A proposal by Rubén Díaz de Corcuera.
April 4, 2009.

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

The subject of the novel is quite known. In a scientific station that is established over Solaris, an extravagant ocean world that is 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 some mental disorders. The space agency responsible sends doctor Kris Kelvin, specialist in space psychology, to investigate what is really happened there.

Solaris is a psychic planet, a powerful clever entity. Solaris surely thinks, nobody knows what.

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

When Kelvin wakes up next day he 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 signs of herself: her feature, her style, her expression, her voice, etc.

The reason is inscrutable but Solaris is able to produce perfect reproductions, super iconic 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/super iconic duality of Solaris fascinates me as a semiotic and also as a 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 in its novel. I'll show Solaris, the most advanced copy organism in the known universe, mainly as an abstract motion picture producer, Solaris in its facet of abstraction creator.

I'll do five videos at least five minutes long, simulating the video recording of Solaris surface (freely based in Stanislaw Lem's description), recording the abstract evolution of Solaris from a virtual camera located in a virtual stationery orbit in space.

Curriculum Vitae.
ACADEMICIAN. Graduate in advanced studies (DEA) of semiology of the artistic image (2007) for the UPV-EHU. Conferring a doctor's degree in Fine arts in the University of the Basque Country (2005/...), program of doctorate "Thought and practice in current art". Overcome the period of teaching with average note of distinction. Overcome the period of research with note of distinction. Overcome the test of investigative sufficiency. Technician in Computer Graphics and Numerical Image by the Center of Image and New Technologies of Vitoria (1993/1994). Master in Journalism by the newspaper El Correo and the University of the Basque Country (1991/1992). Licensed in Fine Arts, speciality Painting, by the University of the Basque Country (1982/1987).

PROFESSIONAL. Member of the Amarika Council for programming the three rooms of exhibitions of the Diputación Foral de Álava (2011), including the Amarika room. Laboratory of color technician for the Historical Center Department of the Vitoria City Council. Culture technician in the education unit of the Montehermoso Cultural Center (2008/2009). Audio Visual technician in the Montehermoso Cultural Center, (2006-2007). SOLUNICA's contents and marketing manager (2001-2005). Audio visual and postproduction technician and founding partner of Eykon, Synthetic Image, Ltd., Vitoria (1995/2000), click here to watch the company's video http:// www.vimeo.com/910181. Graphical designer in the lithography offset Christobal Pagan of Murcia (1992). Graphical designer, draftsman and illustrator in the newspaper La Verdad of Murcia (1991-1992). Graphical designer and draftsman in the newspaper El Diario Vasco of San Sebastian (1991). Teacher of technical drawing in the University School of Technical Engineering of Vitoria (1990).

ARTISTIC. If it is not decorative it is nothing, exhibition in the cafeteria Dublin of Vitoria (2008). "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's aids for creation program. "On the wall, on the sky" piece, that was selected for competition in the audiovisual festival of Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1999. Video piece "Four ways of making emphasis in a Jorge Oteiza's metaphysical box", that was selected for competition in the Video Festival of Navarra in 1998. Video piece "The key", that was selected for competition in the Video Festival of Vitoria in 1994.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND PRIZES. "Help to artistic production" of the Basque Government for the development of The Solaris Variations, variation nº2 (2011). KREA grant 2008 for research. The first prize in the "9th. Edition of the Contest of Ideas for Entrepreneurship" of the culture department of the Basque Government (1994). Special help of the Diputación Foral de Álava for the accomplishment of a research on the newspaper graphs (1993-1994).

SUMMARY OF PUBLICATIONS. Instead of other thing is my website on semiology of art. Art as cognition laboratory is the title of the homonymous course of doctorate in which I participated with my text "From ultra sign to abstraction". The copied human being is a text that belongs to another doctorate course.