Elevate February 2023 | Air Serbia

Intervju / Interview

Vuk Vidor, artist Welcome to the Weird World Vidor took analogue photographs shot using a camera and unified them in an authentic visual book that he uses to reexamine the reality of the contemporary moment, digitally filtered fake pictures and scenes of the world and the people in it

the world, recounting sto- ries etc. How long was the period in which they were created and how did you se- lect them? “All the photographs in the book are analogue, which means that they were taken in the period from the ‘90s until 2004, when I started shooting photos with small digital cameras. The book was conceived as a compila- tion of photos that were classified, ac- cording to the photo labs that printed them, as being of poor quality, incor- rectly framed, out of focus, and which were thus rejected or excluded from invoicing. I started compiling them with the idea that, when I had enough of them, I would make some kind of conglomeration that would retrospec- tively present the world from a dislo- cated perspective; a world in which everything that’s accidental or imper- fect actually becomes more real than something that’s been posed and em- bellished. That so-called “weird world” is actually the real world.” You live between Belgrade and Paris. In your opinion, what are the similarities and differences between these cities in the context of your photographs, and in the context of then and now. What has changed? “For me, photography serves as a way to record moments for the future. Photographs provide the basis for a relationship with the past, because it is through them that we create a con- nection with that past and with the personal creation of our own histo- ry, either with or without nostalgia. Both cities have naturally changed, although they had completely differ- ent paths. Photography often serves to idealise, especially when it comes to cities, and that sometimes conflicts with personal experiences that aren’t always ideal. If you view the world through the prism of these photo- graphs, it isn’t always clear where they were shot, other than when something is written, but what uni- fies them is that certain dose of bru- tality. Despite everything changing rapidly, that brutality always remains. Everywhere.”

Volite li da letite? Kako se osećate u avionima Er Srbije? – Letim otkad sam se rodio i to mi je uvek bilo drago, kao neki specifi- čan momenat van gravitacije. Iako se putovanje avionom dosta promeni- lo, osećaj je uvek isti kad letite iznad oblaka. Nekako se avioni nisu mno- go promenili otkad sam prvi put leteo njima, pa sve do danas i kad prolazim pored Muzeja avijacije, pored Aero- droma „Nikola Tesla“, vidim „Jatovu“ karavelu u kojoj znam da sam bio, sve do konkorda koji stoji pored Aerodor- ma „Šarl de Gol“ i kojim sam jednom leteo. Tako da imam svoju ličnu istori- ju avijacije koja me prati od jedne do druge tačke kad su Pariz i Beograd u pitanju i drago mi je što Er Srbija da- nas nastavlja sa tom dugom tradici- jom jer je kod nas vazduhoplovstvo vrlo rano bilo deo razvoja društva i na- čin da naša zemlja bude povezana sa celim svetom. Do you like to fly? How do you feel aboard Air Serbia planes? “I’ve been flying since I was born and that’s always been precious to me as some specific moment beyond the confines of gravity. Although air trav- el has changed a lot, the feeling is al- ways the same when flying above the clouds. Somehow the planes them- selves haven’t changed much since I first started flying, and when I pass by the aviation museum that’s lo- cated alongside Nikola Tesla Airport I see JAT's Caravelle, which I know I flew aboard all the way to the Con- corde that stands alongside Charles de Gaulle airport, which I once had the privilege of flying on. So, I have my own personal history of aviation that follows me from one point to the other when it comes to Paris and Belgrade, and I’m glad that Air Serbia is today continuing that long tradition, be- cause aviation was part of the devel- opment of society in our country from a very early stage and provided a way for our country to be connected with the entire world.”

Pariz i Beograd jesu moji gradovi jer sam najviše vezan za njih Paris and Belgrade are my cities because I’m connected to them the most

pojednostavljuje pristupačnost tom mediju ga verovatno vodi na razne strane, ali dobra fotografija, kao i dobra slika, nešto je što jednostav- no ima svoje parametre ma koliko se tehnologija pomerala. Tehnologija se menja, ali iskonska pitanja osta- ju ista. Na koja se pita- nja kao umetnik trenutno trudite da odgovorite? – Apsolutno, ali ne treba upa- sti u klopku tehnologije i misliti da je ona sama po sebi napredak i da sve rešava kad je umetnost u pita- nju jer to može biti vrlo klimavo i kratkotrajno. Ono što treba raditi jeste da se u datom trenutku i na datom mestu odgovara na ključna pitanja tog vremena adekvatnim alatima jer se tako ujedno ostaje savremen i dugotrajan. Ta pitanja su uvek ista otkad čovečanstvo po- stoji, a to su: ko smo, zašto smo tu i kuda idemo. Da li i dalje koristite ana- logni foto-aparat? Šta da- nas fascinira ili okupira vaše oko? – Ne, nisam nostalgičan u tom pogledu: koristim ono što svi dru- gi koriste, a to su ili digitalni fo- to-aparati kad treba ili kamere u telefonima. Moje oko još funkci- oniše po istom principu, a to je da nađem nešto što privuče mo- ju pažnju, od banalnih do čudnih stvari, tako da nastavljam sa tom mentalnom sklopkom, ali uz no- vu tehnologiju. Kojim projektima ste tre- nutno okupirani i da li planirate izložbu u Beo- gradu ili Parizu? – Planiram za proleće četiri izložbe u Beogradu, koje će biti otvorene istog dana, ali na četiri lokacije, tako da će posetioci moći

da od jednog prostora do drugog vi- de nove cikluse slika i crteža na ko- jima sam radio poslednjih godina, kao i nove instalacije u prostoru. Zašto volite Pariz i ko- ja tri manje poznata me- sta (a vama draga i zani- mljiva) biste preporučili u tom gradu? – U Parizu sam bio ceo život, tako da teško da mogu da izdvo- jim nešto što ne bi bilo poznato jer je ipak to grad koji je svetski centar turizma. Ono što me lično spaja sa njim su krajevi u kojima sam odrastao i u kojima sam naj- više živeo, studirao, šetao ili pro- veo vremena, a to su Marej, Latin- ski kvart, Sen Žermen... Najčešće krenem u šetnju i ulazim u gale- rije i muzeje da vidim šta se deša- va. To je ono što obeležava interes i moju vezu sa jednim gradom, na- ročito kad je Pariz u pitanju, gde toga ima, kao što znamo, mnogo. Ono što bih preporučio je da se krene kroz grad kako bi se oseti- la njegov energija, to je nešto što funkcioniše za bilo koje mesto na planeti, jer samo kad shvatite ce- linu i raznovrsnost jednog grada, možete stvarno da ga doživite ka- ko treba. Koji grad smatrate najvi- še svojim, a gde ste najvi- še zbog posla? – Pariz i Beograd jesu moji gra- dovi jer sam najviše vezan za njih, ali mislim da svako ko je malo pu- tovao ima neku ličnu mentalnu i fi- zičku topografiju i geografiju kroz koju se u svakom gradu izdvajaju krajevi, ulice, ćoškovi, prostori gde se osećate na svom. Moj posao je vezan za prostor u kome radim i stvaram. To je trenutno više Be- ograd, dugo je bio Pariz, a za bu- dućnost ćemo videti...

His works are engaging and often awash with his- torical references , while his vision of art is often controversial. And that also describes the book re- cently published by Mascom: Weird World presents discarded analogue photographs that were created over the course of years and were initial-

ly considered “bad”. For Vidor, as an artist, they provided a way of fixing time and creating memories, as well as helping him in his work on paint- ings, drawings or installations... The photographs included in the book Weird World show

different people, self-por- traits, places from around

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