Jana Wisniewski
Austrian videomaker
The Refugee Film Collection
The Wake Up Memorial
Interview: 10 questions
1. Tell me something about your life and the educational background
Jana Wisniewski: My studies on University of Applied Arts in Vienna, had first a focus on textiles, then drawings, and my first personal exhibition in Vienna was showing objects, hanging on the wall – relief. Soon I mixed medias, drawings, photographs, objects, in a narrative way, later the photographs appeared on objects.
The object was sometimes a kind of furniture, and I worked together with a group named “Stilbruch AGâ€. I used mirrors, as part of the object, and walking through a
Installation with my art-pieces seems to include the visitor.
2. When, how and why started you filming?
Jana Wisniewski: 2008, I started with short experimental videos, it was again the narrative, I want to tell something, some videos included words, or running words, or a story told behind the scene, mirrored in water, or a photo-video.
3. What kinds of topics have your films?
Jana Wisniewski: It is the life we live in, and most time it is a fairy tale.
4. Concerning your included video: please tell me more about the aims and the contents.
Jana Wisniewski: My videos on ARTVIDEO KOELN: The first was “Tablet†a short movie about that now established fashion, to look at everything through a screen, but 4 black dancing ladies interacted not only with their I-Pad they also interacted with an exhibition in Künstlerhaus Vienna. In “Self-imaging as a flagâ€, I used me as the model, with several mask in form of a flag. It was 2015 and for me, that welcome of refugees was a problem, because of integration and the will or ability to choose another country, and another country, and so on. I showed it as a fairy tale with several aspects of “integrationâ€. “Prosit Profit†deals with globalisation and bad manors to “use†workers whether they are from the country from origin or foreigners – it is the wrong way to fight against each other, we should fight for a fair share of the income.
5. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
Jana Wisniewski: Sometimes I make movies from photographs and words, it is easy to do it on computer. Often the photographs are made for that movie.
Otherwise, I work with nature and my own voice. Sometimes I am building a special installation for a movie and use me as a model, or I have some friends to work with me (the dancing women)
6. Tell me more about the technical equipment you use.
Jana Wisniewski: Now I use a HD AVCHD Sony and Final Cut Pro
7. How do you finance your films?
Jana Wisniewski: I never asked for money.
8. Do you work individually as a video artist/film maker or do you work in a team?
if you have experience in both, what is the difference, what do you prefer?
Jana Wisniewski: I work individually as video artist/filmmaker.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your film/video making?
Jana Wisniewski: The question what art could be.
10. What are your future plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
Jana Wisniewski: I could need a new (better) camera.
Can works of yours be reviewed online besides on the platforms of The New Museum of Networked Art? If yes, where?
Jana Wisniewski: First I had, starting 2008, some movies on http://www.oneminute.ch
and http://www.pixelstorm-award.ch then on “VISION X SOUND†im “Tank†Austria http://203.3040.at they did that Program 4 years and stopped 2018.
Once I took parton Water Wheel, Australia, they also stopped, in ESPACIOCENTER, Canaris,
at least on http://www.womencinemakers.com and on http://www.artivive.com (it is augmented reality, but I used it the way that behind my image, a small video is running … art comes at life …… but it is Beta, we still need a password, and they do some exhibitions), and of cause several times videos are in exhibitions together with photography and more.