The Commons: 15 Artists 15 Spaces: A COVID-19 Artists Relief initiative, 2020-2022 by Ates Isildak
Submission - Ates Isildak
Pink
Fabulous Muscles
Domestica - Short Film
Omnipain
Reptile Chapel - Life if Loop (i am poop)
The Commons: 15 Artists 15 Spaces: A COVID-19 Artists Relief initiative, 2020-2022 by Ates IsildakThe City of West Palm Beach’s ArtLife Committee commissioned 15 local artists to create temporary works to highlight reconnection with one another during the pandemic. The project encouraged artists to reimagine the city’s public spaces, reflect and respond on a localized level to a global crisis, while offering the artists monetary relief. Ates Isildak, one of the 15 featured artists, created a the documentary that captures the artistic process and the shared cultural memory fostered by the initiative.
Submission - Ates IsildakThis was my submission to the Art In Public Places Artist Initiative and Public Art ProjectThis year has been a lesson in dialecticsSwing after swing / Thesis, antithesisI lost my job of 7 yearsIneligible for unemployment due to being a freelance artistCast into the unknown like so many othersThen found out I won the South Florida Cultural Consortium Grant This was my 4th year applyingSo thankful to receive affirmation for my art And some relief from financial worriesQuarantine kept me from the collaborations I rely on for my photos and videosBut inspiration started coming in torrential flowsFinishing projects that were put on holdDreaming up ideas for the futureRevisiting my favorite films and albumsMaking time for new onesWorking on music again for the first time in yearsI lost one of my best friend since childhood to suicideHere we are in Turkey last summer I lost another to health complications to COVID Here we are in Japan. But another best friend of mine just had his first baby boyThis is EdwinThere’s so much chaos outside my doorOn every channel, social media Progress can be painfulBut there is a newfound stillness in meDaily meditation, daily appreciation for what I haveThe collaborations I’ve focused on in the last 3 yearsWith members of the black community and the LGBTQ communityFeel more important than everI’m not able to work on my art the way I wasBut I’m remembering every day why it is so important to me, to everyoneAnd I’m so excited to share the insight I’ve been able to gather when the world opens back upAnd even if it doesn’t, there are no barriers that art can’t transcendThis year has been a lesson in dialectics Swing after swing / Thesis, antithesis The synthesis will reveal itself in the art that comes next
Pink Co-directed by Ates Isildak & Mumbi O’Brien. Story and Characters by Mumbi O’Brien.
Fabulous MusclesFabulous Muscles is a reference to a beautiful and unsettling song about love and violence by Xiu Xiu. It took many conversations with Roger Jackson, Kevin Laurore & Akia Dorsainvil to feel comfortable with its creation and release. Maybe I’m still not comfortable with it. The intention of the piece is to show what the male gaze looks like toward gay black men. Though coming from a place of respect and admiration, there’s still a fear that artists are exploiting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ persons for our work, without any of the risk. This piece is both an example and a subversion of that feeling. As a creator, it’s safe behind the camera, asking collaborators to be open and vulnerable. In the end, does the world mimic the art or do we make each other stronger? CreditsCreated by Ates IsildakFeaturing Roger Jackson & Kevin LauroreMusic by John Richters
Domestica - Short FilmShort horror film about the fear of domestication and the daily mundane from the subconscious of a woman. Mixed media, stop motion / video. Created by Ates Isildak with the help of Jessica Kigar and Lauren Dwyer - Music borrowed without permission by Disasterpeace
OmnipainShort Horror Film Written & Directed by Jason Erhart. Filmed & Edited by Ates Isildak
Reptile Chapel - Life if Loop (i am poop)
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