by Tamara Barbakadze
Georgian multimedia artist Konstantin Mindadze is currently exhibiting his work at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Tbilisi, plunging visitors into his dark and inquiring universe.
Mindadze studied at the Dutch Graphic Lyceum and Rietveld Academy and makes paintings, drawings, sculptures, videos, and multimedia installations. The themes recurrent in his work are many and include the “synthetic structure of the world, the biological reactions, lifecycle and death, love and loss, destruction and transformation”, and even religion and technologies.
The exhibition is an audio-visual installation in three environments. As soon as the audience enters the first room, they can feel the oppression. Heavy music plays, capturing the visitors and absorbing them in the new and disturbing reality. A sense of confusion is indeed at the heart of the artist’s project, born from a period of personal emotional devastation that eventually led the artist to question scientific theories and create this cosmic exhibition.
1. Tell me your name, who are you, and what you do? Tell me a bit about your childhood, where are you from, and where did you grow up?
- I was born here, in Georgia, and lived until 15 years, and then I moved to the Netherlands. That was the first hard year when you miss everything but do not quite know what, because you have not passed your conscious life yet and feel alone wishing to come back. Now I am here and want to go back there.
2. Why did you decide to become an artist, was it the impact of your parents? What was their reaction to your choice?
- Well, parents, maybe, there are some moments, when my mother returned to art (to be correctly started); But she is a scientist, and her impact was revealed in integration into my art, in an unconscious way and you don’t think it is your inspiration. That’s very concrete to me. Scientists can’t do this but I, as an artist integrate all of these into art and totally transform.
3. But why there are lots of collaborations between art and science?
- I have numerous questions for scientists, getting them annoyed especially physicians. That is what made me comfortable with the ability to translate it in my sightseeing and say what I meant. I read a lot, researched my grandpa’s archive, find things, or some medical literature, saw and felt from other sides, and make it visual but not straight lustration, very important things. Now I want to work on the eye anatomy or the human brain. But I need some scientists behind me to find out and overflow the material.
4. What was your childhood like?
- I always had that freedom of choice; Nobody imposed it on me; vice versa, I thought I’d choose medicine as my future profession, I was grown with it, I watched it since my grandpa’s research and practices, and later, my mother. Till the end, I was sure I’d prefer it. Though I always try myself in art but had no plans at all and soon appeared in Art Academy; saying “oh, where am I?” But even being a student of Art Academy, you’re not sure you are an artist. I just have no idea.
Yes, I always make something but I am never pleased with myself. I think the feeling of satisfaction is a disease. It can’t be in art. I repeat, but I am never satisfied with myself in work, Always wish it could be better. If someone feels pleased with himself, he is an idiot. Fix well – IDIOT.
5. Why Art? I mean the precedent?
- There are many artists destroying their works; some stress-causing stages; afterward deconstruction; and reset everything and start over. The process is hard, you feel sorry for everything you made, and second, you are afraid; when I made my first installation in 2008 I thought I could never make multimedia, I was not enough for it. Imagine, you are a director; you can’t do anything, and depend on very well-chosen assistants, is that technical or other? Each medium is important. And show what you say. Though, the technical side goes in the background when the main thing is still an idea. After there is a depreciation of all hyper ideas you learned at the Art Academy, stamped and academic (no matter how much). But you have to pass on it. Destroy everything and start over from ground zero. And I came to this, threw away everything I’ve made at the Art Academy and that was my work of art. As I mentioned above, many artists made this in their mediums, they tear, burn, and throw their first stages like bird Phoenix. I think this transformation is that art and each makes it in their way. That was the first, I did in the ’90s when came to this myself, not imitating others. It is always visible in art; performance art is obvious when it is fake or real.
I cannot mention how much I respect Paul McCarthy. It is rare that I loved an artist that much, but his the most real and strong artist because he’s not fake, unlike Marina Abramovich. That is as much obvious, you do not need to be an art critic. Stretched exhibitionism. No matter how someone vomited in his gallery, he came to this with all his essence, he felt it, and it was not planned beforehand. And look at Abramovich. What has she done yesterday, and not 30 years ago? I really do not remember what I’ve done 25 years ago.
7. How do you work?
- Everything changes with small corrections in the process from project to project. Try to study something new, I love it, no staying in one place. If not, I’ll hire a scientist. That’s the process. Though everything changes. In painting nobody helped me; I wanted to paint 10 pieces at once, but I don’t have 20 hands but you are in a hurry to do what planned.
