HE IS ALSO OUR PROFESSOR: MAXIM BILJARSZKI
Maxim graduated in Media design BA and at the moment he is an instructor in the team of media designers. During his university years his pieces of work could be seen in several projects and events. As a participant he received a special award in the 2015 Students’ Art Society; our interview can be read at here. In May 2018 the multidisciplinary performance entitled Sandman was shown in Mozsár Műhely. It is based on the symbiosis of the individual multimedia solutions designed by him and they led the audience to unknown worlds.
What are you involved in? Which field of media design, which use or style do you feel close to?
Starting from the aspect of “everything” I head for the little bit less spacious world of interactive audio-visual installations, projections and the performing arts. Right now I am working on an interactive installation in the topic of Cyrillic alphabet - language (I can’t tell you more about it yet), that will be an immersive projection operated by a movement sensor and it will be shown in Plovdiv, the cultural capital of Europe in May. The essence of immersive projection is that it creates such a space that embraces the viewers and puts them in a “physical 3D” space.
What appealed to you most in this specialist field?
Diversity, the combination of images, sound, video/animation and music.
Is it the applied or the autonomous genre the one that you feel closer to?
Autonomous or group autonomous. Playing music in a band or theatre, or screening to bands.
Could you tell us something about the thinking and creative process you use when making a piece of art? What was your favourite piece of work? And what are you working on right now?
So far the most complex work I have ever done is the theatre play ‘Sandman’ (an interview about it can be read: here), in which the media I find the most exciting were combined and along with my co-creators we managed to express thoughts through the language of audio-visual means and the theatre.The next performance will be shown on 29th March.
In autumn I focused all my energy on my band, PsyPorn , and in December we released our first album that is a stage of a long and deep journey called Paradox Island.
When did you make a decision that you would like to teach along with having an art career? How did you find this track?
I have always been interested in what it is like to stand on the other side of the bench, when I was younger I already had critical ideas about the approach to particular subjects from the perspective of an educator, but I never thought I would be an educator myself and to give it a second thought right now the most appropriate word is not education but exploration.
What is the most important in teaching for you? What is the factor why you like to pass on your knowledge to the upcoming generations? What is the most exciting and the most difficult in the role of educator?
The most important thing for me is the above-mentioned exploration, mainly for myself. If I am not interested in a particular topic and I can’t add anything new to it for myself, it is superfluous and pointless as it is. But the most exciting is when we explore together with the students. I try to do my best to nurture the entrepreneurial and creative attitude as much as I can. The place where students end up while they are experimenting is up to them.
Who do you recommend this BA /specialization? What drive can motivate somebody to be part of this world?
To the most curious ones.
What skills are necessary to become successful in a field of media design? Are there things that are absolutely necessary? Or it is so diverse and extensive that we cannot spot these?
In order to become successful in any field you have to invest a lot of work in it and you need a huge piece of luck. I do not believe there is any kind of definite product that is expected. What is needed is more like some kind of creation that can show or reveal the applicant’s curiosity, sense of exploration and commitment to the world of media design.
What is needed for a successful admission procedure in your view? What do you recommend the applicants to include in their portfolio?
I prefer the colour green, but it can be anything else :).