Nikita Diakur: A Master of Ugly Dynamics & Unexpected Beauty in Chaos
The Artistic Path of Nikita Diakur’s: An Introduction
Born in Russia, Nikita Diakur’s life journey eventually led him to Leipzig, Germany, where he currently lives and works.
Over the years, he has participated in numerous international exhibitions and festivals, engaging audiences with his unique vision and winning several awards for some of his groundbreaking animations including “Ugly”, “Fest”, and “Backflip”.
As part of his commitment to nurturing creativity, he regularly conducts lectures and workshops, sharing his distinctive artistic approach. An esteemed member of the European Film Academy, Nikita Diakur also had the pleasure of being part of the Artists-in-Residence program at Q21 in Vienna.
Embracing Imperfection: The Unique Aesthetics of Nikita Diakur
Nikita Diakur’s art embraces the philosophy that mistakes can lead to beauty thanks to the unconventional use of randomness in computer simulations, which he leverages to create hypnotic visuals.
His artistic influences span from British animation to the unpredictable culture of the internet, among these Chris Shepherd, Phil Hunt, Jonathan Hodgson, and the Hodgson’s “Hilary”, along with Johannes Nyholm’s “The Tale of Little Puppetboy”, David O’Reilly’s “Please Say Something”, and Priit and Olag Pärn’s “Divers in The Rain”.
In particular, he mentions how he draws inspiration from the vibrant, quirky side of internet culture, including overlooked trash, kitsch videos, and self-help motivational sites.
At the foundation of Nikita Diakur’s work resides an exploration of absurdity, chance, and the unexpected, a narrative that often unfolds through the lens of unusual characters, dwelling in the vibrant pulse of cityscapes, where the absurd becomes the norm.
Taking this into account, Nikita Diakur’s approach is a creative alchemy of controlled chaos. By using Maxon’s Cinema 4D software, he constructs digital puppets with interconnected body parts hanging on dynamic strings, in which the software performs calculations and generates a linear simulation, often with unpredictable results. The outcome of this dynamic method is a temporary artificial distance between the artist and the software, resulting in unique and unbiased animations that fluctuate between the physically accurate and strikingly distorted, underscoring his ability to manipulate and redefine the aesthetic norms of art.
Nikita Diakur’s portfolio boasts a number of groundbreaking projects.
“Ugly”, one of his seminal works, is a fascinating study of dynamic computer simulation. Inspired by an online story about an abused cat deemed ugly, he recreated the tale in an intentionally disfigured world to illustrate its moral.
Another pivotal work, “Fest”, pays homage to the YouTube culture, specifically fail compilations. In this project, Diakur’s characters deal with extreme situations and unexpected outcomes, illustrating the essence of freedom and spontaneity.
Similarly, Nikita Diakur’s film “Backflip” explores humanity’s ever-evolving relationship and apprehension towards machine learning and Artificial Intelligence: analogous to watching a learning organism, the film follows an Avatar, the digital representation of himself, as it attempts and fails to perform a backflip. In this way, the spectator is compelled to root for the Avatar even though it is in essence an emotionless robot, underscoring Nikita Diakur’s storytelling abilities.
In 2021, his artwork “Sharing BBQ”, part of the “Ugly” series, signaled his foray into the crypto-art scene, further expanding his creative reach.
On February 2nd 2023 Nikita Diakur presented “Drone on off”, part of the second volume of “Visual Detachment” – a Fakewhale Cross Drop curated by Nifty Gateway.
Mastering the Unexpected: The Profound Impact of Nikita Diakur ‘s Ugly Dynamics
In Nikita Diakur’s vision, the ugly, the distorted, and the chaotic transcend into something meaningful. His creativity is a celebration of the unexpected, an inspirational narrative of embracing irregularity and exploiting unpredictability to reveal the beauty that exists within seemingly imperfect chaos.
To embrace the power of the unpredictable, to lean into the glitchy and chaotic, and to cultivate creativity in the face of apparent disorder, becomes not just a possibility, but an invitation to a more expansive, dynamic, and fulfilling journey.
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Founded in 2021, Fakewhale advocates the digital art market's evolution. Viewing NFT technology as a container for art, and leveraging the expansive scope of digital culture, Fakewhale strives to shape a new ecosystem in which art and technology become the starting point, rather than the final destination.
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