▪ INTERVIEW: THE FRIEND OF HORSES (Valentina Milenković, Newspaper "Vranjske", 2006.)
LIFE CELEBRATION
The impression is that you are a woman of unusual artistic adventure?
- Life is an adventure but art is not. Every new day is full of surprises, unexpected events, new meetings, experiences. The works of art are the products of our life adventures and dreams. Art is something that I take seriously and without art this world would be poor.
Horses are completely unique, painted with lot not only skillfulnes but also spiritual creativity. How do you cherish your inner world?
- I cherish my inner world and make it richer with creation. Everything that I carry deep in myself I try to transfer symbolically through my paintings to the observers, so that they could experience my personality in eye sparkle in the portraits of horses, in their moves. I have dedicated to each of my paintings one of my short stories, one of my unforgettable moments of my mood and life, my desires and dreams. One life is short for creating everything I want, for fulfilling myself in the measure I want. I live for art and I feel happy for every single move of my brush, every living eye I create. I rejoice to each my signature, because I know that I have gifted one more ode to this magnificent animal that has been following us from the very beginning, and we have been giving so little to them.
What is the difference between the horses from the very beginning of yours artistic work and these that appear nowadays?
- I still cannot tell you now why I have started to paint horses. When I was little I loved to decorate the walls with their beauty and their greatness. I loved to paint white horses, fairy tales horses, free ones. They have always associated me to long trips, to princes, princesses, to something that connects centuries and civilizations. After a long break I returned to them in some other way. The thing that I see today is something that I could not see before or I was not ready enough to let myself go into these great temptations. I feel that through this horse motive I can express everything that I want: to paint beauty of these magnificent and romantic Arabian horses, to write about their eye looks deep into the distant places, to compose silent melodies about the mute whisper of their thick manes. Of course, in order to introduce all these, it is necessary to study horse anatomy and to have knowledge of horses roles through history and mythology.
Do they appear after the photos that you take or in some other way?
- I meet this kind of questions almost every day. There are many curious painters and art lovers worldwide and they all want to know something more about my paintings. There is no great philosophy, paintings appear from talent, great work and love towards the creation. At the moment I am working on a book where the procedure of horse paintings and drawings will be in details explained.
You do not classify yourself into any artistic movement. Does that mean that art is something that you adjust to yourself?
- Art is freedom. In this moment I am in the phase of realism, hyperrealism or popular photorealism, but it does not mean that I will keep up to it. I like to experiment and never limit myself in the creation. Horse as a motive is limitless inspiration that can be shown in many ways. I paint in the way I feel, totally spontaneously. My every painting is a story for itself, one part of my life, an event, mood.
Is there anything that motivates you from the outer world?
- Everything depends on the way you regard the outer world and on the wish what do you want to see and you don't want to see. I search for something nice and good in everything that surrounds me. I am happy for every new day, for the fact that I exist, I am happy for every smile that I see in someone's face, for every warm word. Love moves me, faith that there is something supreme and untouchable in this world.
SUGAR LUMP
Why do you say that one needs courage for a good painting?
- The hardest part is to make the first step, when in front of you is just clean canvas and in yourself only a huge wish to create something out from nothing. The process of creation is very long - from irrational (when only emotions carry you and when you are watching in front of you something that you have created). Good painting shines, haunts, calls us to watch her again and study it as for the first time. Painting has that much strenght as much an artist gifts it with his or her own love, energy and fortitude towards the creation.
Dragan Malešević Tapi wrote in his Book of impressions during one of your exhibitions: "Glory to you, you are a great artist!" In what way these compliments motivate?
- Every compliment is a motivation if it is an honest one, especially if it comes from the people that mean a lot to me, no matter if they are "great" or not. I am happy for compliments that come from all the parts of the world, also from those "great" people. However, I am also happy for the compliments given by my friends, parents...giving me great support for everything that I create and work upon.
