John Kokkinos
an interview with
John Kokkinos We would start this interview with our usual ice breaker question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art? By the way, what are in your opinion the features that characterize a piece of Contemporary Art? It's just a matter of making Art during these last years? What defines a work as a great piece of art is a popular question. If we examine our knowledge of art history (of which I am a huge fan), we see relatively recent trends (in terms of the last few generations) that have developed from figurative, to abstract, to minimalism, to the work using new materials and media. The new trends in art have not changed the fundamental principles I look for: composition, colour, rhythm, texture and balance. Good use of these gives the viewer a sense of an elevated visual experience. Contemporary art needs to take the artist and the viewer to a new place, a new visual experience. You have a formal training and you have studied at Central Technical School in Toronto. How much in your opinion training influences art? And how your Art has developed after your left school? By the way, do you think that a certain kind of training could even stifle young artist's inspiration?
John Kokkinos open minded, yet some challenged me a lot about my ideas. I left there with confidence, but I know my artistic strength grew over many years after graduation. The young artist can be stifled if they do not gain this confidence during their training.
I would agree that the type of training affects choices and inspiration of the young artist. Who the teachers are; how broad or narrow their emphasis; the type of atmosphere they create affects the direction the student will take upon graduation. It’s difficult for a young artist on their own to be confident about what they will focus on long term. They look to their teachers’ taste and careers quite often as a starting point.
We have read that you were just ten years old when you moved from Greece to Canada, so it goes without saying that you have absorbed American culture... just wondering if your Greek origins play an important role in your background as an artist.
But I think young artists need exposure to many disciplines and time to mature and understand them. Then they can develop their own thought process needed to make great art. My own art training was very comprehensive. My teachers were
I would say that my Greek background has shaped me only partly as the artist I am today. In our culture when I was growing up, we were openly
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