Biography and statement part of the online portfolio:
Vygandas Simbelis creative experience covers media art, video art and photography as well as significant background in design and graphic arts. After graduating Kaunas Art College, Vilnius Academy of Arts and Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, he has achieved Licentiate of Arts (third cycle, postgraduate research, practice based PhD) degree at Vilnius Art Academy in photography and media arts and lately developed art projects in Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, Sweden.
Educated as traditional artist like academic drawer, modernist painter, traditional graphic artist, structuralist sculptor and functional designer from the first creative days, subsequently Vygandas investigates into conceptual and visual worlds and works in a wide spectrum of expressions. Vygandas works are multidisciplinary and also could be found under several nicknames. Artist started his media influences as a premier VJ (visual jockey) in Lithuania, later has been created video art films and expanded media installations. All general media techniques and technologies are not foreign for artist as he uses video, sound, light and space as frequent. Electronic and mechanical formats are predominant for artist’s latest work. Reflection on contemporary processes and art proceedings is essential for artist’s creative way. Some ideas of his work come from deepen investigation into self-reflective media approaches. The last projects are mostly based on technology paradigm and some ideas come exactly from that field, including technological and scientific inventions, widgets and media apparatus, kinetic and mechanical devices as well as traditional forms of art and media art expressions. Mediation of processes of contemporary world is predominant for artist’s creative model. Works of Vygandas are visual, reflective, contextual and critical; they are straight under the contemporary content (he has started with theory on banality, infantilism and childhood, later (MA and LicArts themes) achieved territory of play and game) in a high conceptual level and reaching such up-to-date themes as: copyright, open-source, roboware, media archaeology and media ecology, electromagnetic substance, private and public spaces, artist collaboration and others. Interdisciplinary and interaction are one of the main characteristics of Vygandas recent work.
Artistic research on playfulness and media art topics surround Vygandas artistic work in theory and practice. This territory follows his research from MA studies and has been achieved significant results on further studies. Postgraduate research was developed on topics such as phenomenology of game, difference of game and play, Dada and Fluxus art play, contemporary playfulness in arts, linguistic archaeology of media, object of media studies, media communication, apparatus and technology, media archaeology, media ecology, software studies, praxis of sharing, electromagnetic waves, interaction, etc.
Several topics he is working around: institutional paradigm, copy right issues, academical surroundings, urbanism in public and private spaces, electromagnetic substance, investigations within corruption, to mention a few.
Vygandas is an active curator and writer for contemporary art proceedings. He writes articles about media art practice and contemporary art acts in Lithuania and abroad. After his Master’s studies, Vygandas was running art centre, named Intro, with two art galleries, music club and discussion area. The policy of art centre was implementation of Artist Run strategy. Vygandas was responsible for curatorial work and administration of different areas in the centre. This project has influenced artist’s point of view and was the longest continues art project did not recognized in a creative CV.
Design achievements are mostly on graphic design and identity, but also reflects on advertising, web design, audio and video design, industrial design, interior and architecture. Vygandas has worked in several advertising and design agencies and is still working as freelancer. Quality logos are the most visited site of the portfolio. Creative work does not stop there. Vygandas has worked as art director and creative director, cameraman and video operator. Creative work helps him to work in other sectors of culture and marketing; he has worked as cultural manager and communication director as well.
Several articles on artist: Cyclic Defrost, Staalplaat, Vital Weekly, Igloo magazine, Kopenhagen.dk, Earplug magazine, etc.