I had the pleasure to make a quick interview with the greek artist Katerina Kamprani about her project called The Uncomfortable which is a collection of deliberately inconvenient everyday objects.
What inspired you to start your
project called The Uncomfortable? Was life actually getting too
comfortable for you or how did the idea to create a collection of
deliberately inconvenient everyday objects come to your mind?
Life was getting too uncomfortable I
would say! I quit my job in architecture to pursue a different career
and after some failed attempts to study industrial design and then to
make it in the advertising industry, I again made a decision to quit
my dreams and go back to work as an architect, mainly for financial
reasons. Shortly after that, with the knowledge I gained from my
experiences and a bitter point of view in life I started the project.
There was not a specific thing that inspired me, it was a mixture of
things brewing in my mind for a long time.
How long did it take you to finish
your first uncomfortable object and what was it? Does it exist in
reality or is it just animated?
It first one was not an object, it
started more on the architectural point of view. It was a sketch of
an open door leading to a bathroom. It was elevated 2m from the floor
and in order to go to the bathroom you had to use a boarding ladder.
This took 5 minutes to do. My first 3d was an uncomfortable bathtub
and it took some hours. None of these exist in reality!
With which 3-d-animation program did
you work? Had you already used it before?
I use 3dsmax and Vray. I work in an
architectural firm for a living where I often do architectural
visualizations so I have a big experience on this. But working on the
Uncomfortable helped my modelling skills and my product rendering
skills a lot!
Your project has big success, people
like your work. Did you ever expect that people from all over the
world would get to know The Uncomfortable?
I had no idea this would ever happen!
At some point, I was working on it on a more serious level and I
wanted to promote it somehow. I did an effort of writing a text about
it, which was the most difficult thing for me to do. I was ready to
send it to some design blogs that I follow, but my fear of failure
got over me and I never send it. Shortly after that I started having
likes and attention out of nowhere and up until now I am watching the
project take off on its own. It is amazing!
Even Ashton Kutcher shared your
project on social networking sites this week. How does it feel like
to know that he enjoyed looking at your creation of everyday objects?
I had no idea! Aston Kutcher???
Amazing! I am glad he liked it!
Is/Was it possible to take a look at
The Uncomfortable at any exhibitions? If not, would you like to do
it?
I have participated in some
exhibitions, mainly with prints. I would really like to do a big one,
with actual objects!
Did this project somehow change or
influence your life?
Well, I did get the opportunity to
travel to Milan and exhibit in an event for the design week there, so
maybe my life is changing a bit! But my everyday life is still the
same the only thing that changed is that I spend a lot of time now
answering on messages and interview questions.
What are your plans for the future?
That is a difficult question! I have so
many things in my mind, but I have to combine everything with making
some money for a living. And doing that in Greece is not very easy
right now, so I am planning some things like an exhibition but
nothing is set for sure.
What would be your advice for young
artists?
Oh. Am I in a point where I can give
advice? That is flattering! Well, I would say keep on trying, even
after everything fails! In my point of view, creative people need to
create and the more they do it, the better they get at it. Mainly
because when you produce something , yourself and others have a
chance to see it and criticise it. This gives a better chance at
evolving I think!
My final
question is a bit off topic, but I hope you’ll answer it too: How
would you describe my blog in 3 words?
