23:59, DETAIL

George Robescu
Jan 13, 2014 12:09AM

Radu Cioca / 31 / Cluj / Artist

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How do you wish to die?

It is said you will die the same way you lived. So ask me how do I wish to live.

What’s the last show that you saw?

oeconomy, an already tumultuous landscape where phantasms cross“, Oberwelt Gallery, Stuttgart

Describe a typical day in your life as an artist.

Studio work with backround music.

What’s the most indispensable item in your studio?

The key.

Where are you finding ideas for your work these days?

It’s a constant flow. From little unnoticeable details to things that forcibly change my every day life.

Do you collect anything?

Memories.

What is your karaoke song?

Don’t have one.

What’s the last artwork you purchased?

A drawing from my 3 years old daughter.

What’s the last great book you read?

I find it difficult to answer. Maybe because they weren’t that great.

What work of art do you wish you owned?

The Garden of Earthly Delight“ by Hieronymus Bosch.

What (under-appreciated) artist do you think people should know about?

I don’t want to give names – some of my colleagues will hate me.

What are your hobbies?

Music & traveling.

What is your present state of mind?

Tired but anxious for more.

Look at your watch. What time is it?

23 : 59

What turns you off?

Whaitng after others.

How about pleasure?

Completing projects.

Explain what you do in +/- 100 words

I seek awareness.

What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?

Watching a Bosch album while listening to a Pink Floyd vinyl in my father’s room.

What jobs have you done other than being an artist?

Being an artist is not a job.

What is your dream project?

I think only about what I can do, so I don’t have dreams, only plans.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.

Know any good jokes?

Jokes, no.

 What was your first work of art?

My childhood games.

Did they say you had natural talent in art school?

Yes.

What advice would you give to a young person who wants to become an artist?

You either are, or you’re not – you can’t force it.

Do you think the art world is dead?

Everybody writes, but only few are making literature.

Who do you think is the best business artist in the world?

I don’t care.

Do you think artists of the future will form companies or go public and sell stock?

Even if they will, it will be a suicidal move.

Do you ever think about politics?

You can’t escape politics, but I see it mainly as energy loss.

Do you think your work will go up in value when you’re gone?

I’m not going anywhere.

What time do you get up in the morning?

Somewhere aroud 9.

What do you do in the morning?

I  am thankful that I don’t have a job.

Are rich people different from poor people?

Not really, but I think it’s harder for the rich ones.

Do you ever feel like an imposter? Why? Why not?

Only right now.

Did you ever feel like giving up on art?

I tried for some years to change my attitude towards art, but turned out it’s not something you can control.

How do you feel when (if) you discover another artist who does something very similar to your own work?

I believe in this cloud of present ideas that are accessible for everyone, so sometimesI choose to let the similarities become something encouraging. And then I try something else.

Do you have the ambition to change things with your work (art, society, people)? Does it seem important to you?

It is important to take this in discussion as long as it is not just an ambition.

How many times did you break up with art?

In terms of practice – once – but not in spirit.

Do your works need explaining? Would you like everyone to understand them? Do you think it’s ok to have a target audience?

I think it is better to let an artwork explain other artwork. It’s a problem of patience.

Is nail art art?

No.

What would your super power be?

Creating something out of nothing is kind of a superpower.

What would you do to get it?

I’m doing it.

When were you happiest?

Yesterday

 What’s your favorite post-gallery bar?

Any.

Who’s your favorite living artist?

I tend to collect images of artworks, but I almost never focus on the artist.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

I don’t remember, so it wasn’t so embarrassing after all.

What is your favorite word?

Spirit.

What is the worst thing anyone’s said to you?

I try to forgive and forget.

What do you owe your parents?

Some kind of freedom.

What does love feel like?

Not being afraid of anything.

How do you relax?

I wash my brain with comedy.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

That there is a right time for everything.

Do you believe in progress?

Yes, but I am also attentive to the direction.

Would you under any conditions accept to show your works under anonymity?

Yes, I already did it.

Do you care about who buys your art? What kind of people, institutions? Would you refuse someone?

I would like to know them in order to get some sort of feedback, but in the end it’s important to let the works find their place.

