umetnik Uroš Đurić / uroš đurić, artist
ago, it seems I never will.
Those are all things that you don’t expect to happen to you in life, and then when they do start happening you feel like you’re drunk. What does good cooperation between an artist and a curator mean? - It means that they have mutual respect for the established criteria, that the produc- tion is at a high level, that the artist is respect- ed, and that the curator extracts the best from him, and not that the works serve to illus- trate the curator’s thesis. An exhibition is a much wider concept than simply hanging works on a wall.
would have had enough time in the West for my work to achieve the desired result. Per- haps there I would have been forced to re- spond to different systemic requirements. Many of our artists who live in Western Eu- rope certainly live much more comfortably than I do, but the question is whether they are more successful. And what is success? - Depends for whom. For some it is to live the high life, while for me it is to realise myself in the frameworks I aspire to, wheth- er that’s about my work or the way I function in the community. All the choices I’ve made
How did the quiz show “The Cha- se” end up in your life? - We sat at home and watched the Brit- ish original. My daughter and wife comment- ed that it’s a pity such a quiz doesn’t exist in Serbia, because I handled it excellently. To our huge surprise, a call soon followed from Adrenalin [production company] for me to try out as one of the possible“chasers”.The re- sults satisfied the owners of the franchise. At the start it was crazy fun, but now, after five seasons, I’m tired of it to an extent. Does a contemporary artist ha-
What has remained of your pu- nk attitudes? - Rebellion has remained. Rebellion against injustice, poverty, conditioning to ruling ideas and structures. Punk announced in 1977 that there is no future, and it turned out to be right, considering the current state of affairs 40 years later. What is satisfying about your works being part of many muse- um and private collections? - It’s a fantastic feeling to be recognised; the fact that someone sees in your works part of themselves and that you’ve established in- teraction beyond the boundaries of the com- munity in which you live. Does art exist without an au- dience? - It exists even without an artist; art leads its own independent life.
ve to possess and utilise all this information? I think they do. Most local younger and middle-aged artists are extremely well-in- formed, and as such are dedicated to their work.Therearemanyphenomenalyoungart- ists here, and it’s a shame that’s not more vis- ible in the milieu in which their work emerg- es.Thereisahugedividebetweentheirreach and the society in which they live. What is your favourite exhibition of the more than 200 solo and gro- up exhibitions you’ve had? - There are so many of them. The exhi- bition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, where the breadth of my opus was shown for the first time. There is a whole series of spectacular events, such as cooper- ation with René Block and Harald Szeemann, as the greatest living curators at that moment.
are an integral part of my personality, so I can say that I succeeded in what I chose to be. Does the public recognise you mostlyasanactor,orasapainter? - Most of them see me simply as a pub- lic figure, as someone who appears regular- ly in the media, on TV, which in recent times has most been related to the quiz show“The Chase”. Does being a public figure bot- her you? - Of course, it’s a terrible counterweight. Everyone thinks you are part of their intimate life, even if you’re not responsible for that at all. Everybody wants a little something, but that’s the price of popularity and it’s pointless running from it. You end up as an even big- ger donkey. You need to find your measure in all of that, for that not to disturb you. Al- though I should have got used to that long
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