Today we’d like to introduce you to Tatyana Kim.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tatyana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started as a “master of a single word” aka copywriter at the international advertising agency Young and Rubicam back in Kazakhstan. Being blessed with the work that included traveling the globe and learning from the textured, rich and often unpredictable narratives of other cultures, I quickly learned—creating brand names and slogans is only one side of Storytelling. I enriched my experience with learning other languages, singing in a rock band, learning how to dance salsa, picking up energy crystals, being in touch with new technologies, traveling the world with my camera, basically—I learned how to capture the world with the words, with moving images and with the never-been-told before multimedia narratives—I learned how to expand my own narrative.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I moved to L.A. in 2012 to get my MFA in filmmaking and became the first person from Kazakhstan to attend the Art Center College of Design. It was a challenge by itself. You come to LA and you are assigned a category, whether by your first language, by the place you were born, by one certain genre. I didn’t belong to any of the categories they wanted me to fit in, so I had to create my own. The question of belonging and identity is what I struggled with most, and as a result, the exploration of the very topic gave me unbelievable freedom. I embrace four different cultures. I was born in Kazakhstan from Korean descent, my first language is Russian (in love with English and Spanish, too), interested in magic realism, history, tech, and sci-fi—I had to translate all of that into my work and inspire people who hire me to expand the narrative of their own brands and perceptions. Art is the best medium to merge and collide the unpredictable; the film is the best medium to translate emotions; photography is a portal to a bent time; music is the creator of the Universe. Every day I’m challenged by these principles in creating my art and art for others, rather than by how I look, what I wear and what I heard on the fake news.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
As a filmmaker, photographer and tech geek I work towards expanding the narratives of the brands of all sizes. We can all go global, in fact, it is not futuristic anymore to be from all over the place, it is our present. Brands trust me to create global narratives for them. And it works both ways. For example, brave brands from Russia and Kazakhstan travel to LA to film commercials with me, brands from Beverly Hills take their creations and explore Europe and Asia through my lens. I’m proud to be a citizen of the world and take that perspective in working with people and their companies. I’m lucky to work with smart and brave people who understand that often it is about a new Idea. I’m interested in taking challenging projects, that spark imagination. What definitely sets me apart from other creators is that I love figuring out how to make the best out of absolutely any budget.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Thinking outside the box. Any box, of any shape, really. A box is a box. There is the whole world outside it. I definitely invest in this area. People struggle to look outside their own industry, but for me, it is an essential part of being in touch with reality and create new realities for the people I work with.
As a creator of content, let’s call me this, for now, I can only enrich a brand’s vision by being inspired. Traveling is not as expensive, as people think. I only have visas in my passport. I choose to invest in this, instead of a new car. I pick up books that were written centuries ago and reflect on our times and future through the lens of the past. I learn and pay attention to new languages, because the musicality and texture of a language can tell you more about the real mentality of people, than what they are willing to show on their socials. My team and I, we are art-phycologists, we believe that the art of communication always lies outside obvious surfaces.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tatyanakim.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @tangerina_kim
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Tragiometry-Clayton-Nemrow/dp/B07NSL9MW5
Image Credit:
main photo by Valeriy Latypov
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