Vesna Pesic Interview

Chapter XLIII: Time

  Posted by Justin Maller  \  - @justinmaller   - justinmaller.com — on December 19, 2011
Vesna Pesic
cs flag Novi Sad, Vojvodina / Serbia
Vesna Pesic

Justin Maller

Hey Vesna! Congratulations on being selected as the Featured Artist for "TIME". Why don't you give us a bit of an insight in to your creative journey?

Vesna Pesic

Thank you Justin! I am a college-graduated graphic designer actually. After spending some time working in various studios, I realized I was not fulfilled, I realized I didn't understand clients and that I am exposing myself to unnecessary amounts of stress.

I became interested in collage while I was in college, so I started exploring this technique in my free time. Thanks to the internet my works get noticed, and I eventually started earning money from my collage style work. That showed me I can build a career this way; and here I am - living my dream – doing the things I love the most.

Justin Maller

Let me just say how much I loved the work you produced for this Chapter. We got you in to the collective just before the deadline on Obsolete, so this was your first full Chapter with us - how did you enjoy the process?

Vesna Pesic

Thanks again, that means me a lot. Working for this chapter was so different. First of all, being involved in it from the beginning and going through all the phases meant a lot for me. I still consider myself new to the collective, so I wanted to improve and present myself as best as I can with these works. In the end, everything came up better than I expected. DC collective has some wonderful and very positive thinking artists, and certainly that creative atmosphere was the one of the factors that influenced the quality and quantity of my works. Simply put it, when everyone around creates great work, it really pushes you to give your best!

Justin Maller

Which of your pieces for Time was your favourite? How did you come up with the concept, and how did the piece come together?

Vesna Pesic

My favorite is the series I created themed "Yesterday". Even before I began working on this Chapter, I wanted to make a series of portraits, but I couldn't find a concept that was interesting enough. These “People of Yesterday” represent finished phases, something that we were yesterday, in our childhood, in some forgotten periods, in the times that are never going to return. In other words, this series is something that can run for my entire life and every new portrait would be the turn of a new page, a beginning of a new chapter… While I was finishing creating the first portrait the second already started forming in my head and then third was inevitable. I think it was Warhol who said “...your own life while it's happening to you never has any atmosphere until it's a memory.” That’s the best explanation for my interest in and fascination of the Past.

Justin Maller

Your work has such a strong and unusual aesthetic - it seems to be a blend of traditional, digital and collage. Tell us a bit about your approach; do you typically have a set outcome in mind? Are there any specific styles you're interested in or thematic focuses that are prevalent in your concepts?

Vesna Pesic

Well, it all starts with scissors and cutting, but digital approach offers much more possibilities. Now I try to combine both of these techniques. I think that combinations of drawing, photography, textures, geometry and lettering create that unusual aesthetic that you’ve mentioned. Almost always, even before I start working on it, I already have the finished piece in my head. However while I work on it the piece inevitably changes, evolves, and in the end it never looks quite the same as I planned. I rarely make sketches. I like to explore whilst working, I like to let story tells itself so to speak, and I like to be influenced by the material I use in my work.

Justin Maller

I always find it very interesting to find out how artists use their time - what's a typical day like for you? How does commercial work fit in with your personal endeavours?

Vesna Pesic

After a few years of parallel work in studios and also as a freelancer at the same time, finally I am a fulltime freelance artist. I have much more time for more my personal work, which means more space for experiments and less of that “stiffness” that you have when you work for clients. Although I do work on commercial stuff 8-9 hours a day, I try very hard not to neglect my personal projects. I'm very bad at organizing my own time, but I always find time for good movies, reading books, doing a workout or playing video games with the person I love.

Justin Maller

Do you find that your process or outcomes change drastically with self directed work?

Vesna Pesic

Yes, very much. Often I have an “artists block” when I am working on something commercial. I think too much about clients expectations, what they want to see or if what I'm creating is just too “out there”… I try to overcome this problem because it has a very negative influences on my creativity. What I manage to express in personal works, often is absent in commercial works.

Justin Maller

Do you have specific artists, directors or authors who you feel contribute strongly to your creative life? What aspects of your day to day life feed your imagination?

Vesna Pesic

The artist who had the biggest influence on me in college, whose works compelled me to take scissors and pencils in my hands, is Eduardo Recife. His works have been incredibly inspirational for me.

I spend at least an hour a day on Tumblr and Google reader. That's something I really enjoy doing. Film is also a very big inspiration for me (not only visually), particularly directors like Michel Gondry, Roman Polanski, Michael Haneke, Lars Von Trier and Terry Giliam. I also enjoy Japanesse horror and British humor (Monty Python, Ricky Gervais, Eddie Izzard). Artists like Basquiat, Bosch, Bruegel, Schile, De Chirico, Miro and todays Clayton brothers, Sarra Fanelli, Mark Ryden, Yan Wei, David Plunkert, Bruno Kurru, Marianna Ignataki are also inspirations…

Justin Maller

What are your main motivations at the moment? Are you leaning more towards building a career as a commercial artist, or aspiring strongly to start creating a lasting purely artistic legacy?

Vesna Pesic

At the moment, I am trying to create balance. I believe that a successful career maifests itself if you work hard, work passionately and remain self-critical. Growth comes from interesting projects, motivation from clients who want to see how your dreams look like and idea that currently project will be better then previous.

Justin Maller

Give us some insight into the Serbian creative culture - what's the artistic situation? Are you strongly involved in it? Do you think we see your national heritage shine through in your work?

Vesna Pesic

We have a very strong creative scene at the moment. Unfortunately the financial side is and has been pretty bad over the past two decades, regardless of the the global crisis.

Artists are undervalued and often find themselves in a situation without a lot of choices. Nevertheless, there are many collectives who organize cultural event, debates, lecture, exhibitions… there is always something going on.

I think that my works do not reflect any national values in any way. I almost never reflect on political, social or cultural situations through my work. It is more about psychological characters and situations, so it's possibly the cultures has permeated my education, attitude and upbringing, but I am probably not aware of it.

Justin Maller

What's next for you artistically? Are there any emerging styles of mediums that you'd like to explore?

Vesna Pesic

I am working on extending the day! I don’t have enough time to do everything I want to get done. But I am interested in painting, making stop-motion animation, maybe making some ready-made sculptures…

Justin Maller

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with next for us!

Vesna Pesic

You’re welcome, I enjoyed answering! Cheers!

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