Encouraging young and promising artists

The Serbian Institute offers outstanding, yet undiscovered young artists, who have not had the chance to expose their works, the opportunity to present their art in Brussels.

Serbian, bre by Ivan Grlic
In July 2005, Serbian, bre photo cycle by this young Belgrade photographer was exposed in Paris. One of the trendiest Parisian clubs called “Cab” hosted Serbian, bre exhibition on the occasion of the closing of haute couture fashion week.

On the occasion of Orthodox New Year’s eve on 13 January 2006 this collection was exposed at B-Club in Brussels. The exhibition included photos taken by Ivan Grlic as well as a multimedia presentation. Visitors could enjoy the contemporary Serbian photography which combines the traditional elements of Serbian culture. In addition, an interview with Ivan Grlic was published at Ego magazine (see below).

On the same 13 January evening the dynamic multimedia presentation of Belgrade by Night photos by another young Belgrade photographer & designer Adam Radosavljevic was also presented.

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EGO: Could you explain in some words your educational (artistic) past ? Why did you choose to specialize yourself in photography ? It could have been another field of art...IVAN: I guess it started from the early teenage years when I enrolled Graphic design school. Then, I have not been sure in which direction my artistic ideas will go, but it was clear that I knew what I wanted to do for a living in the future.I grew up in a family of doctors (PhD in Medical Science). Both of my parents have supported my ideas even though it clearly wasn’t connected in any way with their profession.As I said before in my teenage years I just felt it was the right life path for me. Since I had big support from my family and friends, it was easier to make this choice. But, even if that wasn’t the case, I think my choice would be no different. Although in my country, art is often considered anything but profession, I guess I was lucky to have supportive surrounding.

EGO: When and how art became a passion for you? Didi you grow up in a family especially interested in arts or maybe were some members of your family artists themselves? Was it obvious for you from the very beginning, very young, that you would be an artist?
IVAN: It wasn’t so easy at the beginning. When someone is trying to be different, there is a great chance for him or her to be totally misunderstood and even considered “weird” or “crazy”. For me, that was something I had to be prepared to deal with. My goal was not to be famous and accepted at any cost. I wanted to create something no one has ever seen before, almost like an invention. In art, it’s different. A lot of artists have been fully appreciated after long years of rejection, but I am capable of dealing with that.
I wanted to express myself artistically and photography seemed the best way to do it. It is dynamic and alive art field. I hate static things which come to terms with my nature. I always work on something new and expanding my knowledge and skills. Also, I couldn’t bare the thought to work on something for six months and then conclude it’s not something that I wanted. That is the best thing with photography; you see the product of your hard work after a very short period of time.

EGO: It is never easy to pass from school to theh professional life. How did it work for you? Did you meet people who pushed you or helped you in a certain way?
IVAN: For me there was no real transition between the school years and professional life. I started to explore Belgrade professional photography scene quite early, in order to prepare myself for the tough competition. When I enrolled Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade I have already had some professional work behind me. Since it wasn’t a common thing among my colleagues, it brought me nothing but trouble. I was expected to do more than others and constantly prove myself in front of the professors, who probably felt threatened by something that was hard to understand even for them. My work never fit into University “standards”.
Of course there were many supporters of my work and many of them did their best to make my professional path easier. There were also others who were not very supportive, if I can say so in the mildest possible way. Yet, that was something that only made me stronger and it had to make some kind of balance. Otherwise, I would have been in danger of becoming too self-assured which wasn’t good. There always has to be some criticism; you can’t expect everyone to like you, that would mean something is very wrong…

EGO: You work in different domains of photography: Erotic & Nude, Portraits, Theatre and Landscapes. Which is the one you prefer to work in? Which is the one representing you (your personality) the best? Which is the one you are the most comfortable to work in?
IVAN: I can’t say I prefer any specific domain in photography, since I approach to every topic with the same dedication and effort. It has been the greatest love of my life and I don’t treat it as work or a profession, but more as my lifestyle. What people will prefer from my work is up to them, but for me it would be very difficult to choose. Have you ever asked a mother who is her favorite child…
Domain that represents me the best is erotic & nude. I think I can fully express myself in this, because it takes a great deal of my time and effort. I built a rather recognizable style and in my opinion there is so much more it has to be said. I am only at the beginning stuffed with more and more ideas. That is something that represents my personality best. I am trying to be different, but not at any cost. Any of my photographs is saying something for itself, but also they have been put into a concept.
The most comfortable for me is to take pictures of landscapes. I have a lot of time to think about the frame and all this energy coming from nature itself. I feel as if I am only transferring this energy into the camera.

EGO: Where do you find inspiration?
IVAN: I find my inspiration everywhere. Since my country has been through everything that could possibly happen to one country, it’s enough only to observe people’s reactions to all that. Everyone has some emotion inside him and expresses it in so many ways. Sometimes I don’t know where to start from. Combine that with centuries of tradition and you will have the perfect source for anything you desire. I would like to take this opportunity to invite all the artists around the globe searching for inspiration to try here. You will be amazed with the things you can find.

EGO: You are young and talentuous. Your career started a few years ago and you are already known. Is it easy for you to manage this success?
IVAN: What is success anyway? I think that success is not a static period, it is something you build over the years and I hope my success has not yet came, it will eventually. How to handle it? Depends on every person’s energy and reflection it has on someone’s life. I try not to be bothered by it that much and have no doubt I will handle it in the best possible way to ensure further progress in my career. Someone’s work is never finished, there is always more, perfection can never be achieved, there is always something new, better than the previous and than better than that… That is the philosophy of my work, always trying to achieve more and be better than myself. I think I am my biggest competition.

EGO: How do you see your future? What's your dream? What would be the best for you?
IVAN: In the future I will give my best to represent my work abroad which is exactly I’ve done with this interview. In the close future I will put all my efforts to present my new cycle of works. It is called Flesh for Fantasy phase II and I hope Belgian public will be able to see it soon. The main difference from Flesh for Fantasy (both are from erotic & nude domain) is that I grew up as an artist and looked at it from a different angle.
My dream is like every artist’s dream, to work undisturbed with no things that I have to worry about and of course to leave some mark on the future generations. I would be happy that they learn from me (if I deserve that) and continue my work. That is the greatest prize for any artist.

EGO: If you had to choose another profession, which one would you choose?
IVAN: I am so in love with my work that there wouldn’t be any other profession I could possibly choose.