renouncing sculpture either. I thought I thought I could become like
a renaissance man and work on film, sculpture, art history, different
areas. I was deep into cinema; I even worked as assistant director on
the film “Vincent of Kastva”. I also did some editing. I was offered to
become the assistant to one of our most important editors, Vuksan
Lukovac. Editing was my first interest, besides art. My collaboration
with Lukovac was really great and it was then that I met some of the
most avant-garde directors of the moment. It was the time of FEST,
Film Forum at SCK, Short film (Kratki metar) and the publishing activity of the Film Institute. I would read anything that had to do with
the cinema. It was normal to go to the movies daily.
Professor Trifunovic bought a sculpture of yours as you were on
your post-graduate studies?
Once I went to Lazar Trifunovic, that was my mentor, to consult with him for the bibliography for my post-graduate studies, and
we continued our conversation even after the visiting hours. As I
was leaving his office, he asked where I was directed. I told him I
was going to Cvijeta (gallery) to pick up some sculptures that they refused for the exhibition. He proposed to come along, because he
had to meet with Sreta Bosnjak there. We left the faculty and we
made our way to Kalemegdan. In those days, according to the exhibition jury, I was doing “outsider” works and so they refused me.
The work that was refused were the shoes plastered with newspapers. Laza, laughing, asked Zoran Pavlovic who were the members of
the jury. Zoran replied that “it was their decision”. Laza just made a
gesture with his hand as if to say “who cares for them”. It was my
second sculpture he had seen. The first one he saw at the Youth Biennale in Rijeka. He turned to me and said: “Tsar – that how he
called me – this is a great sculpture. I’d like to buy it.” I wasn’t even
thinking of selling at the time. I was more used to being refused than
exhibited, so I was thrilled he loved it and I wanted to offer it to him
as a gift. But he refused it saying that if I was to give away my sculptures at all times, I would have never become a professional artist.
He told me to think about a price, and to take the sculpture to the
faculty. So I did it. After a while, I went for some reason to the Secretary’s office. The Secretary, Zorica, asked me what took me so long
and that professor Trifunovic had left me an envelope. I thought he
had left me a note with the bibliography, but I found money inside.
And it was a lot of money for the time. The amount he gave me was
a quite realistic and honest price for an artist of my age.
Structure, 1974
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