Product 81 Creative Lab Basel Series presents artist talk with Yuri Tuma

The Mobile Art Movement: The Death of Photography or the Evolution of an Art Form?

On December 5, 2013, as part of the Basel Series, a week-long program of dialogue and artist talks at the Product 81 Creative Lab, the Brazilian born South Florida photographer, Yuri Tuma, led an informative session on “The Mobile Art Movement” and its implications, possibilities as well as its points of controversy for the future of digital and photographic art.   One of the questions driving the discussion included, whether or not images created and shared through the cell phone represent the death of photography:  Does it represent a lesser art form or is it indicative of a fortuitous evolution of the medium?  According to Yuri, Instagram, the major driving force behind mobile art, has become, in the hands of artists, a platform for promoting their visions and careers as well as the creation of instant global communities of like-minded individuals. The oftentimes promotional nature of images points to a strategic element that takes the “instant” out of Instagram and brings up a whole series of human behavioral phenomena such as “posting anxiety.”  Nevertheless, the concern over how many people will “like” a particular photo may also influence in what ways it may be altered or what an artist may choose to do “fine artly” in the future based on responses.  With mobile art, the social aspect of photography becomes the grounds around which the medium is evolving.  Importance is being given not so much to technique but what an image can bring up– photography is now talking.  The once highly individualistic art form is now the center around which a variety of communities, subgroups and subgenres are being developed.  There is no doubt that with the mobile art movement, we are witnessing an evolution in which social media platforms serve as a communicative bridge that is not only transforming the field of photography but is also breaking through the oftentimes isolating experience of the gallery for both photographers and spectators. 

by Catalina Ramírez

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I won :) Thank you "Heineken® "Light Your Night" Challenge 2013

Yuri Tuma announced winner of the "Heineken® "Light Your Night" Challenge 2013

From Press release:
We are pleased to announce Yuri Tuma as the winner of the Heineken Light Your Night Challenge!
Heineken® "Light Your Night" officially launched last night with the help of multimedia artists Yuri Tuma, Juan Carlos Zaldivar, Clifton Childree, Brandon Opalka, and Kevin Arrow who transformed the Light Box at Goldman Warehouse into a maze of light installations! Over one thousand event attendees interacted with the impressive installations, enjoyed music by DJ Pauer and Ess + Emm and cheered to the start Miami's Art Week with Heineken product. Heineken® "Light Your Night" serving as a platform for local artists, challenged five South Florida artists to interpret Heineken Light's "Bounce" campaign through the use of light. Heineken Light's "Bounce" campaign is inspired by the "bounce" of light and how light reflects and refracts. Tasked with using light as their inspiration, the brilliant creations by each artist came to life.
A panel of judges selected Yuri Tuma as the winner of the Light Your Night Challenge and has awarded him with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Amsterdam, home of Heineken. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil and based in Miami, Yuri Tuma's Mirr(col)or Graphic used paper, mirrors, flashlights and transparency to create an interactive art experience. "The most interesting part of working with light was thinking about how it affects darkness," said Tuma. Viewers of Yuri Tuma's installation were invited into a dark curtained off room where they would shine flashlights on the mirrors revealing pattern graphics. In the center of the mirror, the message "Find Your Light" was revealed and shadowed on the curtain behind the viewer creating a beautiful display of light and darkness while sharing a poignant message that resonated with attendees and judges alike.