8. How has your practice changed over time?
- You know, make, and admit your mistakes. The studio is the place where all that magic happens, experiments building your process. Overcome financial crises over the years. That makes you an artist. Do what you want instead of bringing money. Total egoism.
9. John Waters once used the expression, “the curse of fame.” It’s impossible not to have your audience see one set of works through the lens of the other. Do you think so?
- Everything comes from something other, cinema, music, other artists but you can’t imitate and do the same, you can only transform. Basically, Dadaism is the only one that is progressing. Same as with music, if you ask Billy Corgan about his inspiration and he said –from The Beatles, but in fact, you can’t see any similarities. And the same with visuals, you start imitating somebody, even if it is disgusting, better than having been memorized at the Art Academy. You must go forward and deconstruct your work, say “f**k off”, and then you are a genius. I can’t get why the old generation of artists could criticize newcomers. If some 25-year-old student deconstructs me, I’d say BRAVO. Who lives with it, he’s failed. Who transforms, goes upwards. That’s normal.
11. Three years ago you had a solo project “Life – forms 2 – Deviations”, now you made “Matters of Dark and Irresistible (AV installation in 3 environments)”, what is next?
- I’ve got several priorities. Three projects together. You never say how much time you need, but for the last one, I spent three years. Although, one year is always enough. It did not depend on me. I did not think in advance, but it could be interesting. The main thing is what you do and how, as to Where? That is commerce. It is fine in a serious gallery, but again it is commerce. But the work of art won’t change. It can’t be the same with the guy who’s almost pissed off with delight if someone famous likes his post. This is blindness; self-proclaimed idiots; bestial thinking; provincialism with a bad concept.
12. What themes do you pursue?
- It varies a lot. But local topics are not much, mostly religion from a scientific view. Though today’s religious institutions have nothing in common with belief. I remember my video art with the wolf’s head thrown at the cross, etc. Here religion is politics. Worse than the Spanish inquisition. Unfortunately, we live in it. And you can’t underline it. I work in visual art and can transform it into animation or sculpture. We live in Orwell’s “1984”.Fundamentalism is fascism.
13. What is your scariest experience?
- There are several of them, I can’t choose one.
14. What’s your favorite project?
- I do not have favorites. I love the one I work on it at the moment. As soon as I choose favorites, I stop being an artist. You cannot be a captive of your own creation, even if you made it yesterday. This is unacceptable how some pseudo-artists are agitated by their own project. You have to jump over yourself. Without it, everything is a solid decoration. This is not a technique, but emotional feelings. That is the difference between bad artwork from good. It won’t get you artifacts, it is fake.
15. What work of art do you wish you owned?
- Nobodies. Even if I love a particular one that is, his impression, those are mine. For example, if NIN repeats everything that he did in the 90s, there will be nothing. Anyway, you decide what will come out of your studio. Megalomania is a chronic disease.
16. What do you think of the future? Are you afraid of it?
- No matter how terrible it is, I can't be afraid. I'm working on what scares me the most. I always hated the phrase “I want to live forever”. You know, 90 % of our life is death.
17 . What was the most pleasant assessment you heard about your work? From whom?
- I did not know as a child that I would deal with art. I graduated from the Art Academy so I didn’t know that I would go further. But when some kind of new notion, the journalist asks "where is the exhibition" while the art is right in front of her. This is wrong.
First I show my work to my son. If he thinks it’s playful that means it is cool and you make art of the future. Childmind is limitless.
18. Standard question, what music do you admire? What is your inspiration?
- Norden ambient, LoSki, Aphex Twin. I explain. When you stand for 12 -14 hours in one position and your intellect does not publish any artifacts, you only care about one thing, do not spoil your work, it's like a living instinct, you need to listen to something non-stop and this is the music that fits better.
19. What do you dislike about the art world?
- Commercial factors and hard-to-reach gallery owners. So it affects you so much that the factor of anger turns you into an artist even better. That is a serious problem, a huge stagnation. Many artists have spoiled their work.
These commercial successes allow you to create something that you only dreamed of and move further than sketches.
But it is a pity that this is not happening in your country. All feel sorry for the kind word. In any case, I will do my job without them, but it’s so nice to talk about art and note some details. Here it is tight with it. This does not happen. Again, this is provincialism.
