Feltus Feltus - Biographies

biographies of the feltus brothers

Tobias Feltus

• profile : I was born in a period in which the world was not ruled by fear and political correctness, or that is what I like to think, of two American figurative painters, Alan Feltus and Lani Irwin. Thus I grew up with my younger brother, Joseph, amongst artists and other creatives in an eclectic environment where I learned that there is nothing unusual, and the fabric of the world need not remain mysterious. Bones, insects, taxidermy, art, erotica and design are all constituents of what I have been, and always will be, and I am a strong believer in Henri Cartier-Bresson's saying that "there is no aesthetic peculiar to photography or drawing"; let that apply itself to design also.

In the early eighties my father taught drawing and painting at a university in Washington D.C.. I recall that I attended one of his life drawing classes when I was about four. The model, whose name was Jane Batt, was slightly plump, and spotty. I assume, in retrospect, that they were moles, but I know for a fact that I was the only person to draw the spots. To me they seemed the most important, or prominent feature of her body, despite her nakedness. That day I also saw a student shading a drawing after the model had left; it was the first time I had seen shading.

From 1987 I grew up in central Italy, having fled from institutionalized ignorance to a country that claims 70% of the world's artistic and historical heritage. At some point in my stay in Italy I realized that I wanted to influence the world, and I have chosen to do so through offering improvements to people's lifestyles.

My move to Edinburgh in 1999 introduced me to a whole new world of development where I was able to observe different ways of seeing things. In '99 I had the opportunity to meet one of my greatest idols, Cartier-Bresson. At 91, with a walking stick and two hearing aids, he stood alone, looking bored. As I observed several people as they tried to make conversation, and some even tried to show him contact prints, which disgusted me. Through my inquisitive nature I approached him in the form of a question, his answer was: "Are you from the police asking all these questions?"

I design for those who give great importance to their environment and visual qualities, people who put aesthetics and quality above quantity. People who don't necessarily live this way to entertain, but rather as a personal necessity in life. Design and criticism are a way of life for me, not a profession. I was born a critic, and am designer by choice. Creation is existence, and creating for others is infinitely more satisfying than creating for yourself.

Recently I have created an intricate statement of design criticism as a form of rejection towards the stylistic mayhem that is often considered minimal and functional. It is a series of products that define a new movement in design, a form of Post-Neo Classical-Modernism: a trend, or occurrence, and movement in design and lifestyle that is driven less by discovery and technology (as in the case with Art Deco) and more by a lack of personal culture and the intrinsic need for customisation. It is the need to make a Sony Wega system not look out of place next to a Rodin sculpture; a new movement that answers to the need for contextualization of design, and fills the large gap that may still be called po-po-mo. It is a style and philosophy that encompasses the jungle that is considered contemporary design.

I am completely bilingual (Italian/English).

• resume :

Born 1979, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Resident in Assisi, Italy from 1987 to 1999, currently living in Edinburgh, UK.

• education :

• 2003-2004 MDes in Design and Applied Arts/ Furniture Design at Edinburgh College of Art.

•1999-2003 BA(Hons) in Design and Applied Arts/ Furniture Design at Edinburgh College of Art.

• 1987-1997 Self directed education with diplomas awarded by The Learning Community, Maryland, U.S.A.,
the Istituto Salesiano ‘D. Bosco’, Perugia, Italy, and The Meher Primary English School in Ahmednager, India

• awards : • 2006 European Arteam Prize, It.

• 2002-2003 Royal Society of Edinburgh/Scottish Executive trophy design competition for the 2020 Science: Education Conference, second place.

• 2002 European Coil Coat Association national design competition, second place.

• 2001 Edinburgh International Science Festival design competition, first place.

• grants :

• 2003-2004 Andrew Grant Bequest - Major Award to fund Postgraduate study (MDes) in the school of Design and Applied Arts at Edinburgh College of Art.

• 2002 HFT Stuttgart Project Week.

• 2001 Worshipful Furniture Company industrial tour.

• 2001 Andrew Grant first year achievement grant.

• exhibitions :

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets’- City Art Centre, Edinburgh, UK

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' and ‘Conscious Life’- Amiens International Film Festival, France

• 2007 ‘Conscious Life’- Marbella International Film Festival, Spain

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, Lincoln Center, U.S.A.

• 2007 Demone Meridiano, ArTobe, Italy

• 2006 CAP-I-CUA, Galeria MiTO, Barcelona, Spain

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Anima Mundi 2007, Brazil

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Maremetraggio International Short Film Festival, Italy

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Fesival du Cinéma Italien, Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris, France
WINNER - Solo Duets - Prix du Milleur Court-Metrage

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - La Settimana Corta, Nuovi Sentieri, Italy

• 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Cortinquieti, Italy

• 2007 Tehran International Animation Festival (TIAF), Iran

• 2006 Immagina, Italy.

• 2006 Lineart, Belgium.

• 2006 Art Verona, Italy.

• 2006 International Animation Film Festival Animateka, Slovenia.

• 2006 AniFest, Budapest, Hungary.

• 2006 I Castelli Animati, Genzano di Roma, Italy.

• 2006 Student Film Festival Sleepwalkers, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia.

• 2006 Leeds International Film Festival, UK.

• 2006 PISAF 2006, Korea.

