Using his own savings APN201 wants to show that you can make art without grants. As long as you have brain that is producing ideas you can do anything. This page is a collection of pictures, videos and text. Describing the art work and the process around it.
Some months ago YouTube removed my film Sleep from my other YouTube channel because of nudity. I was very upset for 2 reasons: 1. The video was picked up by the algorithm and was making thousands of views (and dozens of subscribers) every hour. When they deleted the video, all activity on the channel stopped. Almost like if I was shadow banned. 2. YouTube says nudity in context of art is allowed, so they think my video is not art.
I challenged the decision and even appealed, but no help. They said it’s deleted and I cannot ecen appeal anymore.
Meanwhile I learned that it was a subject of university master’s thesis in the University of south Florida. If I knew that earlier.. because it kinda proves it must be art. On other hand it has a page in Wikipedia and premiered in Rotterdam Film Festival and that did not convince them.
I noticed that X (Twitter) user TeamYoutube was very helpful in helping people to fix their channels, so I decided to try one more time.
These guys rock! To my amazement they answered and fixed it. Super!
Juha Lilja Unveils “Sleep” Sequel: A Captivating Dive into Digital Wakefulness
In a bold exploration of our digital age, acclaimed filmmaker Juha Lilja returns with the highly anticipated sequel to his avant-garde masterpiece, “Sleep.” A decade after the groundbreaking original, Lilja’s “Sleep” (2023) takes audiences on an unprecedented 5-hour and 21-minute journey, challenging the pervasive influence of mobile phones in our lives.
Synopsis: “Sleep” (2023) marks a radical departure from its predecessor. Instead of the vulnerability of sleep, Lilja confronts the wakeful grip of modern technology. Armed with his mobile phone, he immerses himself for over 5 hours, disconnected from reality. Shot with a Canon EOS M, the unfiltered footage captures Lilja’s digital odyssey—no embellishments, no lights, just raw and thought-provoking reality.
Critique and Aesthetics of Cohabitation: In the spirit of Christopher Costabile’s master’s thesis, Lilja’s “Sleep” serves as both a critique and exemplar of the aesthetics of cohabitation. The unyielding gaze into Lilja’s digital world mirrors our collective obsession with mobile devices. It’s a cinematic reflection, devoid of external lights or effects, exposing the intimate dance between human consciousness and the omnipresent mobile phone.
YouTube Premiere and Concept Art: Celebrating a decade of innovation, “Sleep” (2023) will premiere on Lilja’s YouTube channel APN 201 Movies on January 15th at 16:00 CET. Embracing the aesthetics of cohabitation, the film takes the form of concept art, aligning with Costabile’s thesis, ensuring its availability to the masses at their own homes. The film might later be screened at selected festivals, events, or galleries.
Availability: “Sleep” (2023) promises a YouTube debut, offering a global audience the chance to witness Lilja’s digital wakefulness. Subsequent screenings at festivals, events, or galleries will be announced in due course.
To understand the significance of the new film, it is useful to first learn about the previous one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_(2013_film)
For press inquiries, interviews, or additional information, please contact: info@apn201.com
About Juha Lilja: Juha Lilja is an award-winning filmmaker renowned for his avant-garde approach to cinema. With an illustrious career spanning decades, his films continue to provoke thought and redefine the boundaries of cinematic storytelling.
My film, Sleep has been subject of a Master’s Thesis at University of South Florida. Let’s unpack some highlights:
Cohabitation Aesthetics: Chris delves into what he calls “aesthetics of cohabitation,” breaking down how my film challenges norms around space and time. Imagine cozying up with art in your own space – that’s the vibe!
Digital Magic: I’m stoked Chris noticed the digital magic behind “Sleep.” We’re talking YouTube accessibility, eight-hour visual experiences – all the good stuff! Taking Warhol’s vision and giving it a 21st-century twist.
Home Sweet Aura: Chris chats about how my film brings the aura right into your living room. It’s like having your own art party at home – how cool is that?
Jamming with Experimental Beats: He draws connections to experimental music legends like Lucier and Young. I guess my film’s got some groovy parallels with those beats – a fusion of visuals and vibes.
COVID Siesta: In this crazy COVID world, Chris wonders if snoozing through my film is a legit form of art appreciation. Well, why not? A cozy movie nap might just be the cure for digital overload!
So, big thanks to Chris for shining a spotlight on “Sleep” in his thesis. Check it out and join the conversation!
I’m still exploring the possibilities of AI. In this experiment I asked GPT-4 to act as a Zork-style text adventure game. I added a memory of 8 previous inputs/outputs (limited to keep cost low) and embedded in a retro-style web page.
The result is strange. This antigame basically has unlimited world and unlimited library of commands. You can wonder around the world to learn about its secrets, and it just keeps going forever. The only limit is my quota for OpenAI API, to limit me going bankrupt if people start to use this.
Good news and bad news. My film, Sleep was featured in an article in Slate related to the sleep streaming phenomenon. As mentioned in my earlier post, it was recommended by YouTube algorithm to hundreds of thousands users. In the end it gained 181 968 views before YouTube removed it for being against sex and nudity guidelines.
Bullsh*t
As Sleep is an art piece, featured in a film festival and covered in Wikipedia and news articles – it should match the guidelines of having nudity allowed in art context. And it is not meant to be sexually gratifying. It is just a documentary of a sleeping person.
Anyway. It was removed and appeal was rejected. Probably because it got sexual comments and was featured in an article about sexual video streams.
Who are they protecting? Why is this video more dangerous than all the other actually disturbing content in YouTube?
Will cat videos be banned if people start getting aroused by them? (some probably are)
This might become too long article, but let’s see. Someone asked me to list all the different projects I have ever done. It’s impossible to list them, but we could go trough some highlights.
Radio Koskighetto
Somewhere back in 2001 I was living in a student flat in Kotka. Winamp was big thing and SHOUTHcast plugin allowed to host your own radio channel. I was running Radio Koskighetto from my room. Playing copyrighted music, running quiz shows and having visiting hosts. like Dj Feldis, Dr. Drunkster. There was strong interaction to the listeners via IRC channels and Messenger. Listeners could ask for songs etc. Not much survives, but the logo and some audio clips.
Kriisipuuro
Another project from 2001 was Kriisipuuro Christmas calendar. We decided to make a story about an Christmas elf and depict it in 24 photos published once a day until Christmas eve.
As usual, nothing was done beforehand. We went out every night taking the photos for next day. We had a crappy digital camera, which did not work well in winter temperatures. In the end nobody had the time and interest to shoot anymore.
Design Challenge
Design Challenge was a robot building competition held in Wilhelmshaven Germany. Basically they sent a box full of raw materials: aluminium plates, plexiglss, beer bottles etc. to the teams and they had 2 weeks time to turn it into a radio-controlled robot, which can be used to perform a specific task, like assembling a simple airplane or putting out a candle in a model house. In the competition there were always 2 temas competing against each other in a tournament-style setup.
I participated in 2001 in team “Mc Helvetinperkele”. We ended up second because our drive belt jumped off in the final. In 2002 our team was colled “ToJuMi” and we were first. Our prize was a trip to Autostadt in Wolfsburg Germany. Stating in Ritz Carlton hotel etc. Very Nice.
Some info can be found in Internet Archive. Including an Excel -file about the results.
Another big thing was the Midnight Party, which I organized together with my friends at my summer cottage. This became an annual tradition for many years. We had a power generator to feed the PA system for the bands. There were every year more than 20 visitors, multiple bands, a porn star etc. This was one of the events leading to founding of Liemi Ry.
APN201 is a lifeform. It's an art project and a person. A normal IT-guy who wants to become artist. A guy who takes Nike slogan "Just Do It" seriously.