Vita Kari is a Los Angeles-based visual artist who has gained a major following on TikTok and Instagram for their popular ‘the craziest thing about…’ videos.
Recently, Vita Kari attended New York Fashion Week and did a performative art piece titled “Burger As Body” during their visit.
In the Q&A below, Vita Kari tells Spotlight all about their time in New York, what inspires them, and what we can expect to see from them in the future!
You are a visual artist. Can you tell us a bit about what inspires your work?
I pull a lot of inspiration from memory. In terms of familial memory, I pull a lot from thoughts of familial diaspora. I also think a lot about living through memetic moments and what it means to be in the middle of that storm.
How has your social media presence helped you foster a community where you can share your art?
When I opened my community art space, Vitawood, in 2020 I marketed it completely on social media. It was 100% social media sustained. I think that social media can open doors for visibility.
I realized that it can also be a medium in itself, which I’ve been leaning into recently. I have been wondering if not only can the short-form video be a way to see your work, but also, can it be your artwork?” With all the comments and likes, it’s like a participatory art piece everyone contributes to.
You recently attended New York Fashion Week. Can you tell us about your “Burger As Body” performative piece?
First of all, I loved New York Fashion Week—it was so inspiring. For my piece, I wanted to have burgers literally strapped to my body and then eat them and offer them to other people. People were taking bites of my body—it was crazy!
We did the performance in two locations: the first one by the Starrett-Lehigh building where all the shows were and the other in Astor Place.
By the Starrett-Lehigh building, everyone was really excited and interested in the fashion aspect of the performance. Whereas in Astor Place more people were interested in the performance itself. It was really interesting to see these two different types of reactions.
The piece was inspired by burgers which was the first thing my Grandma ate after moving to America. I went through her closet after she passed away and she had a ton of eccentric patterns on her clothes—she loved the 80s.
I recreated those patterns with my studio assistants. It was a huge process to put thousands of beads on each burger.
You are based in Los Angeles. What is your favorite thing you did while visiting New York?
This isn’t going to sound exciting, but printing! I was born and raised in LA, I love Los Angeles. But in New York, I was able to print posters within an hour. I love to print stuff out, it’s a huge part of my social media videos. The 24 hour printing services in New York are amazing—I almost thought maybe I should move there!
What has been the ‘craziest thing’ about your social media fame?
The craziest thing is seeing people make their own versions of my videos. I think that is such a simulacra experience. It’s been so interesting and beautiful to see others recreate my content.
What has been the most rewarding moment of your career thus far? Tell us about it.
I have! I got recognized when I was with my mom. She doesn’t really go outside that much but she did, and it happened.
How do you plan to grow your community in 2024?
I’d like to share more experimental, performance art pieces. That in itself has a lot of potential in connecting our virtual and real worlds. I am such a virtual person, I am always scrolling on my phone. I want to do more performances in real life that can also be engaged with virtually, I want them to be accessible.
Can we expect any more performative art pieces from you in the near future?
Yes, definitely! The next performance I am doing is going to be on March 28th, 2024. I am going to be marrying my digital self.
