A proposal by Rubén Díaz de Corcuera.
April 4, 2008.

Project description.
Solaris is the title of a science fiction novel writed by the polish Stanislaw Lem in 1961. The amazing Lem's story is the origin of two great films, one of them directed by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and the other one by Steven Soderbergh in 2002.

The novel's subject is quite known. In a scientific station established over Solaris, an extravagant ocean world located several light years away from Earth, a series of strange phenomenons are happened. As a consequence of them, scientists in the station seem to present any mental disorders. The space agency responsible sends doctor Kris Kelvin, specialist in space psychology, to investigate what's really happened there.

Solaris is a psychic planet, a powerfull clever entity. Certenly Solaris thinks, nobody knows what. At that moment Solaris has exceeding human understanding.

When Kelvin arrives at station his first impression is very bad. The station seems to be careless. Its unique inhabitants Snaut and Sartorius show psicotic behaviour, plenty of distrust. Kelvin is advertised by Snaut about the imminence of a mysterious visit to him.

When Kelvin wakes up next day, finds Harey, his wife, in the bed. Harey, the love of his life, who dead in very painful circumstances ten years ago. She is not a ghost, she is not an hallucination as Kelvin can comprobate by means of scientific proofs. Her body is real and supports all the conceivable self signs: her feature, her style, her expression, her voice, etc.

The reason is incomprehensible but Solaris is able to produce perfect reproductions, super iconic, even indexical, alive replicas of all kind of beings, including died human beings as Harey.

However the small god Solaris express itself in absolutely abstract terms. This abstract/hipericonic duality of Solaris fascinates me as semiotic and also as video painter. In fact, the abstract self expression of Solaris is the object of this proposal.

I would like to create a series of abstract videos inspired in the descriptions provided by Stanislaw Lem regarding Solaris. I'll show Solaris, the most advanced copy machine in the known universe, mainly as an abstract motion picture producer, Solaris in its facet of abstract creator.

I'll do five videos of five minutes each one, simulating the video recording of Solaris surface (Stanislaw Lem's descriptions free based), the abstract evolution of Solaris from a virtual camera located in stationery orbit in space.

Curriculum Vitae.
Academic trajectory. Currently I'm obteining a doctoral degree in Fine Arts at the University of the Basque Country, Spain. Recently I have inscribed my project of theoretical-experimental thesis entitled "Extreme Signs: super icon, ultra sign, abstract and everything", that will be directed by the UPV's doctor-professor Josu Rekalde Izaguirre. Diploma of advanced studies (DEA) in semiology of artistic image by the UPV-EHU (2007). Overcome doctorate investigation period by defending a work entitled "Hipo signs and hiper signs: study of the boundaries between the signs and their relating in art". Overcome doctorate learning period. Master in Journalism by the newspaper El Correo and the University of the Basque Country (1991/1992). Graduate in fine arts, painting specialty, by the University of the Basque Country (1982/1987). Infographics and Numeric Image Technician by the Image and New Technologies Center of Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain).

Professional trajectory. Cultural management technician at Montehermoso Cultural Center (2006/2007). Marketing, communication and content director at Solunica e-Business Solutions Ltd. (2000-2005). General manager at Eykon Synthetic Image, Ltd. (1995/2000), click to watch demo. Graphic designer and illustrator at the newspaper Diario Vasco of San Sebastian and at the Murcia's newspaper "La Verdad" (1991/1992). Associate Professor of Technical Drawing at School of Technical Engineers in Vitoria, UPV-EHU (1990).

Artistic trajectory. "Icosaedric roses" video piece that was selected for exhibition at the Luis de Ajuria room, in the last "Certamen de Arte Alavés" (2006). "The Kali Suite", first individual exhibition at the Dato Room in Vitoria (summer, 2002), through Montehermoso Cultural Center Support for Creation program. "On the wall, on the sky" piece, that was selected for competition at the audiovisual festival of Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1999. Video piece "Four ways of making emphasis in a metaphysical box of Jorge Oteiza", that was selected for competition at the Video Festival of Navarra in 1998. Video piece "The key", that was selected for competition at the Video Festival of Vitoria in 1994. Collective exhibition "Career's end" at C.A.V.'s Aula de cultura in Bilbao. Collective exhibition "Fine Arts 5th Course", at Getxo's Aula de Cultura, Vizcaya (1987). Collective Exhibition "University Art" at the exhibitions room of Caja Provincial de Álava in Vitoria (1986). Collective Exhibition "Homage to Gabriel Aresti" at the exhibitions room of Caja Laboral in Deusto, Vizcaya, (1985).

Awards and grants. First Prize "Ideas for business creation, IXth. Edition", Culture Department of Basque Government (1994). Special support for investigation and improvement to study illustration for newspapers, Diputación Foral de Álava (1993-1994).

Websites and papers. The state of art is my website about semiology of art. Art as cognition laboratory is the title of the homonymous course of doctorate in which I have participated with my text "From ultrasign to abstraction". The copied human being is another university's work that belongs to another doctorate course.