KULTURA / CULTURE
KIKI SMITH FINALLY IN SERBIA Animals are an endless source of inspiration
it alive? “The moon keeps me alive. There is a very nice Zen kōan that says “The moon is smaller than the earth, but it is very far away”. I ponder the moon.” You once said ‘When I was young, being marginal- ised gave me energy’. What gives you energy nowadays? “My garden gives me energy every day; watching the birds and the groundhogs eat my vegetables and watching how quickly the sea- sons change. Besides my family, it’s certainly the most moving thing in my life today. One can readdress the moon over and over again.” You were once told ‘If you want to be an artist, just be an artist’. Would you re- tain that advice? Being an artist is one of those things that is a self-proclaimed ac- tivity… “Yes! To be an artist is just a decision. It doesn’t require any one thing more than the permission one gives oneself. It is self-determined. It doesn’t imply any requirements. Ultimately, one stays an artist if one has a sense of necessity. Otherwise, there are many other good things to do in the world.” You were born in Nurem- berg, but raised in New York – both cities to which Air Serbia flies, Could you compare them? “I was born in Nuremberg, Ger- many, and raised in New Jersey in the USA. Both Europe and the USA are vast places, with a great deal of diversity of topography and natu- ral resources and cultural histories, architecture, art, music and food. Everything. They all lead to people having different kinds of lives. I feel very grateful to have spent time and had the opportunity to work in dif- ferent places. Each teaches you a different way.” What about the connection between New York and Bel- grade? “Both Belgrade and New York are very vibrant cities with a diversity of people, culture, architecture, and land. Both are cities on the water.”
I t was exactly 40 years ago, in 1982, that Kiki Smith staged her first solo exhibition, at New York’s alternative space The Kitchen. She earned repute for her multidisciplinary work ex- ploring embodiment, the natural world and the intrinsic connection between man and animal, as well as plants and celestial bodies. She uses various techniques and materials in her work, including sculpture, graph- ic printmaking, photography, draw- ing and tapestries. The works that we’ll have the chance to see in this Belgrade ex- hibition have emerged over the course of Kiki’s decades-long crea- tive career since the 1990s, when she predominantly dealt with the topic of the human body in all its aspects, through her works from the 2000s, when her focus shifted to animals, fables and nature, culminating with her most recent work, Large Moon, from 2022. The exhibition was con- ceived in collaboration with the art- ist as a compact presentation that in- cludes four tapestries, 14 sculptures and 20 graphic prints and drawings, and which “functions as a prome- nade that reminds visitors of their presence in the world”. The upcoming exhibition pro- vided the occasion for Kiki Smith to speak exclusively for Elevate about her decades-long work and career, and about what inspires her in art and life. One of the key artists on the world scene will use her first solo exhibition in Serbia to present the exhibition People and Other Animals.
How do you see that rela- tionship between humans and other animals? “Humans and animals are in- trinsically connected to one anoth- er. Maybe for the better on our side, and maybe for the worse on the an- imals’ side. But we are all here to- gether and we are certainly part of the animal kingdom.” Why animals? “We are blessed to be surround- ed by animals, both in cities and out- side of cities. They are a constant in- spiration.” How do you feel about this kind of retrospective over- view of your work? “I don’t say it’s a retrospective, it is more plastic. But there are cer- tainly some themes that continu- ally make themselves apparent in my work. I wanted to bring togeth- er some of the materials and mess- es that have intrigued me for over the past 45 years.” At some point, your work slightly turned away from body figures to embrace my- thology, folk art and fairy tales… What was the key personal feeling, or idea, behind that change? “I would say it changed in the mid ‘90s, when I primarily stopped making figuration. I went back to it to explore its intersection with my- thology and fairy tales and folklor- ic imagery or indigenous imagery, where humans and animals engage with one another. But my work con- tinues to move in and out of sub- jects over time.” Visitors to the Serbian ex- hibition will also see your recent work (with Serbi- an translation as “Large Moon”). It’s not your first “moon-related” work, so where did that inspiration come from and what keeps
I Beograd i Njujork su živopisni gradovi sa različitim ljudima, kulturom i
arhitekturom. Both Belgrade and New York are very vibrant cities with a diversity of people, culture and architecture
Your exhibition in Serbia is entitled “Kiki Smith: Hu- mans and other animals”.
50 | Izložba » Exhibition
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator