Martina Miholic
How has your art developed since you left school? Now I am going to sound as our candidate for Miss of the World from, I think 90', when on question what does she think about part of the competition in swimming costumes, she answered:'It's OK.' In the same manner I will just for now say: 'It's developing, or at least I think so.'
discussing, working on the new projects and what is most important mutually supporting. There was a loads of things we learned from each other. BTW, I was always interested how does musicians create their songs, compositions. In your statements you have mentioned Professor Ante Kuduz: as you have underlined "being a part of Kuduz’s class is not merely a line in the biographies of an artist": can you tell us your biggest influences in art and how they have affected your work? When question about influences is asked I have feeling people are always looking for particular well known name, artist, philosopher, something they could easily relate you with, and fair enough to the certain extensions it make sense, but than I would rather call it reference than influence. Mentioning prof. Kuduz, yes I could say he was one of the biggest influence in my art and life, not just to me but to all of his students. He was tutor and artist himself, but he was
Could you take us through your creative process when starting a new project? Creative process certainly varies from project to project. It will be clearer when I will speak about concrete projects. It often happens that projects are connected one to each other and arise spontaneously out of each other. So to me, it is a bit hard to clearly define starting point for some of them. Sometimes they just click in a moment. But more often, I perceive a certain not articulated or partially articulated problem, a thought that craves for form or dissolve, something that bothers you. Then I sit down and count and mark down all elements associated with that par-
Stills from Giant, Dense, Sunlit, Amorphous ticular problem. At this stage, the easiest way handling it is by creating numerous mental maps. To me it is easier to bind all those elements, connect and bring them into correlation in this way. There from I conduct further research of each one. On one occasion I made such a huge and detailed mind map in digital format that my teacher thought it was already finished work. Since I live in London I spend much time on the tube. It is a time I use for thinking. I always have a little notepad with myself and scribble down some ideas that come across my mind. In the further process I am trying to analyze all these elements. I am looking for references. I am trying to define them, and at the same time take care of how they interfere one another. The process consists of theoretical and practical research. Most of my works and their process are interactive. As a method of conducting them I use interviews, surveys, e-mail correspondences... Once I collect enough information I start to think how to channel them, form again, balance, tune them, transform, and find the best way they will resonate together. And there is always problem of technical execution, how to find founds for all that… Conversations are very important to me too. Not as to received confirmation of my standpoints and decisions about my work but as a playground and fertile field for the emergence of new ideas, new questions and conclusions. I was a member of the artist collective Projekt6. For years we were, meeting regularly,
more than that. Beyond everything he was a person. He had that specific intrinsic sense for communication. Even when he wouldn't say anything we would understand each other, it would have meaning, not negative one, but significant one. Years after we finished uni, almost all of his students were still meeting him. He was sophisticated story teller. With his seemingly unrelated stories, he would take us on a journey to the core of a problem. He taught us how to observe and how to approach the work, communication, ideas, problems, like it was a living organism. He taught us how to ask questions correctly, and how to make your own decisions. He allowed himself not to know everything and admit it, he allowed us to surprise him with our artistic explorations, he would often say how he was learning from us, learning in his 70'. He would never force us or giving us final solutions that we had to adopt, what some other tutors from their egoistical stands would have. Speaking further about influences, to me influence or better to say inspiration, is something I was emerged in, everydays situation, social context, my friends, people in general I was in contact with, going outs, trips, conversations, some specific situations I would find myself in, especially situations. It is always coming from a real life. And of course all the shows I watched, all the music I listened all the books I read..., but all in package. I can not draw a clean line and say this artist has influenced me, exactly than and for this or that reason.
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