The cultural phenomenon of “Vaporwave” is a look at Kaunas on the screen of distorted reality



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Kaunas has many faces. It is both the confluence of two rivers, and the capital of modernism, and the properties of the wise grandfather. And from now on Kaunas – and vapor wave a city of palm trees, high mountains, the night sky painted with amazingly bright sunsets, so easy to mistake for a party of neon lights.

What is it vapor wave And why so many in Kaunas? Answers are provided by the founder of the Vaporwave Kaunas initiative on Facebook. The artist, who talks a lot about her work, avoids revealing her identity, her works are more important to her.

Steam wave It is a cultural phenomenon that has emerged on the Internet, one of whose addresses is the art of the Internet. This phenomenon is not widely known in Lithuania. Could it be called underground? Do you think vaporwave can become popular?

– Not only in Lithuania, but worldwide vapor wave It is popular with generations X, Y, and Z. The aesthetics of this online art lead the viewer into graphic design from the 1990s, distorting reality or placing it in a strange, computer-generated three-dimensional space. Since the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century. The trends of the first decade have returned to fashion, certain characteristic elements vapor wave, can be found in clothing, graphic design, music. Although vapor wave It is not popular with most, but the influence of this phenomenon is felt in contemporary music and visualizations, only in other ways. This is illustrated with music clips from the famous artist Drake or visualizations of works by Lithuanian R&B artist Free Finga.

– Why vapor wave were you interested in the phenomenon And what led to the creation of collages from easily recognizable places and objects in Kaunas?

Steam wave I listened to music a long time ago, but I became actively interested in this phenomenon only when I created a Vaporwave Kaunas Facebook account. I created collages with more laughs to share with friends. However, the positive reactions from them, and from strangers at all, motivated me to continue what I started. The more I was interested vapor wave, the easier it was to discover how much is in Kaunas.

In the center: the axis of all the compositions are the symbols of the city that are easily recognizable to Kaunas residents.

Steam wave appeared on the Internet, can works caused by this phenomenon be material? What are the characteristics of vaporwave art?

Steam wave art can be material and it really is. These are: vinyl records, clothes with vapor wave Graphic design elements, posters. And it’s kind of ironic because vapor wave It is prone to ridicule capitalism. Steam wave The music is characterized by slow melodies from the 80s and 90s, extended musical forms of the so-called elevators or commercials. The visual part of this phenomenon consists of many seemingly unrelated things: computer design (especially in the Windows 95 style), Greco-Roman sculptures and columns, neon signs that prevailed around the 1990s. Symbols are very often used of Japanese culture, anime characters.

– You mentioned that vapor wave In works, reality is distorted. When creating collages, do you set limits that prevent you from completely eliminating reality when playing with the various characters used?

– I don’t apply strict rules to myself. When I started putting collages on vapor wave Aesthetics and rules, I knew little, so it complicated that my works did not fit vapor wave Art tracks. I don’t think about it anymore. Any ideas that come up, I put on my digital canvas. When editing photos, if the photo used for the collage doesn’t capture important personalities important to the city, I remove people and passers-by in the background. Sometimes I also face the fact that there is very little Kaunas left in the collage, it is not recognizable, so I try to mention the name of the place in the illustration itself.

– Implementing ideas, unexpectedly grow tall palm trees in Kaunas, build Everest Hill or incorporate waterfalls. His works are also rich in finds and ancient motifs from the 1990s. What characteristics does Kaunas have that you chose as the most important element of your works?

– Kaunas has wonderful modernist buildings, you just want to plant palm trees next to them. Also some vapor wave The ideologies coincide with the ideologies of modernism: abstraction, art that emerges from the mockery of art itself and manipulation directed at the consumer. Kaunas is changing a lot. Buildings that no longer exist or have changed cause nostalgia, and when viewed through the Vaporwave Kaunas filter, nostalgic places appear in a way that has never existed and will never exist. It is like a distorted memory when you tend to look at childhood places through pink glasses.

Mosaic: vapor wave The images created in the style are like collages made up of different periods and stylistic motifs.

– Does the city and its topics influence the plots of the collages created?

– Kaunas news and events encourage creation. This is mainly related to the changes mentioned above in the architectural landscape of the city. Inspiration for such illustrations comes as soon as you see headlines or photos on news portals. However, this is not the only source of inspiration. Different sources of inspiration also form different types of collages. Therefore, some works depict ancient and non-existent places in Kaunas, others: easily recognizable places or buildings are distorted. vapor wave style.

– Do you believe vapor wave Art on the Internet can be equivalent to our usual forms of visual art: graphics, painting, etc.?

– We live in an era of digitization, where the virtual world, mobile applications are our daily routine, so although it is possible vapor wave manifestations discovered in sculpture, street art, perhaps interior design, I do not see the way and the meaning of transferring this phenomenon, formed in the computer world, back to graphics, painting or another branch of art.

– What aesthetic criteria should be judged? vapor wave jobs? Are they identical to the criteria by which we evaluate visual works of art?

Steam wave you can judge by the same criteria: composition, color palette, performance. Just as works from different branches of the visual arts convey different narratives or are simply pleasing to watch, so vapor wave Works can have profound implications or be aesthetically pleasing.

– His creations are easily accessible on Facebook and Instagram social platforms. They can be seen daily by many social network users. Isn’t there a problem with the appropriation of works?

– In the past, I was concerned that someone might appropriate my works, so I incorporated the “Vaporwave Kaunas” logo in collages. But over time, I realized that if someone wanted to take over the job, my logo could be removed very quickly. I often see followers using collages on their Facebook profiles. It’s good for me. And if someone happens to take over my work, I don’t think I can do anything about it. Therefore, I try not to make sense of it and not think that my works are so important that someone would steal them. If I upload a collage to the Internet, it stays with it.

– You do not reveal your identity, you are known by the name of “Vaporwave Kaunas”. So, I would like to ask if vapor wave the works belong to their author or to the internet?

– I’m not in Vaporwave Kaunas collages and it’s not about me. These are works inspired by the Internet and Kaunas. The objective of my work is to provoke emotions in the viewer, not to tell his story.


The spirit of virtuality.

Steam wave arose from a fascination with the possibilities of virtual creation. The name of the style itself speaks of the factors that are of great importance for the appearance of this phenomenon: the word is based on the description of IT products (vaporware), which are widely advertised but not reached by the user.

Steam wave Mainly associated with the sub-genre of electronic music that emerged around 2010, inspired by the 20th century. stylistics of the seventies and nineties. Of the visual arts, this style is most evident in graphic design. The works reflect the aforementioned decades, and the motifs are used to identify popular shows, movies, and commercials of the time. Vaporwave creators use many neon colors; Another attribute of that time uses outdated computer creative tools, but it also doesn’t ignore additional cultural heritage in terms of time, like ancient signs. This creates irony and a critique of consumerism tinged with nostalgia.

An important distinctive feature of this style is Steam wave It is a virtual phenomenon. Therefore, although it has elements specific to subcultures, it does not dare to identify itself according to the classical definition and, therefore, it does not compare with other alternative movements, such as the 20th century. banks that were formed in the late 19th century and are now easily recognizable.

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