• 2006 Holland Animation Film Festival, Netherlands.

• 2006 36th Kyiv IFF Molodist, Ukraine.

• 2006 Norwich International Animation Festival, UK

• 2006 3rd China International Animation and Digital Arts Festival (CICDAF 2006), China.

• 2006 5 th International Best of Short Films Festivals, France.

• 2006 Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Japan.

• 2006 Krok International Animation Festival, Russia - Ukraine.

• 2006 56^ Rassegna Internazionale d'Arte G.B. SALVI, Italy.

• 2006 Krakow Film Festival, Poland.

• 2006 Anifest, Czech Republic

• 2006 ICONARTS: European Arteam Prize, Museo Civico di Arte Contemporanea, Albissola Marina (SV), Italy

• 2006 "UNTITLED" - Feltus Feltus, EntroTerra - Milan

• 2006 "UNTITLED" - Feltus Feltus, Arte.Novaglio - Brescia

• 2005 Bradford Animation Festival, Bradford

• 2005 Art(Verona, Verona

• 2005 59th Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh

• 2005 Promenade: Arte ed il Circo, Brescia

• 2005 DesignUK MILANO 2005, Milan

• 2004 ECA Mdes Degree Show 2004, Edinbrugh

• 2004 DesignUK SELECTION 2004, London

• 2004 NewDesigners - One Year On -, London

• 2003 Urban Interiors, London

• 2003 DESIGN UK Pick of 2003, London

• 2003 ON/OFF, London

• 2003 NewDesigners 2003, London

• 2003 ECA Degree Show 2003, Edinburgh

• 2003 2020 Science: Education Conference, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh

• experience :

• 2005- residency at Edinburgh College of Art.

• 2004-2005 London Fashion Week - freelance press.

• 2003- Director of FeltusFecit Ltd.

• 2001-2003 Logo and character creation and all publicity graphics for The Nightmare A’fore Christmas charitable Christmas balls, Edinburgh.

• 2001 Worked in the art department for the short film ‘Lazarus’ by Abigail Docherty.

• 2001 Collaboration on the development of the corporate identity for Baxi Partnership Ltd., and creation of their corporate font and logo.

• 2001 Edinburgh International Science Festival, collaboration on the design and manufacture of their ‘busking arena’ stage and seating area.

• 1999 Interpreter (Italian/English) for Smithsonian magazine’s article ‘An Act of Faith & the Restorer’s Art’ (Nov ‘99), Assisi, Italy.

• 1998- Started a series of photographic portraits of artists, some of which have been used in the artists’ catalogues, in which I worked with Alan Feltus, Lani Irwin, Jack Zajak, Jim McGarrell, Claudio Carli, Franco Fedeli and Orlando Tisato.

• 1998-1999 Set design and props for the Calendimaggio medieval festival in Assisi, Italy.

• 1997-1998 Photogravure, darkroom and photography technician for the Civitella Ranieri Center, working with for Gordon Knox, Joanna Rajkowska and Sandra Ramos. Umbertide, Italy.

• 1997 Channel One News, (U.S.A.) show number 1477, "Earthquake in Assisi", air date Wednesday November 26, 1997. Interviewed extensively on camera and assisted with other aspects of the filming.

• 1997-1998 Volunteer worker at the Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi, Italy, sorting through the rubble of the fallen 14th century ceiling vault to retrieve Giotto and Cimabue fresco fragments.

• 1997-1999 Graphic design and photography for the band DT3.

• 1995-1999 Head gardener for the Assisi Nature Council’s Giardino dei Semplici, educational monastic herb garden, Assisi, Italy.

Joseph Feltus

• profile : Born in Washington DC, Joseph Feltus has lived most of his life in Europe, among artists [his parents are the painters Alan Feltus and Lani Irwin], writers, and other creative beings, where from his early years he began to write and draw and mentally create epic films. Due to his upbringing, he is deeply influenced by the works of figurative painters, poets, classical composers, and great film-makers.

His latest work, Solo Duets, is an animated short about internal struggle, and a film that merges the profound influences of the painter Balthus, and the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, accompanied by the sound of Eric Satie.

Joseph Feltus strives to find a harmonious balance between fine art, music and film, and continues to be most concerned with visual beauty and emotional power, hoping to move the viewer without a dependence on a clearly defined or linear storyline.
Solo Duets is directed by Joseph Feltus, and produced by Feltus Feltus, a collaboration between Joseph and his older brother, the designer and photographer Tobias Feltus.

• resume :

Born 1982, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Resident in Assisi, Italy from 1987 to 2001, currently living in Edinburgh, UK.

• education :

•2001-2005 BA(Hons) in Visual Communication/ Animation at Edinburgh College of Art.

• awards :

• 2007 Prix du Milleur Court-Metrage

• 2006 Silver Dragon for Best Animation, Krakow Film Festival, Pl.

• 2006 Jim Poole award for Best Scottish Short Film, UK.

• 2006 Special Jury Prize for Solo Duets at the Anifest in Trebon, Cz.

• 2006 European Arteam Prize, It.

• grants :

• 2005 Andrew Grant Bequest - Major Award to fund Postgraduate study (MDes) in the school of Design and Applied Arts at Edinburgh College of Art.

• Filmography :

• 2005 Solo Duets

• 2004 Haphazard Symphony

• exhibitions :