the actual activity of aimlessly spending 2 hours on my phone swiping up and down, the idea of doing anything else is improbable. I initially wanted to create a full soft sculpture of a computer with a little man coming out of the screen holding a tinfoil hat but I started making the computer with fabric and thought it was ugly. Then I walked by my landlord's house and they were getting rid of a small VHS TV. I scooped it hoping I could find a home for it only to find out the VHS input was broken. I tried to fix it (any excuse to wear my headlamp) but nada. So then I had this random semi-broken VHS TV in my apartment. I didn't want to throw it back out, it had been raining a lot and the thought of completely killing this thing seemed too sad. After a few days of not being able to figure out the fabric computer thing, I started making the character girl instead and then looked at this TV and thought I could probably attach this gal onto it. I got an HD Media box to attach to the TV so I could create a video collage of archival VHS commercials and documentaries.
3. The concept of a vortex often implies a powerful force or transformative energy. Can you interpret this idea within your art, and were there techniques used to convey this sense?
This piece is kind of like... the character coming out of the TV, is potentially a 20-something girl in the 2020's who is consumed by doomscrolling in her day-to-day. Her shirt reads "Is the Earth flat and/or is it heart shaped?" Because she's engaged with way too much surface level media on Facebook she really can't decide what she believes in. She wants to believe in love and goodness, but also, why do all these people believe the Earth is flat and what do they know that she doesn't? She somehow figured out how to time travel. Maybe she doomscrolled for 4 weeks straight and unlocked the vortex. She was able to propel back into simpler times. This character arrives back to the (very very late) 1900's (1995) where there is no sight or idea of a TikTok or IG Reel, yet she's shocked to find that whoever's TV it is, seems eerily familiar. The TV is jumping from conspiracy theory to sewing tutorial to advertisements and back to conspiracies. She almost doesn't recognize what's going on at first due to the information being relayed at a slower pace. Are we just in a vortex of a vortex of a vortex forever on repeat going faster and faster and faster every time we blink................
4. In a scenario where everyday objects are sent through a vortex, which one would you choose to send. You decide who is on the other side...
There's that meme about showing a Victorian kid something from this century and it immediately killing them or freaking them out or whatever and I imagine sending a case of Coca-Cola and Mentos to them to be pretty wild and history-changing. Or Pop Rocks.
5. What are some key influences or experiences that have shaped your artistic practice?
I really admire Niki de Saint Phalle and Margaret Kilgallen for all the visual art and style they have brought into this world. My favourite fiber artists are Mason McPhee (Elmer Gomer) and quilters of Gee's Bend like Quinnie Pettway, Willie "Ma Willie" Abrams, Lola Pettway, and Irene Williams. Jim Henson. The Creators of Nanalan.
6. Anything else to add?
Just wanna say thank you for all your hard work and passion >:-)
|
Monday, November 4, 2024
9:18 PM