Miloje Demiresković Negotinski

 

Miloje Demiresković Negotinski, (1962 Belgrade), graphic designer, painter and writer. He completed applied art in Nis and a journalism school in Belgrade. He has exhibited his paintings ten times on his own and many times in group exhibitions. He has worked as a graphic designer and graphic editor for books and magazines for 35 years. He works as a writer at the same time. He has published a novel Iron Blood and many stories and poems in periodicals. He lives and works in Negotin.

INTERVIEW WITH MILOJE DEMIRESKOVIĆ NEGOTINSKI BY THE EDITOR

D. T. Miloje, you are a writer, poet, painter and visual and technical editor of „The Buktinja“ journal. Please tell us how you see today's literary, artistic and cultural Serbian scene. Is the "life" of culture in focus? What is the audience and in what number?

M. D.  The position of culture today is the same as it has always been. A smaller number of the population needs a real culture and the rest are consumers of the subculture. In addition, the culture itself is divided into classical and avant-garde. The cultural scene in Serbia is at a high level, primarily thanks to the continuity in the culture itself, but also to the availability of information that has long been a problem. If we look back through history, we will not find that the culture was in a better position. The second thing is whether it was of better quality but was never more accessible to consumers and artists could never be more easily exposed.

D. T. How much are you present on social media? What is your opinion on it?

M. D. It is a well-established thesis that social media leads a person to alienation and a kind of autism, giving a virtual life instead of a real one. Of course, there is that, but every thing has its downside. Personally, I think social media is a great thing, especially for creative people and for culture in general. The phenomenon of social media is a personal audience that every creator has. It is also good that the creator is in direct contact with the audience, without intermediaries and that the audience makes the choice and makes the judgment. Someone will say that in this way everything can pass as a culture because it has an audience, but I would disagree with that because criticism has a significant share on social media. In principle, relationships on social media are clear and fair because everyone does and presents what they have, creators of their own works, criticism of their position, and the audience makes a final judgment.

D. T. Tell us about your hometown, the town of Negotin. How do fellow citizens look at you and whether you have their support. Are there any international character events where you bring together writers and artists?

M. D. I must first mention for those who do not know that my town is a small one. Yet it is specific in that it is a kind of nursery for artists of all kinds, scholars and other public figures distributed around the world. Negotin is something like Renaissance cities in medieval Italy. This is where people grow up with culture. Because of all these circumstances, Negotin does not readily accept its creators. They need to prove themselves first outside the town or country. I was honored to receive one significant award from the town's Multimedia Arts Institution, and I'm proud of that. In terms of cultural events, there are three music festivals with a long tradition that are international. Two of them have both a visual and a literary part of the program. There is an art colony on an annual basis. In addition to the official state institutions in the town, there are several independent cultural associations that are supported by the Serbian Ministry of Culture. We have three town publishing houses that publish literary and scholarly works by local and other authors, and there are several other independent publishers. What unites all the cultural stakeholders of this town is the level below which one does not go and that is good.

D. T. Being versatile, writing and painting, can you say who prevails in you: a writer, poet, or painter? 

M. D. That's one of the common questions they ask me. Since I am a visual artist, painter and graphic designer by education, this is how I present myself by inertia. Still, I wouldn't know what to prefer because everything I do is natural and spontaneous. Some emotions are better expressed as a painter and others as a writer. As a writer, they discovered me a little later, so I might prefer this as something unexpected and successful. I have to say that I approach different arts differently. I am fast and expressive in painting and this process takes a short and explosive time. In literature, in addition to writing short stories, I also work thoroughly with preparation. These are two completely different ways of expressing them and I both need them equally.

D. T. 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Austrian writer Peter

Handke. Do you think the award went right? To whom, if you could, give this award next year?

M. D. Rewards are, in my opinion,  superfluous but enjoyable things for a creator. They serve to acknowledge and confirm that you have done good things in life. It's another matter of who and why they award those awards. The real reward for every artist is time, or eternity if possible. I don't think anyone is involved in the arts with the goal of winning an award. As far as the Nobel Prize is concerned, I think it is quite politicized and thus quite devastating. In any case, I am not a good interlocutor on the topic of awards.

D. T. What are your favorite painters, poets and writers? Which one do you most admire?

M. D. Art would not be at this level if it were not for continuity and eclecticism. Everyone who creates something relies on one's work and it's good and valuable. In my youth, as a painter, I was guided by the Paris School, Chagall, Modilian, Vlamenco and expressionists in general. Later, as time went on, I increasingly rejected figuration and embraced the experiences of abstract artists such as Kandinsky or Pollock, and today I find that degree of abstract art to be the pinnacle and essence of painting. As for literature, I can safely say that I was initiated by Bukowski, but I quickly left him. Markes was someone who left a deep mark on my style, but on the other hand, I simultaneously was influenced by Ivo Andric and Bora Stankovic. The next one that finally formed my writing style is Orhan Pamuk. It is important who influenced your craft but more importantly get rid of them all and go your own way.

D. T. What are you currently working on? How are you while creating, what is your behavior then?

M. D. I am just finishing a story collection that has been waiting for that last story for a year. After that I continue the novel which is half done. Then when I want change I fill the canvas that is always on the rack. Of course I do graphic design everyday for a living. It is an interesting question how I feel and what I do while creating . That part of my life is deeply intimate and I rarely share it with anyone. Then when emotions are piling up I like to be alone with myself and it mostly happens at night. By the way, I'm not good company at that creative time. After the creative act is over, I feel cathartic and relieved to embark on a new creative period.

D. T. What is the secret of harmony between body and psyche? Can you give our readers some advice for inner peace and harmony?

M.D. It is my opinion that the body and the psyche appear to be connected and that the general condition depends primarily on the psyche and internal control. It is in the nature of humans to set high, often unattainable goals for themselves. This is good on the one hand, but it can create imbalance in every way. The primary reason for a human disaster is the difference between goals and opportunities. If this difference is greater, the human being will be increasingly miserable. If goals and opportunities align and adapt, it will be the pinnacle of life control and a basic requirement for happiness. I am sure that the paradigms of a consumer society that is in constant and senseless tension should not be enslaved. Life is to be seen by spiritual sight.