What is your aspiration and mission as an artist?
In an ideal world, my work would inspire social justice and change.

Where do your source inspiration for your work?
I’ve been working on a research project for the past 3 years during which I’ve accumulated an enormous database of material and ideas. It feels like I’ve got “provisions” for a life time! I got really into archival research. I love looking through old documents and working out the links to other events and histories in there.

What is your creative process like?
I guess, it’s about identifying things that can trigger an obsession and indulging it. My practice is centered around video editing, 3d animation and generally investigating technology. Those obsessions usually happen at some stage either editing or animating.

Like for instance when I got the idea to merge different perspectives on an abandoned mine in Ivittuut in Greenland in a 3D-reconstruction, which is featured in the video installation Half Hidden. By cross breeding some of the many layers of information I had about the place, I made a sort of hybrid fantasy version of Ivittuut that is baked into the interior of (the now closed) Danish National Archives. I made a model placing a selection stereographs of the mine from 1867 so that they lined spatially with the views they’re depicting, essentially making a 3d diagram of the mine, which sort of doubles as a fantastically animated folder of old documents inside a dilapidated version of the Danish National Archives. Ivittuut in Greenlandic means “the grass rich place”, which prompted an epic mission to make the stereographs behave like grass that the camera could move through, like a lush field of resource extraction.

What do you gain from positioning yourself in the remote places you often visit? How does it affect your creative process and the work you do there?Being away from “the centre” has been rewarding as well as challenging. In the periphery there’s less pressure and more time, which has made it possible for me to make work that would have been impossible to make anywhere else, but on the other hand I’ve really missed the pace of the big city. The mountains of Tromsø and the fiords of South West Greenland have changed my life forever, but they don’t insist on the urgency of art.

JANUARY EDITION
A new decade has manifested itself in our daily lifes and even though it still sounds otherworldly and futuristic it's the everyday truth & date we wake up to every new morning this year. How better to enter this new year with inspiring art between the private and public sphere, getting to know a "cut of your social media addiction" guru & last but not least signing up to a weekly insiders guide to the best art and artists - right in your mailbox.
Welcome to January 2020
xx

Photo: David Stjernholm

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO VISIT
Eva Kotatkova — Confessions of the Piping System
Now until 16 feb 2020

Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Interested in the relationship between the realm of the private and personal on one hand – and the public, authoritarian sphere on the other, Koťátková sets out to explore which sets of rules we adhere to in everyday situations. Read more about Eva Koťátková’s exhibition.
 

ONE TO WATCH
Cal Newport

Author and computer scientist 
We are constantly told that we are spending too much time on our phones, but what does the constant distraction we subject ourselves to all day, every day, actually do to our mental health and productivity? This month, we are inspired by scientist and author behind the bestsellers Deep Work and Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport, in our aspiration to refocus and go deeper with ourselves. Read about how deep work has the potential to improve your productivity and wellbeing, learn how to apply digital minimalism or read about what it actually takes to put your phone away. You can also meet Cal and his spoken words in this TED talk on why you should quit social media! 

WE LOVE
Børsens Atelier/Føljeton 

Published by Børsen  
Every Monday, when galleries and museums are closed, the digital art magazine Børsen Atelier is published.
The weekly art journal is focused on storytelling and interviews and allows you to tag along to the auctions and galleries, and into the workshops — guiding you through the very best of Danish and international art.
The vernissage opens every Monday at 11 am, in your inbox : )

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THIS MONTH
Next week, you can read more about Deep Work— how working deep is one of the new decades superpowers. The following week, you can read an interview on artistic deep work with one of our top favorite danish artists Anne Haaning.
Stay tuned & we wish you good luck wit embracing early January with all of your 2020 visions!

A new idea...

Wearable art merges the world of art and fashion and is rethinking the way we relate to what we wear. It aims at softening the boundaries between art and fashion — not only expanding the interest in art, but also making art more accessible. Our clothes serve a purpose — and not only through the practical reasons of keeping us warm and dry or by allowing us to explore and express our identities. Our clothes also possess a deeper potential. Art and fashion are both creative entities that enable you, in different ways, to express yourself and how you relate to the world. Bridging the gap between art and fashion allows the potential for expressing ideas and opinions through art to happen in a more contemporary way — bringing art into our everyday lives.

The future is calling for new ways of thinking about fashion, and our relationship to what we wear, how we treat our clothes and the curation of our wardrobes over time, are key elements on the consumer side of the challenge we are faced with. By designing wearable art, ARTiiG aspires to take the very best from fashion and merge it with the very best of art and offers a unique sense of closeness and inspiration. Bringing art into the equation, the pieces we wear say even more about us and who we are, which is something that cements our relationship with the garment. Every piece is unique — nothing ever goes out of style. Treat it well, and you will wear it (almost) forever.

EXHIBITION AND COLLABORATION 
ACE hotel x Wagner ski x Snow magazine x Traffic Artists/ ARTiiG by Wendy Plovmand

So we have been away form the blogpost for a while since we had to open a show in NYC. (How cool does that sound . ))

Last year ARTiiG did an exclusive collaboration with Wagner ski in Canada & this season the collaboration extended immersively and includes Ace hotel NYC and Snow magazine. The entire set up was beautifully orchestrated by my power woman agent Michelle Edelmann and her wonderful team at Traffic Creative management Nyc.

