Young visual artist Darja Bajagić, originally from Montenegro, attracts artistic attention in the United States, where she has lived since she was ten years old.
She, together with her family, left Montenegro in 1990, and it has been almost three decades since she visited it. Nevertheless, her works reached our public, as part of this year's Montenegrin Art Salon "13. novembar" in Cetinje, which was open from the end of November until the middle of December.
The selector of the 42nd Salon, art historian and art critic, Petar Ćuković, invited her to present herself at this year's exhibition, which gained an international character, and which was organized under the name "Night in Montenegro and other stories", which Bajagić with gladly accepted. She presented herself at the Salon with the video work "Zora", which will probably be the beginning of her greater presence on the Montenegrin art scene.
“So that seems pretty exciting, I must admit! Like returning home - homeland. It is my pleasure to introduce Montenegro to my artistic work, especially at the invitation of the distinguished Petar Ćuković. Although the feeling of belonging (to only one place territorially) is somewhat ostracized for me, I feel like a Montenegrin, completely in every sense, which is the result of the way I grew up, brought up and brought up. In that sense, I am (obviously) new on the Montenegrin art scene, regardless of my Montenegrin origin", says Bajagić in an interview with "Vijesti".
For "Vijesti", she presents her artistic expression, reflections, motives and goals, but also talks about her connection with Montenegro.
To begin with, how did the cooperation with Peter Ćuković come about and the exhibition at the 42nd Montenegrin Art Salon "13. November”?
Petar Ćuković contacted me via Jelena Tomašević's Instagram profile. Soon after that, Jelena and I started collaborating and she informed me that she was actually the one who presented my work to Peter and introduced him to it. I am very grateful to her for that, a wonderful gesture! Also, through Peter's and my conversations about art, I concluded that he is a particularly authentic person who can rarely be met in the "world of art" today, not to mention his sincerity, openness, generosity, deep way of thinking...
I am grateful to Peter for this invitation and for the opportunity to present my work (for the first time) in Montenegro. I hope that in the near future there will be new opportunities for cooperation with Peter Ćuković.
What work did you present yourself with, when was it created, what does it represent?
I introduced myself with the video work "Zora", which was created this year, and the sound was done by Fifth Era, Ferro Mortem and Die Kombination. The work was created and specially presented at the exhibition "Goregeous" (in the name itself, I played with words combining "gore", which can be translated as "congested blood", usually caused by violence, and the word "gorgeous", which means "great, inviolable" ). It is the first research of my artistic work, which covered the first decade of my involvement, and was carried out by the curators Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou at the French art center Le Confort Moderne, in Poitiers. The video shows (or re-presents) scanned zoomed-in details of images depicting the horrors of war and the devastation and destruction that followed.
In the work "Dawn", the scanner shows our attempts to achieve a stronger sense of closeness and intimacy with the image. Despite these efforts and regardless of technical capabilities, the scanner provides a numb and indifferent view of that image. We, on the other hand, are witnesses to the horrors committed by humanity. It is as if we are witnessing dismembered parts, fragments that are deceptively beautiful in their abstract serenity. A bloody scar, a divine filth - unsolvable and unreadable, unreadable.
You have been living outside of Montenegro for many years, more precisely in America, and you are successfully building your career there. How did it affect you to be represented in the country you come from and at the prestigious Salon?
I left Montenegro in 1990 and moved to Egypt with my family. I spent the first 10 years of my life there, in Cairo, and after that I emigrated and moved to the United States. Although the feeling of belonging (to only one place territorially) is somewhat ostracized for me, I feel like a Montenegrin, completely in every sense, which is the result of the way I grew up, brought up and brought up. In this sense, I am (obviously) new to the Montenegrin art scene, regardless of my Montenegrin origin. So, it seems quite exciting, I must admit, like returning home, to the homeland. It is my pleasure to introduce Montenegro to my artistic work, especially at the invitation of the distinguished Petar Ćuković.
I read in an interview from a few years ago that a journalist called you a "controversial artist", what do you think - why? Or is everything and everyone that is not classic and established controversial today?
