10 Questions with Stanko Gagrčin

Stanko Gagrčin is a multimedia artist from Serbia. In 2013 he graduated in Interior design from the high school for design "Bogdan Šuput" in Novi Sad. He got his Bachelor's degree in Scene Architecture, Design, and Technology at the Faculty of Technical Sciences of Novi Sad in 2017. He was an artist in residence at the Homesession gallery in the spring of 2018 in Barcelona, and attended the Experimental Film Course at the Berlin school filmArche in 2019. He is also the recipient of the 2022 Prince Claus Seed Award for emerging artists from Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Currently, he is a scene designer, assistant, and project manager at the Foundation Novi Sad European Capital of Culture 2022 and the Network of Cultural Station.

Stanko's work has been selected for publishing in the Collect Art 2022 magazine (June 2022, Tbilisi, Georgia). His video collages were sold at the No Concept Gallery's NFT Auction (March 2022, Belgrade, Serbia). After his first solo exhibition in 2019 in Cultural Center Grad (Belgrade, Serbia), he is scheduled to have his second solo exhibition at the Fine Art Gallery of the Cultural Center of Belgrade in June 2023.

www.stankogagrcin.com | @hajdukstankela

ARTIST STATEMENT

His formal education in high school has provided him with a strong basis for understanding all visual arts through an in-depth knowledge of art history and how diverse art practices throughout history have evolved into all that contemporary art is now and can be. Afterward, at the university, this basis was enriched by learning about dramatic arts and interdisciplinary artistic practices.

Although the process of creation is primarily intuitive for Stanko, this kind of theoretical grounding through formal education allows him to always reflexively return to his works and try to understand them through a broader historical and cultural context. This has influenced the diversity of media and artistic genres through which he has expressed himself and continues to work within and positions his work in a great plurality of aesthetics, sensibilities, and styles in the contemporary moment.

Stanko's experimental films can be seen as a hybrid fusion of different genre conventions and stylistic approaches. These works are at the crossroads of video art, documentary, and fiction films. In his virtual art installations, he explores the aesthetical possibilities of new media digital art. Throughout his body of work, he delves into the concepts of gender, ethnic and sexual identity as well as other socially and politically engaged themes.

Theresa’s Sons, Experimental Film, 2021 © Stanko Gagrčin

INTERVIEW

First of all, why are you an artist, and when did you decide to become one?

Ever since kindergarten, I was "that kid who draws well". So visual arts have always been something that somehow related to my sense of self, although more often than not - not a crucial self-defining feature. I was always amazed by the power of a beautiful space on the one hand, and on the other hand, the power of moving images to convey messages and feelings as well as reach a huge global audience, so I leaned towards those things throughout my education and later too.

What is your personal aim as an artist?

On the one hand, I love theory and, therefore, to consciously explore a certain medium of expression itself, see what are its unique qualities or limitations, which techniques are best for conveying a certain message, the special sensibility every creative decision (and a combination of decisions) bring(s). But on the other hand, I think it's also very important to stay in touch with an intuitive part of your being, to make something without thinking too much about why you're doing it and where it is going. Listen to yourself in the context of what topics, elements, and motives you want to deal with in your work without overanalyzing.

You studied Scene Architecture, Design, and Technology before turning to art. How did your practice evolve over the years? And how would you define yourself as an artist today?

Although officially it is an engineering degree, in reality, it was about theater history, architecture, and contemporary art. Coming from an art/design high school, I had a very solid basic understanding of design and the fine arts. So this, in combination with a university with a huge variety of courses from different disciplines (drama, visual, architecture, technology, etc.) has broadened my view of creative processes, art theories, and the relationship between society and individuals in general. Still, I felt like focusing on artistic skills in the technical sense was extremely lacking – which I think is crucial for good art: good execution. Not just what you want to do but also how exactly you do it. So, I dedicated my free time to learning a variety of skills – from video editing, post-processing, and shooting with a camera to 3D modeling programs and programs for making video games. This exploration of different digital media continues to this day, and it could be encompassed with the name "time-based media" –experimental films, video art, moving images, audio-video digital installations… Therefore, in order to keep it simple, I would call myself a multimedia artist.

You work with installations and experimental films. What are the aspects that you prefer about both techniques?

What they both have in common is the variety of elements that are a part of them: space, color, sound, materials, and textures – and I love the possibilities of combining all these into a singular entity. What makes (experimental) films different is the process of editing, which makes it a more linear experience, whereas with installations, it is more spatial and the dramaturgy of perceiving something more individual and fluid. Also, videos can be closer to the literal forms, words, texts, poetry, and storytelling and can include other people – both as co-authors or characters, symbols, etc. Another difference can be availability/distribution – it is much harder to "disseminate" a finished work when it is in the form of a video game software than when it is in the form of a video.

What is your creative process like? And how did you evolve this way of working?

I like starting from fragments that just "came to my mind" when I was doing something else. I would let the ideas "marinate" in my head for some time, and when they would become coherent enough, I would make it official with myself that it's a new project that I am going to do. If there are "holes" in the concept, I like to talk to my friends about it and maybe get a fresh angle, solution. Most often, the ideas would somehow be inextricably linked to the medium, and I think I never had the dilemma of "In which medium should this be?". Thinking about which people you will bring into the project is extremely important, because every person brings something completely different. Regardless if we are talking about a protagonist, sculptor, music producer, or costume designer, each person has their sensibility, style, and way of working that will tremendously affect the result. And after choosing co-authors, learning to communicate adequately with every new professional partner is a never-ending process in life.

36 Questions, Audio Video Installation, 2018 © Stanko Gagrčin

What are the main themes behind your work? And what messages do you want to convey?

Identity in the forms of ethnic, national, subcultural, sexual, and gender identities – and how all these relate to each other in the contemporary globalized context. I find it fascinating how these constructs are mostly taken for granted as these everlasting monumental "universal truths" when they are, in fact, recent inventions in the ways they are defined today. But, of course, at the same time, they represent a universal need for people to understand themselves in the context of a group, to nurture a sense of belonging to a group/tribe/herd – be it an internet subculture, ancient religion, or a separatist ethnic movement. We are social beings and always define ourselves in relation to others – sometimes in opposition to others, sometimes in synch.

What is the most challenging part of your work? And how do you confront these challenges?

Honestly, being financially stable is still very challenging. I am still trying to figure out this being-adult-on-the-capitalist-periphery-thing. Any tips are welcome!

Eastern Sin, Audio Video Installation, 2023 © Stanko Gagrčin

What do you think about the art community and market? And how did your perception change over the last years?

I'm unable to perceive it as one "whole", one "community". Every city and country have their specific ways of functioning. Internet (availability of open calls from around the world), social media (the potential to build your audience and showcase your work) and big European open calls (that encourage international cooperation) are huge factors from my perspective. I must admit I am not too familiar with how things function outside of Europe.

Did you participate in any online exhibitions or art fairs? And what are your thoughts on the increasing popularity of digital art and art exhibitions?

Yes, I have. One of my works was actually sold at an NFT auction in the No Concept gallery in Belgrade, Serbia. I think blockchain technologies and NFT really disrupted some traditional ways of viewing and perceiving art. And I think they democratized it, because for a moment, it seemed like artists from all around the world could have a shot at becoming recognized and earning money, not just those in big global art centers. But the overproduction of illustrated monkeys has shown why the role of curation is important. It should be, if anything, educational. Or is this too elitist to say? I'm still trying to figure out what it means that the prevailing taste in the NFT world was so miles away from what can be seen in the fine art world.
As for AI-generated art, I am absolutely loving it and its possibilities. The argument that it steals from artists for me doesn't work as any visual artist had to "steal" from millions of other artists while learning to draw, paint, etc. We have thousands of years of continuity of art history. Today's styles that are used didn't just come out of nowhere.

And lastly, what are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

Currently, I am finishing a new interactive audio-video installation. It is in the form of a video game in the sense that it is an interactive digital environment, but narrative-wise it is based on a 1920 drama, "Eastern Sin". I recontextualized the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven to a contemporary Balkan context. It explores how our popular music reflects the influences of both Western/American pop culture and influences from the East – Turkish, Arabic elements, etc. and what this all means for a culture that defines itself as Christian. This project was co-funded by the City Council for Culture of Novi Sad. Can't wait to start distributing this work both online and in galleries and cultural centers!

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