To celebrate all this we opened a show last night at the Ace hotel gallery,
right next to my favorite clothing stores in NYC - Opening Ceremony.

If you are around you should make sure to pop by - the show is up until January 2, 2020.
We wish you a heartful Christmas & an artful New year - and we look so much forward to begin 2020 with even more inspiration, art and sustainable thinking. Love from ARTiiG

Meet Wendy Plovmand, Founder and Creative Director at ARTiiG
The first wearable art collection by ARTiiG was created by Danish contemporary artist Wendy Plovmand, an artistic project that combine the two things that she loves the most: art and fashion.

We talked to Wendy about her passion for art, her inspiration and her ambition as an artist, so that you can get to know both Wendy and ARTiiG a bit better, and have a look at what goes on behind the scenes in her life as an artist.

What is your favourite thing about art and why and what value does art have?For me, art has always had the importance and value as a place to seek answers. A somehow almost sacred area of life – with no rules, no right and wrong and the opportunity to seek, question and investigate urgent subjects of matters. You can’t plan the process of creating an artwork, at one point the artwork takes over and makes its own decisions. In this sense, it’s the collaborative deep and almost meditative correspondence with a piece that is very precious for me as an artist. I also appreciate the idea that there are endless possibilities creating art – you never get to the end of creating.

Art possess the potential to communicate the sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves – something meaningful. Art is a huge cultural heritage and without it we would have no idea of human history, where we come from and what issues mankind have been dealing with since the beginning of all things. Art questions what it is like to be a human throughout history and today. 

 

What is your aspiration and mission as an artist?
I am becoming more and more interested in both the potential of the artistic process and the relevance of art in contemporary life. At the moment I am working on two projects/ideas that manifest my mission with art in a larger scale. 

The first project is the first draft of the project “Art & Education” which is rethinking the way we introduce working with art, and learning about the artistic process, in the public school. The project will include philosophers, priests, artist and writers and invite the students to participate in artistic processes in order to introduce some of the great things working with art can teach us.

The second project, is closely related to the ambition behind ARTiiG, namely bringing more art into public space. I recently met with the mayor of Frederiksberg city in order to discuss how we could move forward, to make sure all new buildings in the municipality reserve a certain percentage of the budget to integrated contemporary Art.

Why is it important to you to work with art in public spaces?
In recent years, I have been working more and more with integrating art in public spaces. I have realised that what is at the core of this is to allow people a more personal and natural way to interact with art on their daily route through the city. It makes so much sense and adds a lot of meaning to the value of an art piece. Furthermore, site-specific art seem to increase the wellbeing of people using the spaces or living in the area. Recent studies even show that art tends to gather people, make them join forces and even thrive better. It increases our quality of life!

What made you decide to start ARTiiG?
After working more and more with integrating art in public spaces, I realised how valuable this meeting between art and people in real life is. I wanted to make a statement on how relevant art is. I wanted more people to engage with art and experience the value of art. After many years of working within the fashion industry, as well an interest in developing a new kind of hybrid of high fashion and art – ARTiiG, wearable art, was born.

What are your sources of inspiration?
Inspiration comes from everywhere. People, exhibitions, travelling, visuals, books, poems, plants, philosophy, solitude – I would say all aspects of life poured into a big bowl – well mixed and then some stuff seems to pop out and insist on being taken into consideration.

What art pieces are your favourites? 
Currently I am very happy with my latest commission “To make your mark in the world” at Skolen På Duevej. Inspired by the students marks on the original School building from 1906, the idea was to connect the building by materials and give the students a voice to put their marks in the world anno 2018. More than 200 students age 6-15 were asked the same 20 questions about their life as kids, students and about their school life in general. All words were then curated and puzzled together in one large scale image of words that were then hand painted on a total of 997 ceramic tiles.

It has also just been announced that I am one of the artists to create a new large scale ceramic installation at the new Health Care Center in northern Zealand. I am very happy and excited about this new commission.

 

Interview by @nordahl.creative 

@r.blumbergs 

With the increasing focus on sustainability, slow fashion has become a buzz word in the fashion industry, and for good reason. The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, and with consumers demanding perfection and a never-ending stream of newness, the industry has created a counter movement, were craftsmanship, longevity and high quality materials are making a comeback in the mainstream.

Slow fashion means taking the time to create garments that are made to last. It’s about slowing down the fast paced seasonal changes, pumping out countless collections every season. It’s about allowing each garment to be a curated part of your wardrobe — something to be cherished, loved and worn for years to come.

ARTiiG is based on these values. We create pieces that we hope you will wear and love now and in the future. Developed through artist collaborations, our collections are never based on trends or seasons, but become treasures in your wardrobe — with a story and life of its own, just like an art piece. Slow fashion is here to stay, and is improving both the ethical and environmental conditions for the people and animals involved in the process, as well as the future of our planet.