Conversations: Nicole Ginelli
Gallery
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=600&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=a4cedeb8fba47c63838065566b7f83cc 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=9172a968ea18db3cd66813cf97b0153f 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=496&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=2228af7766bad995d410fb61c725a78d 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=992&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=b875aaa3a8d19414d78d2f647b495265 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=384&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=5f57a51549960859b16a890fea6bc2d3 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=532686be970ac0f81ff45e91e959181d 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=288&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=eb6086c444fec7fa8288e553e438bc33 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=330d3b010e9f0eddb912a740ec685c73 1152w)
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Ericka Beckman, Hiatus, 1999-2015, Installation
![](/uploads/Jacksons-Robert-Abel_CanYouFeelIt.gif)
The Jacksons' Can You Feel It? video by Robert Abel & Associates
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![](https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=796&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=e07510a5e781f53a94c2d38c4e5044d1 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1592&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=012d8b739145af48f99d53d48f57d216 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=658&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=56bcf732ed2be079960559f9f68de2f8 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1316&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=8641645fb07e563d85d88e65fcfb618a 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=509&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=3af648f0f4d8500a95d8e0e7c5106a83 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1018&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=acd365502b2c406110809fd88b121c68 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=382&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=6b6a1a89a2da02ccdbba8266606e4093 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=764&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=72737ae6e226c8b5a054223c0a789de4 1152w)
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![](https://varyer.imgix.net/leaving-spotify-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=63ab778991d7ddfc20e24aebb7f97714 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/leaving-spotify-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2400&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=c2038d0680271c97e6ba0298bf54eb8d 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/leaving-spotify-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=992&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=6bfc26adb1e4834349157cf004b0d40b 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/leaving-spotify-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1984&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=4f72ecdfdfcc8d9b895f722f5818fa81 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/leaving-spotify-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=efc301a0c21f65f9562f44bd05cd3752 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/leaving-spotify-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1536&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=3a9a9cc8f60050adafa14e40880b03a1 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/leaving-spotify-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=e01e5a0e5ff81e7b90650ba74e04008e 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/leaving-spotify-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1152&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=bbae652b7c516967237910f82cf82e13 1152w)
There’s a trippy quality about digital artist Nicole Ginelli’s work. It transports you. Though, to where exactly is yet to be determined. But what is clear is that Ginelli’s universe occupies a space splashed with a psychedelic palette reminiscent of Lisa Frank but with a tinge of something...darker.
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=600&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=a4cedeb8fba47c63838065566b7f83cc 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=9172a968ea18db3cd66813cf97b0153f 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=496&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=2228af7766bad995d410fb61c725a78d 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=992&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=b875aaa3a8d19414d78d2f647b495265 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=384&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=5f57a51549960859b16a890fea6bc2d3 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=532686be970ac0f81ff45e91e959181d 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=288&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=eb6086c444fec7fa8288e553e438bc33 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Elsewhere-Elseworld-1_2021-02-18-222120.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=330d3b010e9f0eddb912a740ec685c73 1152w)
There’s a deep referential quality about it—a familiarity—yet you can’t quite pin it down. Perhaps, that’s the point. Ginelli, who has worked as an artist, animator, and director for the better part of a decade has cultivated an artistic process that involves consuming images from television, film, everywhere really, with a voracious appetite.
“I'm always screen-shotting things I see on Instagram or online. If I'm watching a movie, I'll usually screenshot it on the computer because I [cast] it to the TV or whatever,” Ginelli explains over video chat to Britt Julious in the fall of last year.
She then catalogs the materials and stores them away for the next project. When she’s ready to create again Ginelli dives headfirst into her trove of inspiration. This in itself is a massive undertaking.
“At the beginning of every project, I go through all the images, which is time-consuming. It's a full day. But it's my favorite part of the process now, is the ideation, and the thinking. It's interesting. If I'm working on a new project I can't drop it,” says the Brooklyn-based artist.
![](/uploads/Elderbrook.gif)
Those images came in handy while directing the music video for Sufjan Stevens’ “Video Game,” featuring choreographer Jalaiah Harmon, whose “Renegade” dance sequence went viral on Tik Tok in 2020. Between Ginelli’s abstract set, Stevens’ whispy vocals, and Harmon’s interpretive dance moves it was an amalgamation of unique styles. Who would’ve thought everything would fit together so snugly?
![](/uploads/VG-14.gif)
Stevens’ team had already booked Harmon and explained to Ginelli that the video should feel like viewers are in a video game. She was given free rein to interpret those directives as she pleased, delivering a meditative, VR-like experience.
“There's this artist, Ericka Beckman I really like, she's a video artist,” Ginelli says raising an eyebrow. “I want to pay homage to her because [she] comes up...with every project, I'll revisit her stuff. But she made this piece in 1999 called Hiatus. It's about a strange [interactive virtual reality]. A woman jumps into a V.R. headset and enters a game and then there's all of these foibles and characters that are kind of messing with her and it’s this interesting narrative. Ericka Beckman is always making work about games specifically and strange patterns in games.”
Ericka Beckman, Hiatus, 1999-2015, Installation
Groundbreaking ‘80s animators from Robert Abel & Associates—the production company behind the 1982 sci-fi flick Tron— as well as the Jackson Five’s iconic Can You Feel It music video, were also a source of inspiration for “Video Games.” Feeling and color took precedence over the typical narrative structure we’ve come to expect for music videos. The result is a feast for the eyes.
![](/uploads/Jacksons-Robert-Abel_CanYouFeelIt.gif)
The Jacksons' Can You Feel It? video by Robert Abel & Associates
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I wanna be my own believer 🕹 I wanna be my own believer 🕹
The “Video Games” set featured all women, though due to the pandemic, Ginelli was forced to work with her team in isolation. She remotely directed from her Brooklyn home, while her all-female crew worked in Atlanta, where Harmon is based.
