KULTURA / CULTURE It was exactly 40 years ago, in 1982, that Kiki Smith staged her first solo exhibition, at New York’s alternative space TheKitchen.Sheearnedrepute for her multidisciplinary work exploring embodiment, the natural world and the intrinsic connection betweenman and animal, as well as plants and celestial bodies. She uses various techniques andmaterials in herwork, includingsculpture, graphic printmaking, photography, drawing and tapestries. The works that we’ll have the chance to see in this Belgrade exhibition have emerged over the course of Kiki’s decades-long creative career since the1990s,whenshe predominantly dealt with the topic of the humanbody in all its aspects, through her works from the 2000s, when her focus shifted to animals, fables andnature, culminatingwith hermost recent work, LargeMoon, from2022.The exhibitionwas conceived in collaborationwith the artist as a compactpresentationthat includes four tapestries, 14 sculptures and20 graphic prints anddrawings, and which “functions as a promenade that reminds visitors of their presence in the world”. The upcoming exhibition provided the occasion for Kiki Smith to speak exclusively for Elevate about her decades-long work and career, and about what inspires her in art and life. Your exhibition in Serbia is entitled “Kiki Smith: Humans and other animals”. How do you see that relationship between humans and other animals? “Humans and animals are intrinsically connected to one another.Maybe for the better on our side, andmaybe for the worse on the animals’ side. But we are all here together and we are certainly part of the animal kingdom.” Why animals? “We are blessed to be surroundedby animals, both incities andoutside of cities.They are a constant inspiration.” How do you feel about this kind of retrospective overview of your work? “I don’t say it’s a retrospective, it is more plastic. But there are certainly some themes that continually make themselves apparent in my work. I wanted to bring together some of the materials and messes that have intrigued me for over the past 45 years.” At some point, your work slightly turned away from body figures to embrace mythology, folk art and fairy tales…What was the key personal feeling, or idea, behind that change? “I would say it changed in the mid ‘90s, when I primarily stopped making figuration. I went back to it to explore its intersection withmythology and fairy tales and folkloric imagery or indigenous imagery, where humans and animals engage withone another. Butmywork continues to move in and out of subjects over time.” Visitors to the Serbian exhibition will also see your recent work (with Serbian translation as “Large Moon”). It’s not your first “moon-related” work, so where did that inspiration come from and what keeps K I K I SM I T H F I NA L LY I N SE R B I A Animals are an endless source of inspiration One of the key artists on the world scene will use her first solo exhibition in Serbia to present the exhibition People and Other Animals. it alive? “Themoonkeepsmealive.There is averyniceZenkōanthat says “The moonis smaller thantheearth, but it isvery far away”. Iponder themoon.” You once said ‘When I was young, being marginalised gave me energy’. What gives you energy nowadays? “My garden gives me energy every day; watching the birds and the groundhogs eat my vegetables and watching how quickly the seasons change. Besides my family, it’s certainly the most moving thing in my life today. One can readdress the moon over and over again.” You were once told ‘If you want to be an artist, just be an artist’. Would you retain that advice? Being an artist is one of those things that is a self-proclaimed activity… “Yes! To be an artist is just a decision. It doesn’t require any one thingmore than thepermissionone gives oneself. It is self-determined. It doesn’t imply any requirements. Ultimately, one stays an artist if one has a sense of necessity. Otherwise, there aremany other good things to do in the world.” You were born in Nuremberg, but raised in New York – both cities to which Air Serbia flies, Could you compare them? “I was born inNuremberg, Germany, and raised in New Jersey in the USA. Both Europe and the USA are vast places, with a great deal of diversity of topography and natural resources and cultural histories, architecture, art, music and food. Everything. They all lead to people having different kinds of lives. I feel very grateful tohave spent time and had the opportunity to work in different places. Each teaches you a different way.” What about the connection between New York and Belgrade? “BothBelgradeandNewYorkare very vibrant cities with a diversity of people, culture, architecture, and land. Both are cities on the water.” I Beograd i Njujork su živopisni gradovi sa različitim ljudima, kulturom i arhitekturom. Both Belgrade and New York are very vibrant cities with a diversity of people, culture and architecture 50 | Izložba » Exhibition
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