You graduated in 1980. and you started working at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 1986. What did you do in the
meanwhile?
I worked at the Academy of Sciences and at the City Library.
At the Academy of Sciences, I worked for about two years as a curator (custos). As a freelance. There were also Gordana Harasic, Stasa
Zivkovic, Marija Cvetkovic… At the SANU (Serbian Academy of Arts
and Sciences) Gallery they applied the program of the Academy of
Sciences and rarely an exhibition was of my interest. I remember in
particular my collaboration with Nikola Pantic for the exhibition on
Milutin Milankovic. Another important exhibition I worked on was
the one of Mica Popovic. At those times, I was a friend both with
him and with Pedja Neskovic, because they were sharing the studio.
With Pedja, we were already friends, but I didn’t know Mica before
my work at the Academy. It is quite interesting how I met Pedja
Neskovic. Pedja Neskovic had an exhibition at the MSU Salon (Salon
of the Contemporary Art Museum). It was in the early ‘80’s, I had
just graduated. I went to the exhibition in company of Lazar Trifunovic. Laza and I used to make long walks, at the Kalemegdan or
Tasmajdan. So we went to the Pedja’s exhibition also. Lasa introduces us: “This is Predrag Caranovic, this is Predrag Neskovic. For
God’s sake, all that is worthy in this town is called Predrag!” This
made me high by three lengths. At the Academy, I learned a great
deal also form Mica Popovic and Stojan Celic. They all protected me
a lot, even Mladen Srbinovic, and above them all, Stanojlo Rajcic.
And then after?
Without title, 1978
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Then I worked as a photographer at the Gallery of the Academy. I would photograph the Monday and Thursday concerts. That
was the most beautiful and careless period of my life. It lasted for
some two-three years. Not long time ago, I found hundreds of negatives of those concerts. Maybe I should make an exhibition about
the artists that played at the Academy of Sciences. I photographed
then what was most probably the first concert of Stefan Milenkovic,
then also of Tasovac. All the most important piano players had concerts there. All the Russian artists. Russians were featured often in
those days. The USSR was about to collapse and they would come
here, got married, and made a living… It was a good place, for as
long as Stanojlo Rajcic was in charge. He appreciated me as a good
photographer.