How do you, in fact, experience horses?
- I have been cooperating for a very long time with horses fans and lovers, but also with horse farms worldwide. Recently, I have received a very interesting letter from one lady from the United States that forced me into deep thinking. She has experienced my paintings in one very romantic and special way; she wrote that I was a whisperer who goes deeply into the horse soul till the end, but immediately after this she presumed that I lived and represented the horses in this way because I did not own them and since I was not in the contact with them. Now I know that I wll spend long time with them in my imagination and in the moment I miss them terribly, I will go to the nearest horse club to bring them a sugar lump.
۞
▪ INTERVJU: DRUGARICA HATOVA (Valentina Milenković, "Vranjske"
novine 2006.)
Da bi se sve ovo predstavilo
potrebno je veoma iscrpno izučavanje anatomije konja i upoznavanje konja kroz
istoriju i mitologiju. Konji su čest motiv na slikama najpoznatijih slikara.
Setimo se Leonardovih crteža, Pjera Frančeska, Direra, Velaskeza, Rubensa, Van
Ajka, Stabsa, Redona, ali i slikarskih radova drugačijeg simboličkog značenja
poput Pikasovih konja, Lubardinih konja, konja Miodraga Jelića, Mersada
Berbera...Nije im odolela ni Suzana Stojanović. Za "Vranjske" ona priča o svom
životu i stvaranju, svetlosti i znacima koje nam sudbina upućuje kao i o
najvećoj vrednosti čovekovog života - ljubavi.SLAVLJENJE ŽIVOTA
Stiče se utisak da ste žena neobične umetničke avanture. Da li na život gledate kao na svojevrsnu avanturu?
- Život jeste avantura ali umetnost nije. Svaki novi dan pun je iznenađenja, neočekivanih događaja, novih susreta, iskustava. Umetnička dela su produkt naših životnih avantura i snova. Umetnost shvatam ozbiljno i bez umetnosti ovaj svet bio bi siromašan.
Konji su sasvim osobeni, naslikani sa puno, ne samo zanatske umešnosti već i sa mnogo duhovne kreativnosti. Kako negujete svoj unutrašnji svet?
- Svoj unutrašnji svet bogatim i negujem stvaranjem. Sve ono što duboko nosim u sebi pokušavam da na simboličan način prenesem kroz svoje slike posmatračima, da na svoj način dožive moju ličnost u sjaju oka, u portretima konja, u njihovim pokretima. Svakoj svojoj slici posvetila sam po jednu kratku priču, po jedan nezaboravan trenutak mog raspoloženja i života, mojih želja i snova. Malo je jedan život da stvorim ono što želim, da ispunim sebe onoliko koliko želim. Živim za umetnost i radujem se svakom potezu kičice, svakom oživljenom i proživljenom oku koje stvorim. Radujem se svakom svom potpisu jer znam da sam poklonila još jednu odu ovoj predivnoj životinji koja nas prati od samog postanka, a tako malo smo joj dali.
U čemu se razlikuju konji sa početka Vašeg umetničkog puta od ovih koji nastaju sada?
- Ni sada ne bih mogla da vam kažem zašto sam počela da slikam konje. Kada sam bila mala volela sam da ukrašavam zidove njihovom lepotom i veličinom, volela sam da slikam bele konje, bajkovite, slobodne. Oni su me uvek asocirali na duga putovanja, na prinčeve i princeze, na nešto što spaja vekove i civilizacije. Posle duže pauze ponovo sam im se vratila na jedan drugi način. Ono što sada vidim ranije nisam mogla ili nisam bila dovoljno spremna da se upustim u velike izazove. Osećam da kroz motiv konja mogu da prikažem sve što želim: da oslikam lepotu predivnih romantičnih Arapskih konja, da pišem o njihovim pogledima uprtim u daljine, da komponujem nečujne kompozicije o tihom šapatu gustih griva. Naravno, da bi se sve ovo predstavilo potrebno je veoma iscrpno izučavanje anatomije konja i upoznavanje konja kroz istoriju i mitologiju.