 Do you like artist collectives?

Yes, but it’s energy consuming.

Does being an artist make you a better cook? A better lover? Does your work influence other aspects of your life?

Yes, at least you do things differently, but not always better.The work it’s time-consuming so there is really not much time left for more.

Do think it’s important to be self centered in order to succeed as an artist?

For me it is.

Would you prefer your art to be timeless or timely?

The timeless things start by being timely. So both.

What is the contemporary meaning of the death of art?

I feel that things start to lose substance. Everybody gets bored really quickly, so art it’s just another thing on that list.

Is Peaches more attractive than Mona Lisa?

Mona Lisa became so commercial that I developed repulsion to it.

Do you know who said “art is whatever gets you laid”?

A frustrated artist.

What’s your favorite art themed funny shirt?

Black on black.

Would you turn down dinner with Marina Abramović because you find her distinctly annoying?

No .

Did you ever look at an Arcimboldo painting and got hungry?

Never.

 Do you buy postcards at museum stores?

No. In order to keep a printed image, I need a story behind it.

What’s better: your art on a tote bag or on a notebook?

I don’t think it will get on neither.

Look or look at me?

Look out.

What rhymes with art? The Louvre or The Commune?

First one for a while.

Who in the art world deserves most to be punched in the face?

The buyers for speculating financial profit over a work of art.

What did you ever do to cure loneliness?

Never felt lonely.

You have 50 masterpieces of standing male marble nudes. What would you do with them?

I would search a place for display other than a museum.

What do you fear more: no reviews or bad reviews?

No reviews.

How much is too much for a painting?

As much as the artist decides.

I say catastrophe, you say..?

Butterfly.

 A can of kerosene is the answer. What was the question?

What is it that you don’t need?

Did you ever write a fan letter to Bryan Cranston? Why not?

Not the fan type.

What program do you use for pirating music?

 Pirated programs.

How did your gang initiation go?

A couple of drinks with friends.

What should burn first: Christie’s or the Parliament?

Neither or both.

Is there enough art for all the money?

Is there enough good art ?

For the love of god. Who would buy a diamond skull?

I have never thought about its monetary value, I stopped at being aware at its existence.

What art themed tattoo would you get?

+

Would it be better than a diamond skull?

Definitely.

 Did you think that was a happening?

No.

Seriously now. What’s the maximum time to spend in a museum?

Until you see all you need.

“Would the fact that Governor Rockefeller has not denounced President Nixon’s Indochina Policy be a reason for your not voting for him in November?”

Some other world for me.

When’s the last time you read the newspapers?

At the airport, to kill time.

What did you learn?

That nothing changed. But time was killed.

When can you go into the supermarket and buy what you need with your good looks? America is this correct? I saved Latin. What did you do?

Depends on what you need. A conversation?Sure.

Do you have social disease?

No.

What’s the outside of a gallery?

The artist studio/museum/collection.

What mechanism do you reproduce?

Comunication.

Can art be collective again?

Never stopped being collective.

How do you feel as a capitalist entrepreneur?

Money plays a second role – just means to an end.

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What is a curator?

The overseer.

What to do with the contemporary?

Wait a little. It’s changed now. Always new. Be real.

What is the public?

The rest.

What is an exhibition?

A pretext for discussion.

What about collecting?

Memories/experiences…

What is the future of art?

Life. If you whant to think positive.

What is the process?

Awareness.

What about responsability?

Can’t escape it.

What’s the first artwork you ever sold?

A watercolor – when I was ten years old.

What project are you working on now?

An installation called “I give you nothing”.

What’s the last show that surprised you? Why?

I can’t use the word “surprised” any more.

Do you make a living off your art?

Ask my wife.

What’s the weirdest thing you ever saw happen in a museum or gallery?

Hundreds of people forming a long line to see the Mona Lisa behind a green bulletproof glass, standing at three meters away; while on the other walls were several great paintings at hand, including Leonardo’s.

What’s your art-world bête noire?

I don’t take it that serious.

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do visit / his latest exhibition & current feature in “Hotspot Cluj”

courtesy / THE ARTIST & JECZA GALLERY

George Robescu