Black in black, a shallow relief and a line created by gluing a 24-carat gold leaf over which the print is printed... In short, it is the result of an artistic experiment, a small-format graphic authored by a renowned artist from Nikšić, an academic graphic artist. Mirko Toljic.
That it is "some new environment with some new materials", Toljić said in the interview after the opening of the exhibition "Montenegro Small Format Graphics 2024", within which he became the first winner of the salon's award for this graphic, called "Golden Line". "Small prints", in the category of established artists.
Speaking about his many years of artistic creativity and presence both in the Montenegrin and in the art and graphic scenes of the region, Toljić explains that he is attracted to experiments in graphics...
"I used to practice drawing something by hand, but I didn't go in that direction, but experimented with materials and expanded the possibilities of basic graphic techniques, in order not to destroy some boundary between sculpture and graphics... The "Golden Line" graphic that I presented, it is difficult to reproduce because it has the contents of black in black, some relief, with the fact that I would consider this a shallow relief, and it also has a novelty in it, which is brought by pasting that, just The 24-carat gold leaf over which the print is made, by implementing some poetics, and it is actually part of the experiment", reveals Toljić.
Experiments come from using and introducing new materials, just like gold leaf...
"This is about the intention to use gold, because gold is not a color, but a material, and it behaves differently depending on the light. So, somehow, one always strives for a person to have an active relationship with the work, because the work changes with every change of light, because we have that black relief in black and we have gold which is not a color, but a material, and which has the reflection of the viewer in himself", states Toljić.
It is just one of his works from the latest cycle, and he also reveals that during the next year one can expect his new solo exhibition, in which he will show what he is working on...
"I think that during the summer of 2025 I will have an independent exhibition where I will present what I am doing now, and I am doing something new. I created a new environment with some new materials, so I wouldn't explain it with a story, but with an exhibition when the time comes," announces the artist.
Toljić says that today there are many novelties in the field of graphics, which should be accepted and used, so throughout his career he is looking for a new expression, motif, experiment...
"It is important for me to ask for something. One lives through a series of works, completes a whole, and then moves on to something else. It happens that modern graphics now offers a lot by finding various newspapers. In industrial graphics, we have this tendency towards personalization, that is, what used to go to large editions, now goes to small editions, and so far artists, graphic artists have always used some abandoned graphic techniques that were unprofitable for the industry. Now, for the first time, it happens that graphic artists accept the latest technological developments and look for some elements of their spoken vocabulary there. I am familiar with both directions, and the experiment with that digital language which is definitely becoming current, everyday and not only should not be ignored, but should be accepted as completely normal", Toljić points out.
His graphics are one of many presented at the exhibition "Montenegro Small Format Graphics 2024", which opened in mid-December in Podgorica, in the "Art" gallery, where it is available for visitors until January 15. The author of the project and the first exhibition of this type is a full professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cetinje, Vesna Bošković, and the exhibition is realized by the Secretariat for Culture of the Capital City of Podgorica and the Museums and Galleries of Podgorica, as part of the manifestation "December Art Scene" (DEUS).
Speaking further about the creation of graphics in a small format, Toljić points out that there are often glimpses of something much bigger than what is presented. He says he belongs to a group of artists who practice working in larger formats and experiment with smaller ones.
"We have graphic artists who express themselves in a small format and it's nice to see what and how they do. On the other hand, people who work in a larger format and tend to experiment waste a lot of time, and it is very expensive to experiment on large formats, so some experiments are often done on smaller formats and they try to find novelties in the language and in the technological field." explains Toljić and believes that the exhibition will become a traditional event, but also that its character will be international...
"I am even more pleased that I received this recognition, because I believe that this is the first of a long series of exhibitions to come. On the other hand, I hope that a gathering of us artists will be born from it, by some formation and formalization of a guild that would deal with graphics and graphic art in general, and then organize even bigger exhibitions", says the graphic artist.
He also adds that he sees the exhibition of small format graphics as extremely important because it shows the balance of Montenegrin graphics today.
"The exhibition is very significant and refreshing. It actualized the graphics, but also set up two frames that we can talk about... So, the exhibition gave us the opportunity to see the artist's personal relationship to small format, but also to larger formats, and further to experiment, expression, poetics and so on. .. That is one aspect of the exhibition, the one that concerns the artist personally as a creator. The second aspect concerns graphics as a medium in general, which is poorly represented, almost completely neglected and in a bad position in our country. It really seems to me that graphics as an art discipline has a special importance, especially today. We need to pay a little more attention to that branch of art. Unlike the surrounding countries, where in Belgrade, for example, there is a graphics collective, and there are institutions that only deal with graphics, in Montenegro such an institution does not exist, and these are just some of the steps, should we not get together as professionals and made some guild association. In this way, we could continue to form different events and programs, we ourselves gathered and researched, presented the graphics in the right way, but also hosted artists from the outside," says Toljić.
In addition to problematizing the current situation regarding graphics on the art scene in Montenegro, Toljić also points to the lack of a specialized department at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cetinje, University of Montenegro.
"When I started working, I got a job at the Academy in Cetinje, and now I work in Trebinje, where I work in the graphics department. Unfortunately, unlike when I was working, today there is no graphics department at the Cetinje Academy. It's just a module in the painting department. I believe that some problems have already been overcome today, due to which that department, let's call it, withdrew for a while. Now the workshops are already equipped, there is no technique for which there is no material and equipment to be able to work, a new space was obtained. On the other hand, with all these new current events in graphics, that spoken vocabulary is expanding, the issue of graphics is becoming more complicated, and it is very important to create a department where only that would be studied. I would give strong support to colleagues from the Academy who did everything and continue to do it, if that graphic department would not be started as well. Of course, he will always have the support of the institution where I work, as well as my own, but the Montenegrin academy, that is, FLU, should be the bearer of the criteria and the main guarantor of quality," says Toljić.
Mirko Toljić was born in 1962 in Nikšić, where he completed primary, secondary and higher pedagogical school, majoring in fine arts. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, at the graphics department, in 1991, in the class of prof. Boško Karanović, and received his master's degree in 1995 in the class of prof. Milo Grozdanić. He has been engaged in academic work for years and teaches graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Trebinje.
The intention here is to use gold, because gold is not a color, but a material and it behaves differently depending on the light. So, somehow, one always strives for a person to have an active relationship with the work, because the work changes with every change of light, because we have that black relief in black and we have gold which is not a color, but a material, and which has the reflection of the viewer in himself", states Toljić
I would give strong support to colleagues from the Academy who have done everything and continue to do it, if the graphics department is not started in Cetinje. He will, of course, always have the support of the institution where I work, as well as my own, but the Montenegrin academy, that is, FLU, should be the bearer of the criteria and the main guarantor of quality," says Toljić.
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