Da li oni nastaju po fotografijama koje snimate ili na neki drugi način?
- Sa takvim pitanjima srećem se skoro svakog dana. Mnogo je radoznalih slikara i ljubitelja umetnosti širom sveta koji žele da saznaju nešto više o mojim slikama. Nema tu neke velike filozofije, slike nastaju iz talenta, velikog rada i ljubavi prema slikanju. Trenutno radim na knjizi u kojoj će biti detaljno objašnjen postupak izrada slika i crteža konja.
Sebe ne svrstavate ni u jedan umetnički pravac. Da li to znači da umetnost prilagođavate sebi?
- Umetnost je sloboda. Trenutno sam u fazi realizma, hiperrealizma ili popularnog fotorealizma ali to ne znači da ću se zadržati na tome. Volim da eksperimentišem i nikada ne ograničavam sebe u stvaranju. Konj kao motiv je neiscrpna inspiracija koja se može prikazati na mnogo načina. Slikam onako kako osećam, sasvim spontano. Svaka moja slika priča je za sebe, jedan deo mog života, događaja, raspoloženja.
Postoji li nešto što Vas motiviše iz spoljnog sveta?
- Sve zavisi od toga kako posmatrate spoljni svet i šta želite da vidite a šta ne. Ja u svemu što me okružuje uvek tražim samo lepo i dobro. Radujem se svakom novom danu, radujem se što postojim, što stvaram, radujem se svakom osmehu koji vidim na nečijem licu, svakoj toploj reči. Pokreće me ljubav, vera da na ovom svetu postoji nešto uzvišeno i nedodirljivo.
KOCKA ŠEĆERA
Zašto kažete da je za dobru sliku potrebna hrabrost?
- Najteže je načiniti onaj prvi korak kada ispred sebe imate samo čisto platno i u sebi samo ogromnu želju da stvorite nešto iz ničega. Proces stvaranja je veoma dug - od iracionalnog (kada vas nose samo emocije i kada ste u carstvu boja) do realnog (kada ste svesni onoga što stvarate i kada pred sobom posmatrate nešto što ste stvorili). Dobra slika zrači, progoni, zove vas da je opet posmatrate i proučavate kao da je prvi put. Slika ima onoliko snage koliko joj slikar podari svojom ljubavlju prema stvaranju, svojom istrajnošću i energijom.
Dragan Malešević Tapi napisao je u knjizi utisaka na jednoj Vašoj izložbi: "Slava tebi, velika si umetnica!" Kako motivišu takvi komplimenti?
- Svaki kompliment je motivacija za mene ako je iskren, a naročito ako dolazi od ljudi koji meni puno znače, nezavisno od toga da li su to "veliki" ili "mali" ljudi. Radujem se komplimentima koji stižu iz svih krajeva sveta i od "velikih ljudi". Isto tako radujem se komplimentima koje mi upute moji prijatelji, roditelji, koji mi daju ogromnu podršku u svemu što radim i stvaram.
Kako Vi, u stvari, doživljavate konje?
- Veoma dugo sarađujem sa mnogim ljubiteljima i vlasnicima konja i ergela širom sveta. Nedavno sam dobila veoma interesantno pismo od jedne gospođe iz Amerike koje me nateralo na duboko razmišljanje. Ona je na veoma poseban i romantičan način doživela moje slike, napisala je da sam šaptač koji do kraja prodire u dušu konja, ali je odmah nakon toga pretpostavila da ja ovako doživljavam i predstavljam konje zato što ih ne posedujem i što nisam u stalnom kontaktu sa njima. Sada znam da ću se sa njima još dugo družiti u svojoj mašti, a onda kada mi baš mnogo nedostaju otići ću do najbližeg konjičkog kluba da im odnesem koju kocku šećera.
