Andréa Stanislav is an internationally recognized artist based in New York City and Minneapolis. Her hybrid practice spans sculpture, multimedia installation, and public art. She often pushes the boundaries of how an artist realizes artistic production in the public realm and expands upon the experience of the gallery exhibition. Since 2003, she has been working in close collaboration with arts producer Dean Lozow, who has worked in the music industry for twenty years. For the Art Ii Biennial 2018 Andréa Stanislav and Dean Lozow collaborated with Angelina Davydova — a St. Petersburg-based freelance journalist and writer with an interest in environmental issues.
In Reflect – Ii, Stanislav and Lozow walked through li, covered in mirrored badges on their clothes. They gave away their buttons one by one to the people they met in trade for each individual’s photograph. In this way, the sculpture was disassembled into the community. After the walk, the collected digital photos were made into black and white “portrait” buttons that were attached to the sculptural garments. Then the walk was performed again. This action reassembled the community onto the wearable sculpture. During the process, journalist Angelina Davydova asked the public questions about how climate and ecological changes have impacted Ii. These questions and answers comprised the audio element of the artwork, played during the performative walk.
Reflect – Ii was based on collaboration between artists and a journalist creating an active dialogue with the community. The aim of this migrating project is to learn from the local public and transfer this knowledge onwards. It is a site of symbolic exchange that reflects and transforms the surroundings – much like water does.
The artwork draws attention to ecological issues and changes in our environment. As participatory art it reflected the thoughts and feelings of the local community, encouraging the meeting of diverse subjects. The performance formed a process of interaction and participation, leading to knowledge production and new awareness.
Andréa Stanislav and Dean Lozow
Andréa Stanislav is an internationally recognized artist based in New York City and Minneapolis. Her hybrid practice spans sculpture, multimedia installation, and public art. Andréa Stanislav holds an MFA from Alfred University, New York; and BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art, University of Minnesota. Since 2003 she has worked in close collaboration with arts producer Dean Lozow (b. 1955, New York City, USA). Dean Lozow studied at Brown University, received a BS from Purdue University, and worked in the music industry for twenty years. Selected solo exhibitions of their work include: The Saint Louis Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; and Ca’d Oro Gallery, New York City. Selected group exhibitions include The Museum of Non-Conformist Art, Saint Petersburg, Russia; The 5th Moscow Biennial, Moscow, Russia; The Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad, Saint Petersburg, Russia; and Socrates Sculpture Park, New York City.
Angelina Davydova
Angelina Davydova is an international environmental journalist. Davydova received the 2006 Reuters Foundation fellowship, Reuters Institute, Oxford University and was a Participant in the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program at the University of California, Berkeley in 2012. Since 2006, she has headed the German-Russian Office of Environmental Information. Since 2008, she has acted as an observer to the UN Climate negotiation process. Her work has been published in Russian and international media, including The Thomson Reuters Foundation, The Guardian, and Science Magazine.
