Post 7 - Sky Hopinka, Art Talk | Rocco Francisco

Sky Hopinka, Mnemonics of Shape and Reason, 2021 / ICA Miami

• How does Sky Hopinka use his medium of choice? What inspired him to use video?

    Sky Hopinka uses a video format to create a cinematic experience related to landscapes and nature, creating an ethereal feel in the process with overlapping video and text.The usage of language, drawing from his own heritage; however, he does so in a way that does not lean entirely on his background. His videos and their intended audience, according to Sky Hopinka, varies depending on the videos themselves.

 

    Hopinka states "I make the videos that I make because it’s what I want to make; it's a part of the conversation that I want to have with either these histories or this exploration of what it means to exist in the right here, right now, as opposed to participating in a romanticization or tokenization of my culture or my past and my family's past and my tribe's past" (Sutton).

 

    Sky makes work that speaks to him, with the subject matters not necessarily being related to Native identity, yet not entirely staying away from them. It is important to make this distinction. The usage of video is one that is not always clear, as Sky does not seek to show every single detail. The experimental filmmaking techniques allow for some things to have focus, and others to be left in the air for others to interpret. Much of these techniques also reflect the "point of wonderment" that Sky refers to during the interview (Sutton).

 

    The video format allows for Sky Hopinka to explore different ideas with a sense of wonder, using both audio and visuals to guide the viewer on journeys that feel authentic because of their ambiguity.

•  What material/medium/process do you use and how? What inspired you to make your work that way?

    As a graphic design major, I primarily work digitally, usually concerned with the appearance on screen and posters. To me, the software is the paint or the graphite to the screen that serves as my canvas. I have always been working with technology, adoring the process of learning new software, something that is also true in my music career and personal video editing projects.

    In objective works, I take advantage of the fundamentals I have been learning while attending classes to make sure I can make whatever a client asks of me. This is also true for music; the client serves as the brain and I almost act like a vessel to create their vision. However, my influence in my own design biases will be felt in the process. I have specific aesthetics that I prefer, and meanings that I enjoy tackling, with a clear preference towards digital design and subjects related to technology. A lot of the time in music, because of the specific community that follows me, I make things that are meant to "sound cool" in the sense of feeling action oriented, but not necessarily having a deeper meaning. These are projects that I take a lot of pride in and aspire to improve upon.

 

    On the other hand, my personal works that are not career oriented often cover themes of personal reflection by having a lot of ambiguity in their meaning, because they typically serve as a way for the audience to insert themselves into the piece. My works can be described as chaotic, something that is also reflected in my workflow as I typically go with the method of trying until something works; instead of drawn sketches before moving into digital work, I usually create an intense amount of digital pieces until I find something that I can expand on. 

 

    These two parts of my work are very separated, almost feeling like two different artists entirely at times.

 

    I enjoy the process of learning new things and trying to apply them. I make music, work on a range of graphic fields, work on video editing, and even occasionally work on keyframe animations. Many of these things come together, especially with music and visual art combining in my most vulnerable works. By putting my emotions into something that I enjoy and find myself doing naturally, I create pieces that I feel are deeply personal to me while also being able to be interpreted in many ways by other people. 

    I worked in all of these fields because I enjoy the process and spending a lot of time trying to make something "better than last time," and find myself repeatedly going back to themes of self reflection.