20. Should Art be funded?
- Depends on the country, for example, America is not needed, and in Europe, there are lots of funds. Tell you this, neither artist is a scorer and is very difficult. All these applications are from question-like ones – “what benefits will your exhibition bring?” How should I know? You do not want to do something. And the state has lots of such forms. It is a full administrative formality. They do not know what a curator is. They do not know their obligations. Local artists know what I'm talking about; everyone is going through the same thing. This is an insult to the artist.
21. Some time ago Nan Goldin’s protested at the Guggenheim and Met against the institutions continuing acceptance of donations from the Sackler Family. What do you think about this?
- That’s the moment when the decision is made by the artist. We are dependent on Art Fairs when at the Art Fair in Dubai they asked me to change the story twice to get sponsorship. And you have to agree because you are limited in time, you can’t wait for the next 5 years again and again. You make a commercial project in a year and for the next two years do not pay debts.
You can’t explain to the clerk what and why are you doing. You are his product, and he sells you. I do not how, but how does it? And at the moment you’re not belonging to yourself. But you can’t make simple or great ideas from nothing. Some of them need full production, others minimal. But you can’t plan everything beforehand. When you’re making sketches you are making a list of cement, the skeleton of the plan, and the costs of material, all those things are easy in other countries, but here we live in a paradoxical country.
22. What’s your dream project, the one you plan for the future for years and instead do others?
- I always try to make everything at once, especially public art, art in the open air, and sculpture, but it is expensive. And you have to make sponsored projects. The factor of sponsorship is decisive in such cases; it makes it difficult to work on projects of this scale and you lose to have a lot of time; by itself does not hatch.
23. Name three or five artists you’d like to collaborate with?
- First, I already plan to collaborate with one Astro–physician on a huge multimedia project about the human brain; working with musicians, and making sound reeds, is very important to me, for example, Thornike Gvelesiani (last project), or Robert Tylutki, made two sound reeds with his own section, Brian Eno, unfortunately, Lou Reed is no longer alive, and Basquiat.
24. What are our favorite places?
- Since 1992 . . . when for 27 years you are tied to Amsterdam but it never becomes your city what can you say? Perhaps, that can be only NY. I had to live in NYC two times for 2 months each, Chelsey and Soho. I would like to live there. It was a pity to return only, moving from it. I’d live there but not in the center; I love solitude, but not very far from it.
You cannot become prey for the victim. You need to take what you need and that’s all. You need to live changes, while sponsors are asking for you to decide your thoughts and only then return because you are a commercial project for him.
25. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
- There was much important and influential advice. You’d better pass at an early age, through your depression; otherwise, you will not go any further. There were moments when I was too young for it and I fell into depression, but without this, it is not possible to approach multimedia.
You just have to stand up above your work, you won’t feel this as a student, and you will not understand even theoretically. It depends on your ego, will you survive? Then you will practice it; if not, then the end. Sometimes it ends fatally. Painfully react to criticism, and so. Likes vs. dislikes, friendships vs. enmity. Especially in Georgia, only local artists understand it.
26. How do you know when a work is finished?
- Only animal instinct and scent.
27. What is your most important artist tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
- Mosquito net. I do not have a specific tool. Perhaps the sound of music
28. What’s the show or movie that surprised you? Why?
- All the Kubrick movies, I may select “Space Odyssey”; for some David Lynch movies, when many people had no idea, when in the red room “into the nothingness” moment from “Eraserhead” begins, the first 15 minutes.
29. Do you collect anything?
- No.
30. What was the first artwork you ever sold?
- In 2002, in Amsterdam, there was an exhibition at the House of Artists, and one writer bought it for 1500 Euros. He previously worked at Phillips. Many people cannot change, but he could. Since then he bought about a dozen of my artworks.
31. What’s the weirdest thing you ever saw happen in a museum or gallery?
- I become a fan of what annoys me. For example, Charlie Manson, and Paul McCartney, blew my head and spoiled my blood, but now I consider them to be the best performance artists.
For example, Henry Matisse, I did not like him before. Redefinition happens in you. this is a good irritation.
32. Name your favorite museum or gallery?
- It makes no sense to name museums or galleries, better name artists. Olafur Eliasson is a very interesting land artist, he has a scientific approach to art, he’s commercial part does not exceed Art.
33. What’s the last great book you read?
- S. Hawking “A Brief History Of Time”, “Brief Answers to the Big Questions”, lately I bought in Tbilisi for 3 laris (Gel-Georgian Lari) “Rembrandt’s Drawings’, I reread Albert Camus’ books several times. Only one is enough to reread a dozen others, or those that you haven’t read and made you accept otherwise
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