Controversial is a label that sticks to art that is truly complex. That term is (most often) used in a pejorative sense. Very often it goes hand in hand (almost even) with shocking art, another disingenuous term that is also used in a pejorative (derogatory) context. Titles like these have a demoralizing effect, serve as a means of humiliating and belittling, and suppressing attractive and challenging aesthetics, thus compromising the true effectiveness, impact and potential of art, thus sterilizing to the point of passivity for an infantile audience/public.
Furthermore, it must be noted and acknowledged that the profit motive outweighs the practice of art in its true form. Opportunism is a widespread disease. Complexity and deep thinking are not in fashion, especially if there is a risk of affecting (your) financial stability; which is further degrading (in terms of the status/position of art) - as we ourselves are, so art has become degraded. Colorful lie! (Vapid ornament)
I've also read that your work is described as a set of fragments that depict violence, pornography, maybe mockery. Is it really so and what do you mean by that? Is that how, through art, you react to the world, to social, political, cultural events and the like?
No, my work is never mocked by anyone, it never was. In layman's terms, it is about re-presenting, emphasizing and addressing, not as criticism for bad decisions and injustice, but as an invitation to reconsider and reconsider.
In my earlier works of art, the questioning of violence was more pronounced. I have always been of the opinion that it is important to present the image of violence as it is. After all, we are not all without a drop of blood. Therefore, we must force ourselves to see, we must open our eyes. Those violent images are not dangerous, but what is is attempts and a huge effort to correct it, to sanitize it, to cancel our understanding of pure and untouched, uncorrupted reality.
What unites everything I have done so far is my artistic position, which requires a careful, but relentless, (re)examination of the assumptions of humanism through an unrestrained system of aesthetics. This is directly opposed to the utilitarian morality of the present which demands that complexity be simplified and reduced to a black-and-white, exclusive, system setting.
What is your relationship with Montenegro today, do you visit the country, how often, do you follow anything about life here? Are you planning an independent presentation with us?
My connection with Montenegro primarily exists through my family, although in the previous period it also grew into several realized artistic acquaintances. Unfortunately, I haven't been to Montenegro since the mid-nineties. I am looking forward to the new planning of my long-delayed visit to Montenegro, of course, when the pandemic allows. And as for the solo exhibition - time will tell.
How did the corona virus pandemic affect you? Did it make you passive or did it motivate you, in what sense?
Although I am stationed in the United States of America, most of my exhibitions are realized in Europe. So, the virus, i.e. its effect on (international) travel, made it impossible for me to travel and physically participate in events and exhibitions. It is, no doubt, quite unfavorable, bad. However, as this "effect of immobility" brought with it a stability in life, it allowed me to turn around and concentrate more on myself and self-reflection, which I (perhaps selfishly) appreciate... In addition, it allowed me to spend time I use it more intensively, to create new works of art more carefully and rigorously, but also to write.
Does and how much does the world around you influence what you will create?
The global world, the one around me or another, definitely influences my subject matter. There is a thin line between the real and the unreal, especially the one that manifests itself in the artificiality of art (subconscious, otherworldly), which is of particular interest to me. And being aware and motivated by this limit, I often re-present dichotomies (such as, for example, the object of innocence or general semblance, with antitheticity) as an emphatic expression and addressing of the duality in which we exist, like a mirror to the viewer - not as an accusation of injustice, but as a bait to reconsider. To quote Otto Muehl, “The artist breaks taboos. What really shocks is facing the facts. There is a lot to show.”…
And, finally, what does art represent to you?
For me, art is, above all, an intimate path of continuous and unwavering observation and questioning. A critical way of representation that springs from the unconscious and subconscious, art as such mystifies everyday life, reaching abysses and unknown truths.
The development of artists and works of art is a lifelong process
What are your beginnings, how and when did you start doing art? What drew you to the current expression and how did you come to know your expression?
My mother, Sekana Radović, is an artist. As a child I admired her works. As I grew up, I drew and painted with her myself. Then, as a teenager, I enrolled in the Chicago Public Schools Advanced Arts Program, which was aimed at upperclassmen interested in pursuing art and building a career in that field. (Chicago Public Schools' (CPS) Advanced Arts Program).
That program provided me with additional training and education. I later graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Intermedia from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University. Painting and Printmaking), Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
When it comes to my current style, it represents the culmination of my many years of experimentation, through constantly developing thematic interests and visual expression, visual language. It is a lifelong process - the development of the artist and his works of art.
Bonus video:
