"Break Out," senior thesis exhibition
RoCo Upstairs, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester NY
During his talk in Syracuse this April, Neil Gaiman addressed a question he, as a masterful storyteller, is often asked: Where do your ideas come from? The audience probably expected the answer to be black magic or sacrifice of small animals on the Altar of Art. He gave a brief and very honest response. Maybe even disappointing in its simplicity. “Every person has ideas.” He assured us, his fans, that each of us has the capacity to see the world and its richness -- but it is writers, and artists in general, who register, question, and (re)model that which they perceive. In other words, artists are the ones who observe, and then lend their observations to others, in the process becoming the reciprocal objects of observation.
I am Malena. I am a writer, an artist, a person, a woman, a child, a Serb, a cosmopolitan, and so much more -- the order is not important. With “Break Out”, I am trying to come to terms with all aspects of my self. I am trying to break out of old patterns and habits of self-criticism, belittling and scolding; I am trying to find a common ground (or wall) where all of these Malenas can exist. Stepping way out of my comfort zone, which indeed is a very small realm, I am luring these selves out of the fog and shades of my mind. I find and define their form, name them, display them to the world to see, and only then I accept them back.
These paintings represent, and are a necessary part of a very personal journey. A journey to understanding that I am an artist, and that I am worthy of being both the observer and the observed.
May 2014
I am Malena. I am a writer, an artist, a person, a woman, a child, a Serb, a cosmopolitan, and so much more -- the order is not important. With “Break Out”, I am trying to come to terms with all aspects of my self. I am trying to break out of old patterns and habits of self-criticism, belittling and scolding; I am trying to find a common ground (or wall) where all of these Malenas can exist. Stepping way out of my comfort zone, which indeed is a very small realm, I am luring these selves out of the fog and shades of my mind. I find and define their form, name them, display them to the world to see, and only then I accept them back.
These paintings represent, and are a necessary part of a very personal journey. A journey to understanding that I am an artist, and that I am worthy of being both the observer and the observed.
May 2014