Wojciech Kapela — for me one of the biggest advantages of this whole "digital workshop" is the possibility of detachment from the place, from the conventional studio.
You have always been fascinated by new media; your diploma was the first work realized with the use of computer techniques, created with great sensitivity. This was at a time when visualizations were creations still uncommon and, in addition, rather "plastic" in perception. Where did the love for such tools come from?
We studied at the same time, and Interior Design, like all departments at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, was not large, so you must also remember what a diverse "menagerie" we were ;) One was interested in painting, another in furniture design, a third in architecture... I was absolutely "hit" and consumed by the possibilities offered by the computer (which today, of course, sounds like a cliché and obvious). The combination of painting techniques (at the time I painted a lot) with the tools for the creation of three-dimensional space provided by the 3D environment... That was it! I was terribly attracted to the creation of virtual, three-dimensional worlds where every aspect, from the form to the material, lighting, and the final composition, was fully controllable and limited only by my invention, and not, for example, the budget of the project. Graduating from the Academy, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, although I had no idea who could pay for it ;).
How did you acquire the knowledge and skills to use such specialized software? Textbooks? Your intuition and experimentation? I was under the impression that you were proficient at it from the very beginning, without a learning phase.
Exactly as you say, intuition and experiments! There were no tutorials on every topic. Moreover, I find it hard to believe it myself today, but there wasn't even YouTube back then! ;) As for proficiency, thank you, but remember that I spent practically every moment "discovering" terra incognita - which, at that time and in my opinion, was computer graphics.
And it immediately raises the question of the individual, authorial character of the results of these activities. Your works can hardly be described as simply visualizations; they are extremely graphic or moving images.
Thank you. You know, it's a question that I can't answer, and I think few authors or artists can...
I spend a lot of time on each project, which is not helped by the fact that I am autocratic. Besides, I was lucky to hit "my" tool at a good time - the most dynamic development of the widely understood CGI (that is, digitally assisted image creation). Note also that our generation received practically entirely "analog", classical art education. We drew on a piece of paper, not a tablet; we painted on canvas and not in Painter, and we developed photos in the darkroom and not in Lightroom, but we were beginning to work in the new, "digital reality." And from this dissonance, cool, unexpected ideas and solutions were often born.
…our generation received practically entirely "analog", classical art education […] but we were beginning to work in the new, "digital reality." And from this dissonance, cool, unexpected ideas and solutions were often born.
Right after static visualization, did you become interested in animation?
Yes, in fact, from the very beginning, animation capabilities are an integral part of virtually any 3D graphics software. The problem with animation in those "pioneering" days consisted only of the lack of good enough hardware and... a potential customer. The Internet market was just being born and the main consumers of animation were only the big TV stations, which I thought were impossible to access.
Have you always been first when it comes to news?
Hmm? Am I a gadgeteer? ;) A selective one. But yes. When it comes to areas that interest me or that connect with my professional work I try to stay "up to date". Well, and I certainly don't skimp on computers ;)
How have you used these skills outside the Academy?
I've been in business for quite a long time so I've probably used them in every possible way. My first orders after graduation were architectural visualization and advertising graphics, but I was "drawn" to video and animation. And step by step, I managed to realize more and more orders from this area. I ran small companies - first dealing with post-production, video effects and advertising animation, then creating video content for TV stations. It was a very intense and professionally interesting time. On the one hand, I had the opportunity to work with great creators and enthusiasts of animation and video effects, on the other hand, with the largest Polish media companies (TVN, RMF, Polsat) or the then dynamically developing IT companies, such as Comarch, Optimus and Onet. Each implementation was a challenge and a professional adventure.
In addition to strictly commercial activities, which, by the way, were the best workshop for me, cooperation with cultural institutions occupied a growing area in parallel. I made educational and promotional films, presentations and multimedia installations, including videographic settings for large outdoor shows such as Cracow Wreaths, Sacrum Profanum, or Misteria Paschalia festivals. I also created multimedia for exhibitions at institutions like the National Museum, the Archaeological Museum, or the City of Cracow.
At some point, your activities changed scale, and you took up mapping. How did that happen?
Again, thanks to the Department, at the Patch workshop organized by Magda Pińczynska, I saw the results of mapping projects by invited artists from Hungary and Germany. And it was a bit like I discovered the missing element I was subconsciously looking for...
Conventionally speaking, the field in which I worked - the so-called motion graphics - was inextricably linked to the plane of the screen (phone, TV, projector screen, etc.). That is, regardless of whether I used 3D techniques during the implementation, the final result was always flat, two-dimensional. Meanwhile, mapping opens up a third dimension to the video image. It allows you to annex an entire space or architectural block, using it to create a one-of-a-kind spectacle of light and sound. And if we add the 4th dimension, or time, the viewer experiences full immersion!
I remember calling you for help with the film export settings. At that time, you were on some tree stand in the wilderness, hunting moose with your camera. You said: wait, I'll just fire up the laptop... Or something from the Academy's backyard - Wojo with a laptop on his lap is a standard sight. Do you actually not part with your equipment taking advantage of every moment to work, or do I just happen to be like that?
Indeed, I remember your call when I was sitting somewhere "in the bushes" in the Biebrza marshes, and you were making a film for the fair in Milan or Dubai :) I make no secret that for me one of the biggest advantages of this whole "digital workshop" is the possibility of detachment from the place, from the conventional studio. We can work anywhere (well, with the proviso that we can manage to carry there a 2 kg laptop and a large powerbank ;). And seriously, I like my job, I like working at all sorts of times and circumstances. If it can be a clearing in the Low Beskids or a bend of the Narew River, why not?
Getting back to those moose - photography is your other passion, a launching pad or an excuse for constant expeditions in search of interesting subjects and the best possible shots?
I've been photographing (probably like you (?)) basically forever. Whether for pleasure or semi-professionally while doing various projects. On the other hand, for several years now I have "fallen" into nature photography. And you hit the point - it's primarily an excuse to get to know, to see places that are hard to get to by accident. Away from tourist traffic, practically untouched by human interference.
You photograph mainly nature...
I can't explain it myself. On the one hand, my work but also (for lack of a better word) passion requires high-tech operation and I really like it. I spend masses of my free time figuring out new software features or hardware operations. On the other hand, nature. I don't know if it connects, complements, or contradicts :). When photographing nature, I look for a world not transformed by human activity (as far as possible in today's world, of course). So maybe it is such an eternal after all search for "pra-inspiration"?
Are you patient or just the opposite? Sitting for hours and waiting for the hero of the shot to appear probably requires patience and composure.
With this sitting it's not quite like that, I just walk a lot and "absorb" the surroundings rather than "lurking" for the game ;) Besides, believe me, in those rare moments when you manage to approach a roaring deer or the aforementioned and able to weigh several hundred pounds moose, you have so much adrenaline that you can stand without breathing for a couple of tens of minutes ;)
If you had to make a selection of works for a solo exhibition tomorrow, what would you most like to present?
I have a problem with valuing what I do, and the selection would rather be related to what absorbs me the most at any given time and what I'm passionate about. During the year, I would probably choose professional productions, such as video activities related to theatrical performances. But since we are talking during the vacations the choice would fall on graphics and photography, to which I devote myself in my so-called "free time" ;)
I look forward to the implementation of such a plan. Thank you for the interview :)
Also thank you :) and I keep my fingers crossed for LOVE IDAA! :)