OFFF Barcelona 2016
For the last 15 years, OFFF has been bringing together internationally renowned designers, thinkers, theorists and developers for a three-day event in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
An event like OFFF presents the opportunity for anyone with an interest in design and culture to experience and explore some of the most prevalent conversations happening within a range of creative industries right now.
For a third consecutive year, we are proud media partners of OFFF Barcelona and to celebrate the event and its diversity, we have handpicked four creatives who this year will take part in the OFFF event. Filmmaker Hiro Murai, musician and activist Kiran Gandhi, designer Timothy Goodman, and illustrator Daniel Aristizabal represent the originality of the 2016 edition and we are focusing on their unique worlds.
When asked about their expectations of OFFF and why they’re taking involved, we found that each of them contributed something unique within their creative fields and the reasons why each were invited to be a part of the event. When it comes to being at OFFF Murai doesn’t know what to expect. For him, it’s a conversation between artists and students of different mediums, much like Goodman who feels the festival represents diversity in culture and in types of creativity. Everyone at OFFF is awesome, curious and enthusiastic he said. And for Gandhi OFFF presents the opportunity to really experiment and test ideas, however crazy they may seem. Aristizabal sees his involvement as representing the reward for his hard work. He had always wanted to be involved with the event, after attending one year.
Come with us as we delve further into their practices, the impact their craft and passion has on their lives and how their work has contributed to their creative fields.
Hiro Murai
fluoro. Describe film’s impact on your mind, sleep, food, friendships, family, and life.
HM. Growing up, I used to be a bit of an insomniac and would watch films instead of sleep. So I feel like film is a big part of my relationship with myself. And even before then, when I first moved to the US, it’s how I consumed and learned about American culture. It’s been a big part of my life in a lot of ways.
f. You are Tokyo-born, Los Angeles-based. Tell us about the transition from Japan to the US, and how it made an impact to your work?
HM. I definitely identify as a cultural mutt. I was 9 years old when I moved to the USA, so I soaked up American culture fast, but I also clung onto a lot of the films and books I grew up with in Tokyo. When I make things I definitely feel the influences of both sides.
f. What excites your imagination?
HM. I’m excited by minutia. When an image captures a feeling that I can’t explain in words, I get very excited.
f. Minimal, surreal, dark, moody are some of the words we’d use to describe your work. How would you describe it?
HM. I try to make things that feel unassuming but surprising. I want it to be something that feels stripped down to its core essence. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that’s usually the starting point.
f. And what are the major considerations needed when directing a music video in comparison to a short film?
HM. Music videos are interesting because you are building something off of an existing piece of art that someone else has made. It feels a little bit like cooking, your main ingredient is pre-determined, and whatever you’re making needs to compliment what that ingredient brings.
Kiran Gandhi
fluoro. Describe sound’s impact on your mind, sleep, food, friendships, family, and life.
KG. Sound heals me. It puts me in a good mood when I feel worried. It wakes me up in the morning. It amps me up to run faster when I am on my runs and training. It makes my drumming better. It makes me sensitive and more aware. It teaches me how to make others feel good.
f. What is the importance of having a voice and expressing yourself?
KG. This is our single most important asset. In my Madame Gandhi live shows, I often say, “Own your voice, don’t be afraid!” The idea here is that we are stuck in a world where we are often taught to conform or sound like someone else. The best thing we can do though is just be the best version of ourselves. I know that I don’t have the most amazing singing voice, but I try to own the notes I do like to sing, and make it the best most authentic version of myself.
f. Gender equality. Drumming. Innovation in the music industry. Family and friends. Why are these the four pillars of your sphere? How have they shaped who you are today?
KG. They are my core passions. I have been passionate about music and feminism since I was 5 years old and living in New York City. I love using music and pop culture as a means of challenging traditional gender norms, so I know this will be my mission for the rest of my life.
f. You work across a range of mediums. Tell us about them, why you’ve chosen them and how they help you get your messages across.
KG.
Everything is a canvas that can be painted on. A conversation can influence someone’s perception. A marathon can change the world. I have learned that being present and sharing your best self in everything you do enables most moments of your life to be a medium through which you can make an impact. I think most artists see the world this way.
Timothy Goodman
fluoro. Describe typography’s impact on your mind, sleep, food, friendships, family, and life.
TG. An old teacher of mine always said, “If you want to change your tool then change your look.” I think design is at it’s strongest when we are taking the expected and making it unexpected. When we are taking a cliché and flipping it on its head. I just think of typography as an image: it’s there to deliver a message that can be provocative, or make someone laugh or cry or be upset.
f. Hi there, Sharpie lover. Why do you enjoy making your mark? Why the Sharpie?
TG. Sharpie is kind of the ‘everyman’ marker: kids use them to draw pictures, athletes use them to sign autographs, artists use them in their work, some people might use them to touch up a scratch on their piano, my mom uses them to write a grocery list, etc. I love all these possibilities.
f. You work across a range of mediums. Tell us about them, why you’ve chosen them and what they help you achieve.
TG. I always tell my students to approach creativity as a practice, not as a profession. There are no rules. If you want to write, then write. If you want to draw, then draw. If you want to make something weird, then make it. I’ve always felt this way, and I’ve always been uninhibited about trying anything I was curious about. And nothing is possible unless you find time.
Daniel Aristizabal
fluoro. Describe illustration’s impact on your mind, sleep, food, friendships, family, and life.
DA. I became a workaholic basically. Everything right now revolves around my work. I have to admit that it has taken a toll on my personal life. I find myself more focused on working and creating than anything else. But I’m happy. For a really long time, I didn’t enjoy being a designer, mainly back in my college days. It was a mixture of me feeling inadequate or bad with what I produced, and an education that I think it was subpar. But now I have clarity of where I would like my career to go and more importantly I’m happy with what I’m doing. I really enjoy all the perks involved in this trade, even the bad ones doesn’t compare to the joy that I feel when I’m doodling nonsense in my pads and playing around with my computer.
f. Has your Colombian heritage affected your work and process? If so, how?
DA. I would think so. Colombia is a strange mixture of European, African and native cultures, that combination makes you a person full of contrasts and sometimes contradictions in what you create, and I truly believe this sort of contradictions are engrained in my work. I love simplicity, but at the same time, I love colors and complex patterns. I want to create really complex but simple ideas all the time, I think this come from the diverse environment that all Latin people grew up with.
f. What’s a project you’ve worked on that you’d never forget? Why?
DA. All of them are unforgettable in a sense, they’re like my children, some of them are cooler and some of them you just want to deny that you even were involve, but you learn to love them all. But the one that I believe I would never forget is my OFFF presentation. For months and months, I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to say and how to, to this day I haven’t finish it and the stress is starting to build up, but I like to feel that rush of pressure, that point when you start to think: “Oh shit I don’t have a clue of what I’m going to do”. That kind of stress and emotions are hard to forget, and sure OFFF had brought me a huge amount of that.
f. You work across a range of mediums. Tell us about them, why you’ve chosen them and what they help you achieve.
DA. The main thing about me is my desire to gain knowledge. I’m an avid reader and researcher and I try to learn as much as I can from different subjects and fields. I try to reflect this passion for learning in my work. For some time I was really into illustration and typography, now my work is mainly focused on 3D artwork and art direction, but I’m now starting to drive my attention toward 3d printing and art installations. I love the idea of not being defined by a particular medium, but by the ideas I came up with.
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Stay tuned to fluoro over the coming weeks as we share the latest from OFFF, with the event taking place on 26-28 May 2016 at the Disseny Hub Barcelona.
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