Since July 7th, 2020, I have received countless messages asking, “What is LUmkA?” I apologize for any confusion over the last two years regarding LUmkA’s meaning and purpose. My artistic intention was to create an authentic LUmkA environment for my audience—a world of confusion and parody.
LUmkA is a reaction to extraordinary moments of the mundane. It sounds paradoxical—because it is. Whether it be a monochrome outfit, the Mona Lisa, or American culture’s obsession with sex and celebrity, LUmkA is when an individual consciously questions how the world around them came to be. Where does culture apply value? Why?
LUmkA is an acknowledgment of life’s paradox and why culture became the way it was. As an artist, the process of research and creation is a practice of reclamation. It is internal and external awareness that drives change. Just because the world appears a way, does not mean it must stay.
But, I admit, as soon as I start to believe I understand LUmkA, I realize I know nothing at all. However, if you are still reading this manifesto and wondering, Cortney, what the f*ck are you saying, that means you understand the idea. LUmkA's façade is encased with familiarity, yet the contents are foreign. LUmkA is the experience of confusion. When encountering, one realizes everything, then remembers nothing truly means anything. This incident makes living contradictory and nihilistic, yet humorous and enjoyable.
Looking back, not everything on www.LUmkA.com is exactly LUmkA. Some of the content lives under this umbrella term for the sole purpose of questioning your doorstep. Making LUmkA work disgusts me as much as it soothes my artistic truth. It is the juxtaposition between those two emotions that makes LUmkA so extraordinary.
LUmkA is a home for experimentation-- it cannot be performed by a small team. To properly research the experience, we welcome creatives and thinkers from all walks of life to collaborate. If you are interested in joining the Team email info@lumka.rocks
Xx,
Cortney Connolly
Founder and CEO of LUmkA