STUDIOBEMA

Levitations

Dance performed and choreographed by Joannie Wu. "Isolate (Ambient Mix)" by Moby used with permission. Shot in Brass Ovaries pole dancing studio in Austin, Texas.

Trupiak

A private detective is drawn into the mysterious world of a Polish Women’s School in Chicago, where an old matron hires him to find her missing husband. As he investigates the disappearance, he becomes more and more engrained in the dark existence of the immigrant women who live there. Created entirely on green screen, with animated photos and paper textures by Reina Takahashi. More screen teasers and trailers can be found here: Trupiak.

Anger/Fly

Created for Trap Door Theatre's "Anger/Fly," a play by Ruth Margraff, after Eugene Ionesco's La Colere. In a way, it is a silent-film tribute to the film Scanners. The short was projected on three television screens during the play to help illustrate the end of the world caused by a group of husbands finding flies in their soups.

Shotgun

A lonely young man's dream of connecting via cigarette smoke leads him on several romantic encounters with strangers.

Lost Sonnets

Monologues from "Sonnets for an Old Century" written by José Rivera, created for UrbanTheater Company.

Early Films

Esperanto, The New Jackson Hotel, and The Day of the Flowers, the first three films I have directed. Although not created as a series, the motifs center around a search for meaning in a world completely devoid of it.

Me Too, I Am Catherine Deveuve Detail View

Trap Door Theatre Posters

Posters created for Chicago's premiere avant-garde theatre group, known for staging complex and subversive plays. The posters start with photography taken during or after rehearsals, usually with the aid of the resident make-up and costume designers. Afterwards, typography is combined with the image to most clearly present the theme of each play. "Production after production, this artistic relationship has created a creative dialogue that brilliantly and beautifully informs, illuminates and inspires both parties." - Venus Zarris, Chicago Stage Review

Portraits

Various portraits created for films and clients. At the top is Holly Ulasovich as Frida Kahlo. The diptych shows Robert M. Kerr and Chris Keech in the series "Without Appliances." The last image is from a photoshoot for the hair salon "Angels of Beauty." The photoshoot was art directed by Johnny Mei. An iteresting fact is that no photoshop was used for the hair salon model.

The Day of
the Flowers

A collaboration with the artist Erika Pahk, who created a wearable sculpture out of zip ties and salvaged nylon rope. It was used in the film The Day of the Flowers, starring among others, Kinga Modjeska, who is pictured above.

An evening with
Joannie

Various photos from shoots with Joannie Wu, who created the styling and some of the outfits in the photos, from custom latex garments to a mask adorned with Swarovski jeweles.

The Devils in
my Details

Self-portraits based on the covers of a men's interest magazine.

Nexus 6 Posters

Promotional posters for Neo Nightclub in Chicago designed and art directed by Johnny Mei. My photos of club patrons from Neo were put through a paper shredder, put back together, and then re-photographed.

Trupiak

Posters for the film Trupiak created using paper pleats created by Reina Takahashi. Reina also created the hand-cut type for the logo. The resulting images were used for promotional posters, postcards, and a DVD package.

The Dreaming

A project that could have only originated in school, this was an attempt to apply the methodology of dreaming to creativity and composition. Random uses of collage, painting, and photography put together without paying much attention to the meaning. The image on the right was created by scattering objects, and then attempting to find letterform connections.

Independent
Film Project
Chicago

Since 2007, I have been designing the annual Independent Film Gala themes and materials.

Studiobema
Film Posters

With each film, I collaborate with a graphic designer on the posters and identity. For my first film, The New Jackson Hotel, I asked Matthew Terdich to design a logo based on the iconography of old city hotels. For my second experimental film, Johnny Mei created the poster as well as film title cards.

Comissioned
Posters

A film Poster for the Joe Maggio film set in Chicago, and my winning entry in the Good 50x70 poster exhibition.

Studiobema

Studiobema is maintained by Michal Janicki. During the day, I am a graphic designer. In the evenings, I am the resident photographer and poster designer for Chicago’s Trap Door Theatre. During the night, I make experimental films, and get in trouble by writing scripts in suspicious bars around Chicago. This site shows the product of my night-time work with many amazing collaborators.

If you want to meet up for a beer really late at night, you can reach me in the following ways
michal@studiobema.com
twitter.com/studiobema
linkedin.com/in/mjanicki

Additional work from Studiobema can be found in the following places
studiobema.tumblr.com
vimeo.com/studiobema

Collaborators

The work presented here is the product of collaboration with other creatives, who continue to support me via their work and critiques. Below is a list of a few key places and people without whom Studiobema would not be possible.

& Friends - A blog showcasing the everyday happenings and latest creative output from creatives around the world.
Trap Door Theatre - The premiere Chicago avant-garde destination.
Oracle Productions - The makers of art, accessible to all for free.
Chicago Stage Review - Reviews and features of Chicago Theater.
Imperfect Day - A showcase of personal work by the Chicago-based graphic designer Johnny Mei.
Joannie Wu - Austin based visual interaction designer slash pinup.
Reina Takahashi - Innovator by day, paper-art illustrator by night.
Jonathan Guillen - Music composer, sound designer, producer, and one half of the electro-dance duo space_cabin_.
The Future is Boring - Robert M. Kerr, a Chicago-based artist, musician, and actor, who loves to play dead bodies/drag queens in "artistic" films.
Kinga Modjeska - Actress, director, journalist, producer and educator.
Zsofia Otvos - Painter and make-up magician.
Erika Pahk - Explorer of bodily obsessions through works on paper and sculptural objects.
Matthew Terdich - Graphic designer based in Chicago.
K*CK SH*T - David Gabriele, graphic designer, artist and musician based in Chicago.
Paul Pek-Ming Wong - New York based Graphic-Designer.

Site Credits

Background image decontextualization by Johnny Mei.
Design and development by MIchal Janicki.

Have a nice day.