bio

-Vav Vavrek was born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and grew up in the shadows of the rusting smokestacks of Pittsburgh.  A slight brain malfunction caused zim to ride screaming into the wind on a faded steel horse until ze lost his voice in Phoenix, Arizona.  In 2011 Vav violently dug up zir roots and tried to cultivate a new existence in the smog belt of the increasingly misnamed city of angels.  The decade-long drought in California caused zim to cross the continent again in 2016.  Vav is now sharing zir artistic ailment at Alfred State College as an adjunct professor and technician for the Digital Media & Animation department.

 

-Vav Vavrek is a creator of things and a maker of sounds. Ze enjoys hardware and software synthesis of audio and video, making field recordings, and creating crazy sounds. Most of the time, Vav works on multimedia art projects, experimental films, sculptures, and interactive installations.  Vav builds weird instruments and creates software; as well as experiments with analog synthesis using old test equipment and other electronic waste. Vav’s films and artwork have shown around the world, with recent inclusions in festivals in the USA, Greece, Italy (Sicily), Spain, and India.

selected exhibitions

2018 

       "Videotheque", film/video/performance event, Holmes Auditorium, Alfred University

      "The 2018 Film and Video Poetry Symposium", Los Angeles, CA

      "net neutrality is DEAD", solo show, Bret Llewellyn Gallery, Alfred State College, Alfred NY

2017

      SUNYWide Film Festival, Faculty/Staff Reel, Buffalo State College, Buffalo NY

      "RAM ERROR", solo exhibition, Bret Llewellyn Gallery, Alfred State College, Alfred NY

2016

       End of an Era, group exhibition, the Firehouse Gallery, Phoenix AZ 

       "Transgender Realities", juried group show, Rogue Community College, Grant's Pass, OR
2015

       Electron Salon, International group show, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA)

       Laptop Ensemble performance, Video Sculpture, University Art Museum, CSULB
       Laptop Ensemble and Modular Synthesis performance, live multichannel video installation, 

       Gerald R. Daniel Recital Hall, CSULB
 2014
       “server and protect the virus”, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Gatov Gallery East and 

       Gatov Gallery West, CSULB
       “Insights”, Juried Exhibition, University Art Museum, CSULB
       “Bring Your Own Beamer”, Group Show, Expo Arts Center
       “NetVav.Net”, Collaborative Installation, Dutzi Gallery, CSULB with Annette Heully
 2013
       “That Hologram Piece”, solo installation, Dutzi Gallery CSULB
       “The Truck Show”, Duo Installation with Annette Heully, for Long Beach Arts Month
       “Insights”, Juried Exhibition, University Art Museum, CSULB
       “Big and Small”, Group Show, Art Share L.A.
 2012
       “Now”, Group Show, EXPO Arts Center, Long Beach, Ca
       “2 Man Show”, Sidebar, Phoenix Az
       “Chaotic I”, solo show, Werby Gallery, CSULB
 2011
       “Shopping Cart Pirate Ship” one-year traveling Public Art Display, Phoenix & Miami, Az
       “Bent” solo show, A. E. England Gallery
 2010
       BFA Intermedia, group show, ASU
       New Works, solo show, The Firehouse
       “Outer Bounds of Sound”, guest sound artist, Revolver Records
 2009
       “BLAMO” visiting artist, The Artists’ Niche, Nederland, CO.
       “White Noise/After the Bombs” 3-day interactive public installation/performance
 2008
       “Artist Lofts; Lower Rise Lower Rent (Gypsy Village II)” 3-day public installation
       “Bent” solo show, Step gallery ASU
       “Insomnia, Nightmares, and Dreams” solo show, The Firehouse
       Group Show, Miami Artworks, Miami AZ.
 2007
       “Artist Lofts; Low Rise Low Rent (Gypsy Village)” 3-day public installation
       “Candy ‘n Sweets” Duo show with Tom Cooper, The Firehouse
       “Hindsight” solo show, The Lodge
       Selected Works solo show, The Paisley Violin
       “History Repeats Itself” commissioned public art, Stop 'n Look Gallery
       Juried Undergrad Exhibition, Harry Wood Gallery, ASU
 2006
         Selected Works solo show, Bikini Lounge
         “Polaroid Goes Digital Pop” solo show, Cone Gallery
         Open Studio, disinfo alternative arts
         “Western Eye” juried exhibition, Phoenix College Gallery
  2005
         Hurricane Katrina Benefit group show, The Icehouse Alternative Art Space
         Selected Works group show, Willow House

*All Exhibitions prior to 2012 in Phoenix, AZ. 

and afterward in Los Angeles, except where noted.

news and awards

   2015
        Distinguished Achievement in Creative Activity Award, CSULB
   2014
        Marilyn Werby Scholarship, CSULB
   2012
        OC Art Blog - It's Happening; Now
        http://www.ocartblog.com/2012/10/it-is-happening-now/
   2010
        Arizona Highways Television - 1st Fridays
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvS1CqVHhO0
   2008
        Arizona Republic - Street-Vendor Limits to Give First Fridays New Look - Front Page,
        (Uncredited) image of artist and work
   2007
        Arizona Republic - Detour Worth Taking:
        http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/0303phx-artdetour0303Z3.html
        New Times - Gypsy Kings: 

        http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-03-15/news/ankkkarlo-pride/full#a3

        New Times - Best of Phoenix 2007 - Best Stop on Art Detour - Gypsy Village:
        http://bestof.phoenixnewtimes.com/bestof/award.php?award=553774&year=2007
        ABC News 15 - History Repeats Itself:
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kLGto7kWxk
   2006
        Western Eye - Juried Exhibition: Honorable Mention, Phoenix College
   2005
        Scottsdale Community College - Literary Magazine: 3rd place Poetry, 

        Honorable Mention Creative Non-fiction, Honorable Mention Photography

education:

University at Buffalo
PhD in Media Study (2025)

Empire State University
Masters of Science in Information Technology (2025)

California State University, Long Beach
Masters of Fine Art in Sculpture and Time Based Media
with distinction

Arizona State University
Bachelors of Fine Art in Intermedia
Cum Laude

Cisko the Kid

video calibration - a movie

"video calibration - a movie" is an experimental fiction piece which tells its loose and convoluted narrative through selections from Hollywood films. The actors blend together and can be seen as playing the same character throughout the story. The films that were combined include: 8 Mile (2002), Angel Heart (1987) Blackmail (1929), Blade Runner (1982), Fargo (1996), Fletch Lives (1989), Ruckus (1981), Secret Agent (1936), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955).
The story is told from the point of view of a mortally wounded android detective through disjointed omniscient flashbacks. His mind is filled with memories of lost love as his life forces dissipate. This film is the second in the video calibration series, following "video calibration - a love story" 47 min, 2013.

serve and protect? - a synopsis

"serve and protect?" is a 2017 experimental animation / machinima created using e-waste computers, Garry's Mod and Valve's Half-Life (1 & 2) assets, OBS Studio [for screen-capturing] and YouTube. It presents the topic of police brutality and institutional racism through the eyes of a different kind of other, an android, as he/she is pursued and ultimately terminated by the usage of excessive force by those who swore to "protect and serve". This short is a commentary on the rising militarization of the police force and the exponentially increasing racial problems, especially in the United States of America.