![](/uploads/BTS-gesture-planning.gif)
While it was Ginelli’s first time working with a viral creator, it’s not the first time she’s dabbled in internet ephemera.
In 2015, during a presidential election cycle that feels like it happened eons ago, a certain subset of Bernie Sanders supporters was given a name: Bernie Bros. The phrase effectively captured the annoying Bernie Sanders “bro” fans, that pervaded our social media timelines.
Ginelli, also a Sanders supporter, grew exhausted with the fratty “Bernie bro” stereotype. After all, the Vermont senator also had a large female constituency. So she created a counter statement to bolster the women of Sanders’ movement: T-shirts emblazoned with the name “Bernie” in the classic pink Barbie font across the chest. It was a viral hit, patriarchy be damned.
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=796&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=e07510a5e781f53a94c2d38c4e5044d1 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1592&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=012d8b739145af48f99d53d48f57d216 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=658&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=56bcf732ed2be079960559f9f68de2f8 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1316&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=8641645fb07e563d85d88e65fcfb618a 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=509&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=3af648f0f4d8500a95d8e0e7c5106a83 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1018&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=acd365502b2c406110809fd88b121c68 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=382&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=6b6a1a89a2da02ccdbba8266606e4093 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Bernie.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=764&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=72737ae6e226c8b5a054223c0a789de4 1152w)
While Ginelli may have flexed her muscle in recent years on independent projects, she’s also familiar with the 9 to 5 grind. She’s worked as an art director at Bandcamp, an interactive designer at Pitchfork and a teacher at Pratt. And it’s those experiences that have pushed her to look at the culture of creative work from all sides, not just as an artist.
“I started out as an interface designer and it's technical, boring work, but from there I got more and more creative and weirder and wilder,” she says. “I had a real job like normal nine to five. And then I was like ‘no.’ So with each project, I'm always trying to insert a new technical skill, which is kind of not the smartest [decision] because it makes the project harder,” Ginelli says.
It’s that kind of thinking that gives the artist, director and animator a leg up. There’s a certain romanticism attached to quitting a day job in favor of working as an independent creator, but it’s not easy. For starters, you have to challenge yourself. With every project, Ginelli intentionally adds a new skillset. “I just don't want to keep doing the same thing,” she says.
For Ginelli it’s all about being a great leader. She experienced firsthand what it’s like to be led by people who haven’t the slightest clue what her job and those of her colleagues’ jobs entail. Through her myriad experiences, she’s already begun having an understanding of what everyone’s job is.
“When you're an artist that's also technical and you have people above you that aren't artists or aren't technical, it's like 'no,' you should not be leading this team,” she says. “So I've always noted in my head, throughout my career, if and when I get to that stage where I'm leading other people, I want to be a technical leader.”
As for her technical experience? For starters, there was the 360-degree interactive music video of the Seahawks’ track, Eyes of the Moon in 2019. One YouTube commenter described it as “like slipping into a dream,” and they could not be more accurate. The video was inspired by throwback Macintosh computer games like Spectre, which was released in 1991.
It’s hard not to be pulled into a trance, as you’re instantly immersed into a dazzling world that explores the relationship between light and architecture. Ginelli also created the visuals for neoclassical, electronic composer Don Slepian’s live performance in the Ambient Church series. It’s the kind of immersive music experience that you’d feel pretty damn lucky to see live, an experience we’re all no doubt salivating for once the pandemic is over.
Those are just some of the nuts and bolts of Ginelli’s work. As for now, she’s recently entered her final year of grad school for her master’s degree at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and yes that sounds “very ‘80s” as Ginelli explains it. The goal? While there are numerous MFA programs for media arts, she’s after an MPS which is a master’s of professional studies.
"I just wasn't drawn to get an art degree, I was drawn to the technical stuff. It's been great. I love the program,” she says. “It's a weird time right now because it's all over Zoom or whatever, so that's kind of crazy. I'm grateful we got the first two semesters, in person.”
Despite Ginelli’s diverse portfolio of work, she will be the first to admit that her ascent as a creative has hit a few snags. In 2020, between the newly adapted quarantine lifestyle, grad school, and work, she bit off a little more than she could chew with one client.
“When I pitched my idea I was like, ‘Oh, I'll just [learn this new technology]. It's easy. And it was so hard! It was crazy,” she says ominously. “It was a lesson: yes, do new technology but not alone.” While Ginelli’s ego may have suffered a few bumps and bruises, she made it to the finish line. “It was a mistake because first I chose a technological barrier that was way too high and second I did it alone. You always should have a team when it's for a big project, you know?”
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Experience is the best teacher and when you are a teacher, it inspires the best lessons. There is nothing like experiencing failure firsthand and sharing that wisdom with your students. “When I give lectures to students,” she says excitedly, “I'm always like, ‘try and fail.’ You'll get so much further in your work than trying to control everything.”
In many circles, the word “failure” is still hard to say, let alone admit. We talk around it, choosing ambiguous phrases to describe what it really is. We instead choose phrases like “I miscalculated” or “I had an error in judgment.” Anything but the hard-edged “F” word. Ginelli has confidently used the phrase multiples times when discussing her defeats. She’s clear about the need to fail and how it’s been vital to her growth.
“The good will always outweigh the bad, even though you will fail—like when you push yourself to try something experimental or new or not the exact right way to do things. There is failure in that for sure. But there's also the gain of something,” she says assuredly. “You know, that is so much bigger than what you get out of some rigid, defined process, that a bunch of dudes made up.”
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