Sky Hopinka’s work is a reflection of very personal experiences, like language, memory, and Indigenous identity, which shapes his creative process. In the article and the video we see that his inspirations are not at all abstract ideas, but lived out experiences which play a role in how he uses video as a storytelling medium.
One out standing point from the article is what Hopinka does in terms of connecting film to language. He mentions that both have structure, but within them you may “create your own definitions and meanings” which is not the traditional approach, instead he plays with it, layering visuals, sound and text to put forth something more poetic and open ended. In the piece Mnemonics of Shape and Reason you may see this play out. He puts together landscapes, audio and text to present a “memory of a place” as opposed to a black and white narrative.
“ As I learned this language, I think that helped give me a foundation or a structure on how I approach my video work. I wasn't able to look at it critically until years later, but the structure of grammar, the structure of language, all these different rules or approaches to learning language—I could see myself applying those same things to how I approach video.” I chose this quote because I think that’s what art represents. As artists, we use different mediums, the ones we’re more comfortable using or we like it more, but we also start creating a meaning to it, which for other people when they see the art piece they might interpret it in different ways and then realized that could be a similar to the description you added or something completely different, that’s when you see the different points of view of the people and other artists.
Another quote that caught my attention is how he is inspired by land, memory, and Indigenous culture. In the video, we see spirituality and identity played out through “land, sky, sea, myth, place, and personhood”. His inspiration comes from physical settings as well as cultural past. Also he uses video to present it as a medium which allows him to layer images, sound and movement to put forward complex ideas like memory and identity which may not be as well expressed in other forms.
“ I think everyone [in film] is trying to figure that out, whether they're Native or white or from wherever. A lot of stories that are in popular culture are old stories. While we have foundational understandings of how to relate to myth, it's still something that is in constant conversation. How do we negotiate these technologies and how do we make them a part of our daily lives in a way that is meaningful to the past, but at the same time relevant for the future? It's a challenge, especially with indigenous stories or any sort of people that have been affected by colonization.” I chose this quote because as artists the topics we use to find inspiration are things that come from our personal experiences, memories, feelings and the quote represents what you mostly see everyday and that becomes something memorable or important in our lives that could remind of home, family, our friends that you haven’t seen in a while, or specific places that made you remember where you come from or places you’ve been before, and something that I do a lot is to take pictures or film videos, that’s part of me. I think is a better way to remember all what I did in my 13 years since I got a phone. I like to go through all the pictures I took because it reminds me of how happy I was in Peru, my friends, the things we used to do together and also with my family, remembering the people that are not around us anymore, and that’s what memories are; and identity is what represents you, how you look in the pictures or videos you took, the places you’ve been, the people you were surrounded by, all represents you and what you like to do.
Personally I have been using illustration and graphic design as my main tools. I am into creating simple cartoony visuals which at the same time shows strong messages and emotions. Like Hopinka, I am also drawn to the theme of storytelling, identity and memory; mostly I present it with bold shapes, colors and characters, and then create a video. I am inspired to do it this way because it is more direct and very visual which in turn does very well with audiences that respond to clear and expressive images. My process is that of simplifying ideas yet at the same time preserving their emotional content which I see in what Hopinka does also even though we use different media we both use visual language to tell important stories.
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