Melancholy, it's a strange state of happiness. It's something like realistic happiness, or diluted sadness. Simply put - it can be endured. This is one of the introductory, let's call them daily notes from the book of designer, painter, illustrator, or in short - visual artist Steve Mandić.
Life often imposes a new crossroads on us, or perhaps more precisely, many crossroads. Those crossroads and the necessity of choosing a direction often lead us to doubts, reflections, analyses, plans, fears, decisions, victories or defeats. And it's a cycle that keeps repeating itself, and each generation has its own path or crossroads. Some things are universal, such as the messages in the drawings of Steve Mandić, an artist who somewhat silently diagnoses modern man through his works.
SM photoPhoto: Sara Mandic
At times, those drawings are like caricatures of our weaknesses, delusions, vanity, glorification of ego, and a whole potpourri of human flaws, but sometimes also virtues. That entire opus could be called i A short psychoanalysis of modern man, in pictures. And what is even more important, those drawings, as well as short stories-notes, do not lose their freshness and topicality even after eight years since their creation. And this is precisely the time of sharp words and deeds.
"The mirror is more than the reflection in the mirror. The image in the mirror is always false. Because your left is always right in the mirror. That's why, when you look in the mirror, don't believe everything you see, it's a trickster. Your real mirror is what you do to others!", Mandic wrote in his book Update Yourself Daily.
"WEATHER" In these turbulent times, Where is art today?, and where is the artist?
STEVO MANDIC: Turbulent times are always present, especially for an artist. It's strange, but we often wonder why turbulence inspires good works in artists. Turbulence is in society, but turbulence is also in each individual, in our inner world. Art in the social context today has been put on the sidelines, or perhaps more precisely on some Stand by, for a better time. On the other hand, the artist creates in such a time, regardless of how difficult it will be to reach the general public. However, not every artist, as they say, is socially and politically engaged. Someone deals with man and his morning as such. I could not put myself in any category considering that topics come to me intuitively, sometimes they are current in that particular social context, and sometimes they talk about the fate of an individual. If we start from the fact that the individual also changes due to great social frustrations, perhaps I could also call myself an engaged artist because I mostly deal with that 'little' man.
That's why I often call myself a heterogeneous artist. I'm not stuck in a place, I like to do different things, and often. If you're a painter, this can be a problem because people can't identify you with a certain style. But, it is simply a part of my being, and in the end, after all these years, I don't really want to pander too much to the public's expectations, but I do from my gut what pleases me at the given moment. Also, I don't think that the role of the artist is so highly positioned, or that it should not be misinterpreted, I think that an artist cannot push boundaries, but he can make people better and nobler. If everyone takes one small step, the world will be a better place. And we certainly need that today.
Generations are changing., It's a new time.. How do you view new art consumers??
I don't want to sound pathetic, but I'm in that downward trajectory of life, ie. I am closer in age to an older generation. I am Tito's pioneer, but according to principles, with the desire to constantly discover something new, watch new generations and learn, I adapt as much as possible and naturally. In order to understand the new generations and their understanding of art, we would have to get to know them a little better. Fortunately, I have two adult daughters who are the thermostat in my head, and whose rhythm, habits, social life influence me, and teach me how to follow them.
I think that art is a universal language and that if it has a strong idea, or more precisely, if there is an idea at all, it will affect someone in their 20s as well as someone in their 60s. The works of art do not say that up to three years, as in children's books. New generations certainly have the right to build their own world, in general, and artistically as well. I will continue to tell my stories, to whomever they may reach.
......
Given that you also operate in the field of design, painting, video-animation and editing or illustrations, how does it work?
I spent my longest working life, the official one, as an art director in advertising agencies. I think that a part of such work may have influenced some works later in the field of fine arts. And here, above all, I mean that phenomenon communications. Everything you do has to communicate with the viewer, to absorb the idea you want to convey as quickly and clearly as possible. When I turn around and look at my works, they have that common denominator - a clear and communicative idea.
DSC02051Photo: Sara Mandic
On the other hand, when I design, for example a CD cover or a theater poster, I stick to the principles and rules of fine art craft. So the connection between all those branches of visual arts is very close. Only one small corridor separates them. In one room there is canvas, in another design, in the third animation and all of this lives together in one apartment, in the head of one artist. Dealing with different things very often pleases me, so like a bee I can fly from one job to another, and that amuses me endlessly. Every successfully completed project makes me happy.
I am currently engaged in painting handmade bags for the brand EXER Art. It's just one of those little, creative gems. The idea of owner Katarina Gaborović was to paint each bag as unique, with unique motifs. I paint the bags by hand, so you can even feel every stroke of the brush under your hand. The themes are simple, abstract motifs with the texts of romantic, provocative, witty messages, and everyone can choose which thought to 'walk' on their bag. The work was no less attractive EXER Art t-shirts with motifs of several painters, including me. It was a special pleasure to learn that these 'walking' artifacts are really made of the highest quality, selected materials, so that every future owner, a lover of beauty, can wear them with pride.
ego 1Photo: Nebojsa Babić
How to distinguish a good craft from a work of art? In which group can your works be classified, considering the diversity of visual arts in which you move?
It is an eternal debate among observers of art or something that someone just calls art. That duality has somehow been moving in parallel through the waters of art for centuries, and that is why people are often fascinated by craftsmanship. You will often hear from the average observer, not to be offended, the famous one - Look how real it is, it looks real! Of course, that artisanal part of art is a kind of quality of some work, and it should be viewed as such. In short, one should have respect for the craftsmanship of a work. A large number of people who visit exhibitions, or are in contact with fine art, most often fall into that group of people who are delighted with the craftsmanship. In that sense, I accept it as a real state of affairs and I cannot blame anyone in such a court.
I've probably done things myself once that impressed me more with craftsmanship than artistry. As I mentioned, painting is a kind of therapy for me, without excessive ambitions and the need to please everyone. When I was younger, I had a fear, a doubt, whether what I was doing was art or craft. Today, in this age, I don't bother about it anymore. Today I am much more honest with myself; what comes out of my stomach, what makes me happy, that's what I stand behind. Let others judge. Whatever the verdict is, I will accept it. After all, to joke, perhaps bitterly, courts are not always fair.
And finally, probably a frequently asked question: can you make a living from art today??
I will answer you with a quote from my book: when a man realizes that he needs little, he has too much of everything.
