Digital Art
Below you can read the descriptions and artist statements for the art collections above.
This project was created by Mihai Pop. In 2015 Mihai created these art works as a response to the migrant crisis in Europe. This story is called “Welcome all Aliens” and the images were made using Cinema 4D and Octane. (full 3D)
Artist statement: Welcome all Aliens
Image 01 – Open House – My name is Mihai Pop. I’m a digital artist and architect based in Vienna, Austria. §#*&°?…I know :)) As a starting point for my digital art I first looked for an old sketch I made, an over-optimistic, extra small, self-sufficient, prefabricated shelter that came along with a greenhouse. I don’t remember exactly why I sketched these objects but they could work as my main characters. They were small, quirky, and could fit in any urban context. Perfect! 🙂
Image 02 – The Day They Arrived – Now that I had my two characters, I needed a story, something they could do. At the time I started this project, the migrant crisis in Europe was still fresh in my mind. I remember seeing migrants camping around Westbahnhof, in Vienna. They looked lost, confused, and were waiting to find out if they could go further to Germany. Different state organizations were aiding the crisis, telling them what to do, where to wait, and providing them basic things such as water, soap, toothbrushes, and blankets. I also remember seeing ordinary people bringing them clothes, food, and water. It looked a bit surreal… so I thought…migrants + minimal prefab shelters managed by European institutions = a horrible idea. Great! I could work with that.
Image 03 – Great Expectations – Then I started thinking, what if Europe would decide to receive all these migrants and place them in these small shelters… where would these things be placed around the city? Where would they fit? In theory, they could be placed anywhere. They are not that big. But I don’t think they would be placed in the city center. Instead maybe somewhere farther away, near motorways or maybe bridges. There is more space there and it is greener. Or so we thought… And if it’s not green enough, we could add some plants… anything, just to make it green. And they would have greenhouses as a source of food, with plenty of crates for all the vegetables…at least in theory…
Image 04 – Morning Walk – Maybe they will place these shelters in parks. Europe has beautiful old parks that would be perfect for this. Well, as long as… you would still be able to walk your dog, have picnics, jog, play games and do your leisure activities in these parks. There are still your parks… and this situation is temporary… or so we think…
Image 05 – Würstelstand – Where else would we see them? Maybe random on the streets… maybe replacing a newsstand, or a Würstelstand, the one on your street corner. Anywhere theoretically, they don’t take up a lot of space. They are not big.
Image 06 – Sleepover -Some of them might remain in the train station. Why not? It is a public space like any other. It might be safer than other spaces, especially for kids. And if they are allowed to travel further through Europe, they can just board a train and off they go.
Image 07 – Main Headquarter – The institution managing the situation would, of course, have some shelters displayed in front of their main headquarter, uninhabited so they don’t get dirty, just so they can show the residents of the city and the taxpayers their accomplishment. They’ve invested a lot of money into this project and in marketing it… And this year it’s an election year. So… they have to do this.
Image 08 – Poster Shot – They made a lot of fuss about it. With posters in the streets and on the side of buses, with television commercials and public presentations… bragging that they have the best solution and that it will all be great and these people will all be happy… This is when they took the poster shoot.
Image 09 – Less is more – L.M.v.d.Rohe. This is, of course, a crazy fictional story… but… Could they be right? Could this micro-living be the answer to overcrowded cities? Europe has a serious issue when it comes to affordable housing and I see a lot of projects and competitions for micro-urban living. It looks like a lot of people want to go this way… Could this be it? Could less be more?…
Images 10 – Less is a bore – R.Venturi. But how about the ones who don’t want less? Our tv stars and prominent people don’t want less. Our economists want neverending growth, not less. Are these people wrong?
Image 11 – I’m a whore – P.C.Johnson. Or are they not being totally honest with us?
Image 12 – Yes is more – B.Ingels. Or maybe we are not seeing the potential in less. Maybe we need a more positive approach to the whole situation. We could all learn to live with Yess…
Image 13 – Less is a… Hmm… “We could all learn to live with less …” All? … living with less?… Is this a good idea? or yet again, less is a …
Image 14 – I have more. And why do they think less is more? When everything around us seems to be about: “I have more”.
Image 15 – Less is… just less. How can less be more? … For the people I saw that day in front of the Westbahnhof train station in Vienna, as for most of us, less is just… less. Is there something we can not see? And why can’t we see it?
Image 16 – …maybe because of the boxes…maybe because of the boxes?…
in progress…