The Imposter
Type
Film / Performance
Material
Mustache
Year
2023
In a world, where the source of creativity and skill is questionable, one student sees a chance to save his diploma. Not foreseeing the impact it will have on his worldview, he ventures deeper to find meaning.
The Diploma Presentation
Instead of simply showing the process and results of my ideation method called "Nonsense", I used this very method to make the diploma presentation into an experience itself.
Based on the concept of the imposter syndrome, which many creatives suffer from, I wrote a script for a mockumentary interview and a following live performance.
Mentoring
Prof. Uli Cluss
Production Support
Carsten Fuhrmann
Actors
Benjamin Wiest - Ivan M. P. Oster
Stefan Avramescu - The Cameraman
Nikolas Wiest - The Diploma Student
For data protection reasons, a recording of the performance can only be viewed via private channels. If you are interested, please contact me directly.
The Performance
I began the presentation in a half-nervous, half-laid-back way, declaring my diploma topic as "The History of the American Artist Ivan Oster" followed by an interview in which the actor presents all three installations as his newest series of art pieces.
After a few inquiries, the artist appears to struggle more and more to explain the origins and significance of the works. Eventually, he becomes irritated and storms off in a rage while admitting that he might have simply discovered them in his cellar one day.
Left with an unfinished topic and not enough time, the diploma student decides to claim the art pieces for himself, but only after investigating more about their origins to make plausible statements.
Over the course of the presentation, a hunt for clues takes place in which the student gets closer to the actual meaning of each installation.
But while revealing more information, he unknowingly gets pulled deeper into the world that is opening up and the experiences it offers, until eventually his perspectives and understanding begin to change.
At the end of the journey, the lights go out for a moment and when they turn on again a jump in time has occurred and the "real" diploma starts.
This time in a much more formal manner and with the title "Nonsense - and the experience beyond".