Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
The practitioner I decided to focus on for this week was spray paint artist Stefan Acanski. (@Sketchart88) He was originally a dental technician before quitting his job to pursue his art career full time. He began posting his artwork and videos detailing his creative process on January 26th, 2017 and has been continuing his work since then to the present day, however, it is likely he had begun the work sooner than this given the quality of his art in these first posts. While his Instagram is mainly for his art pieces, he will also occasionally post videos that speed up his creative process and publishes these videos to his Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. He publishes and promotes his work on his Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook accounts. Additionally has his own website where his work can be purchased. His art grew to popularity considerably when he began to include pop culture in his works such as Disney, Superheros, and Star Wars.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyze (can you provide a link?)
The video I have chosen to analyze is titled ‘Lightning’.
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
The video was published on Instagram on the 15th of April, 2020. However, when allocating for the time to create the artwork and edit the video of the entire filmed process together, it is likely the artwork in the piece itself and the video was produced at least a few days in advance so it would fit the limitations for Instagrams video limitations.
How was the photo or video authored?
Unfortunately, it is not stated what camera Acanski uses to film his videos however clips from his Instagram stories depict a DSLR camera he uses to film from above, it is only unclear what type. By filming the video from above him as he works. Acanski is able to ensure his camera gets a clear view of the image while he works without worrying about it getting in the way as he works. He is able to take his time with the piece and once completed, all he needs to do is edit the video to the appropriate speed up time so as to ensure his viewers are engaged with the video. This also allows viewers that enjoy his artwork to see his process in creating these pieces, such as when he uses his fingers to swirl the spray paint on the canvas in layers to form clouds.
How was the photo or video published?
The video was published to both Instagram and Youtube with the video for Instagram altered only slightly to conform to the limitations of Instagram videos. Acanski’s Instagram account has around 328 thousand followers and the video has received over 13,000 likes. The art created would also have been put up on his website for sale.
How was the photo or video distributed?
Due to the popularity of his pop-culture centered videos (such as this viral video where he created a glow in the dark piece of Disney’s Peter Pan), Acanski’s videos have been widely shared across Instagram by those that follow him and enjoy his content, encouraging other to discover his content. This also includes viral video reposting accounts such as Unlaid, 9Gag, or MailOnline (Acanski, 2020) that have drastically increased his popularity even if said sites do not credit him. Acanski also makes sure to utilize the tagging system in his Instagram videos. He tags his videos with the relevant words that can help others discover his content such as ‘#spraypainting, #sprayart, #spraypainting, or #art’.
References
Acanski, S., 2020. Skech Art Online Store – Order Awesome Spray Paintings. [online] Skech Art. Available at: