SlovoKult::Literatur Berlin ::
Spezial
Elizabeta Lindner: Let us celebrate the avant-garde while it is alive.
Elizabeta Lindner Kostadinovska has lived in Berlin for a decade now, and for the last fifteen years, in Germany. She is a translator, translating from German into Macedonian, she also translates and writes poetry in German and devotes her free time to visual arts.
She has collaborated with Igor Isakovski and “Blesok” since 2008, where she has had 15 of her translations published. In Berlin, she is working on promoting Macedonian authors through Slovokult: www.slovokult.de a literature portal, which became a publishing house in 2015 (SlovoKult:Literatur Berlin) and recently, she‘s become the editor of the portal in Macedonian www.slovokult.eu.
At this year’s edition of the “Paratissima Skopje #3” festival (10-12. June) in the Youth Cultural Center in Skopje, her work, a triptych called State of Art, will be exhibited. The visitors of the BOSH festival in Gevgelija will also be able to see it. Elizabeta shows the relationship between art and politics through the triptych, as a reaction to the marginalization of quality and favouring trash, all of it for the purposes of political goals.
-The translation of the English title into German and Macedonian is more of a game of signs and words- Sta/a/t/t der Kunst - in order to keep the double meaning of the English word State-says Lindner-Kostadinovska.
I finished the work in 2015. It’s a collage that I worked on for a long time. The making of it lasted longer since I’m occupied with a few projects at the same time. I mostly work on literary translations, occasionally I work on my own texts, and when I want to get away from the text, I find sanctuary in visual arts-she says.
Elizabeta has been drawing since childhood, but only recently has it found its way to public exposure.
-I used to draw all the time, but I never thought that these creations of mine should be exhibited, I kept them for myself. When the drawing became a collage as a way of artistic expression, it asked for big formats, so this and some other circumstances spontaneously evoked the urge to present it publically. The first work in a big format was a collage dedicated to Igor Isakovski. I started working on it a day before his death, and I finished it on 27th December.
-December is a depressive month for me. I can’t stand the chaotic and bedazzling atmosphere of Christmas. That exaggerated euphoria makes me depressive. In 2014 I wasn’t engaged in any literary translations, so I took some time for myself and my works. On December 14th I started selecting the pictures for the collage, I prepared a cardboard as a basis and I started working on it. On the 15th the base was outlined, and on the 16th December I was shocked by the news about the death of my publisher and friend Igor Isakovski. That was one of the most horrible and difficult days, and even a year and a half later I still feel burdened by it. In these moments of deep grief when I looked closely at the collage in progress I realized that the main motif that I had chosen was death. I immediately decided to dedicate it to Igor Isakovski. As I was working on the collage, at the same time I was somehow processing my grief.
Since 2014 up to the present, I have published my texts in two issues of Prolog-an independent magazine for art and text from Berlin, that is published 3-4 times a year, and whose issues are presented at a few multimedia events. My works were exhibited in two of these presentations (No. 13 and 15), first Vanitas (dedicated to Igor Isakovski) for which I e-mailed them a photo and told them that it would mean a lot if the work was suitable for the exhibition, and they liked the collage. At this event, held at the end of January, 2015, I read some of my experimental poems and two poems by Igor Isakovski, which I had translated into German. The people had the chance to hear the German translations of “Death has seaweed hair” and “Fuck you, Isakovski”. Of course, I read them with a lot of emotions and energy since his poetry remains powerful and resounding even after his death. It went well. That was the first presentation of my work and an opportunity for me to honour Igor all the way from Berlin-reveals Lindner-Kostadinovska.
Later, for the presentation of Prolog No. 15, she exhibited her work that will be exhibited at “Paratissima” and “BOSH” festival. This is how the creation of State of Art happened:
-The work is a combination of picture clippings, photos, drawings and acrylic moves. When the collage is finished, I add text-there’s no escaping from the text-made of previously clipped words that I glue in a certain order. It has the form of a poem and it always has a story. It is always connected to the visual part of the collage. The text comes spontaneously, just like the pictures. The whole work is a result of a normal process of creative-intuitive combining-she says.
It is interesting that most of the text that makes the story in the work of Lindner-Kostadinovska consists of words that she cut from the book “Harry Potter”.
-I bought the first book from the trilogy for some 2-3 euros in order to use it for this, and also for some other works. It was a book in big print and I immediately knew that that was where I would choose the words from to complete the story-reveals the author.
-The triptych was inspired by an exhibition of the Latvian-Soviet artist Gustav Klutsis that I saw in Riga. I was intrigued by his works and his personal story. First he was part of the avant-garde, and then he started making posters for political propaganda. In the end he was secretly killed by that same political party. Here one can see the hypocrisy of the system-says Lindner-Kostadinovska, who adds that she is happy that the triptych will be presented during this period of protests in Macedonia.
-The triptych started with a picture of a bomb, cut from a newspaper and was complemented with pictures by Klutsis, his avant-garde and politically engaged works, from which I use photos. They are repeated in the collage. I also inserted exhibition invitations-one of them has a critical background since it is an exhibition invitation to a work of art in the house of the President of Austria. The entire works aims to show the connection between art and politics, or the (in)dependence that is created. The most interesting artists are always poor and fight to make ends meet in order to be able to create. Most of them are not understood because they criticize and are ahead of their time, and usually send messages through their works that are not appreciated by the ones that are supposed to support art. The state shouldn’t leave artist at the verge of existence, and later celebrate them as artistic heavyweights. Everywhere in the world, millions are spent on the work of artists, although most of them are boring and mediocre, while the ones whose voice should be heard, are left at the margins. These artists will be celebrated by their countries posthumously-like, for example, the Austrian Tomas Bernhard, who I translated into Macedonian, as well as all the other members of the avant-garde in all segments of art and from all periods.
I collect and keep the material for the collage, all these photos, invitations, magazines, leaflets,
and when I decide to create, I spontaneously go through them and choose-later in the process I add other elements to make the story that I want to tell with the collage complete-says Lindner-Kostadinovska.
In the creation of her works she also uses leaflets from the “Volksbühne“ Theatre in Berlin. Its logo has an important place in the collages since the beginning (2012), and it is interesting that now this theatre holds debates about the end of democracy with fierce criticism to capitalism, in which people like Slavoj Zizek, Srecko Horvat, and at one of them via video conference, Julian Assange, have taken part.
She worked on the triptych for nine months (with long breaks), and what was planned to be one collage became three in the end.
Svetlana K. Simonovska
Translated from Macedonian: Dolores Atanasova – Lori
http://paratissimaskopje.mk
Bosh Festival
http://boshfest.com
Prolog
http://prolog-zeichnung-und-text.de/blog/
Elizabeta Lindner Kostadinovska has lived in Berlin for a decade now, and for the last fifteen years, in Germany. She is a translator, translating from German into Macedonian, she also translates and writes poetry in German and devotes her free time to visual arts.
She has collaborated with Igor Isakovski and “Blesok” since 2008, where she has had 15 of her translations published. In Berlin, she is working on promoting Macedonian authors through Slovokult: www.slovokult.de a literature portal, which became a publishing house in 2015 (SlovoKult:Literatur Berlin) and recently, she‘s become the editor of the portal in Macedonian www.slovokult.eu.
At this year’s edition of the “Paratissima Skopje #3” festival (10-12. June) in the Youth Cultural Center in Skopje, her work, a triptych called State of Art, will be exhibited. The visitors of the BOSH festival in Gevgelija will also be able to see it. Elizabeta shows the relationship between art and politics through the triptych, as a reaction to the marginalization of quality and favouring trash, all of it for the purposes of political goals.
-The translation of the English title into German and Macedonian is more of a game of signs and words- Sta/a/t/t der Kunst - in order to keep the double meaning of the English word State-says Lindner-Kostadinovska.
I finished the work in 2015. It’s a collage that I worked on for a long time. The making of it lasted longer since I’m occupied with a few projects at the same time. I mostly work on literary translations, occasionally I work on my own texts, and when I want to get away from the text, I find sanctuary in visual arts-she says.
Elizabeta has been drawing since childhood, but only recently has it found its way to public exposure.
-I used to draw all the time, but I never thought that these creations of mine should be exhibited, I kept them for myself. When the drawing became a collage as a way of artistic expression, it asked for big formats, so this and some other circumstances spontaneously evoked the urge to present it publically. The first work in a big format was a collage dedicated to Igor Isakovski. I started working on it a day before his death, and I finished it on 27th December.
-December is a depressive month for me. I can’t stand the chaotic and bedazzling atmosphere of Christmas. That exaggerated euphoria makes me depressive. In 2014 I wasn’t engaged in any literary translations, so I took some time for myself and my works. On December 14th I started selecting the pictures for the collage, I prepared a cardboard as a basis and I started working on it. On the 15th the base was outlined, and on the 16th December I was shocked by the news about the death of my publisher and friend Igor Isakovski. That was one of the most horrible and difficult days, and even a year and a half later I still feel burdened by it. In these moments of deep grief when I looked closely at the collage in progress I realized that the main motif that I had chosen was death. I immediately decided to dedicate it to Igor Isakovski. As I was working on the collage, at the same time I was somehow processing my grief.
Since 2014 up to the present, I have published my texts in two issues of Prolog-an independent magazine for art and text from Berlin, that is published 3-4 times a year, and whose issues are presented at a few multimedia events. My works were exhibited in two of these presentations (No. 13 and 15), first Vanitas (dedicated to Igor Isakovski) for which I e-mailed them a photo and told them that it would mean a lot if the work was suitable for the exhibition, and they liked the collage. At this event, held at the end of January, 2015, I read some of my experimental poems and two poems by Igor Isakovski, which I had translated into German. The people had the chance to hear the German translations of “Death has seaweed hair” and “Fuck you, Isakovski”. Of course, I read them with a lot of emotions and energy since his poetry remains powerful and resounding even after his death. It went well. That was the first presentation of my work and an opportunity for me to honour Igor all the way from Berlin-reveals Lindner-Kostadinovska.
Later, for the presentation of Prolog No. 15, she exhibited her work that will be exhibited at “Paratissima” and “BOSH” festival. This is how the creation of State of Art happened:
-The work is a combination of picture clippings, photos, drawings and acrylic moves. When the collage is finished, I add text-there’s no escaping from the text-made of previously clipped words that I glue in a certain order. It has the form of a poem and it always has a story. It is always connected to the visual part of the collage. The text comes spontaneously, just like the pictures. The whole work is a result of a normal process of creative-intuitive combining-she says.
It is interesting that most of the text that makes the story in the work of Lindner-Kostadinovska consists of words that she cut from the book “Harry Potter”.
-I bought the first book from the trilogy for some 2-3 euros in order to use it for this, and also for some other works. It was a book in big print and I immediately knew that that was where I would choose the words from to complete the story-reveals the author.
-The triptych was inspired by an exhibition of the Latvian-Soviet artist Gustav Klutsis that I saw in Riga. I was intrigued by his works and his personal story. First he was part of the avant-garde, and then he started making posters for political propaganda. In the end he was secretly killed by that same political party. Here one can see the hypocrisy of the system-says Lindner-Kostadinovska, who adds that she is happy that the triptych will be presented during this period of protests in Macedonia.
-The triptych started with a picture of a bomb, cut from a newspaper and was complemented with pictures by Klutsis, his avant-garde and politically engaged works, from which I use photos. They are repeated in the collage. I also inserted exhibition invitations-one of them has a critical background since it is an exhibition invitation to a work of art in the house of the President of Austria. The entire works aims to show the connection between art and politics, or the (in)dependence that is created. The most interesting artists are always poor and fight to make ends meet in order to be able to create. Most of them are not understood because they criticize and are ahead of their time, and usually send messages through their works that are not appreciated by the ones that are supposed to support art. The state shouldn’t leave artist at the verge of existence, and later celebrate them as artistic heavyweights. Everywhere in the world, millions are spent on the work of artists, although most of them are boring and mediocre, while the ones whose voice should be heard, are left at the margins. These artists will be celebrated by their countries posthumously-like, for example, the Austrian Tomas Bernhard, who I translated into Macedonian, as well as all the other members of the avant-garde in all segments of art and from all periods.
I collect and keep the material for the collage, all these photos, invitations, magazines, leaflets,
and when I decide to create, I spontaneously go through them and choose-later in the process I add other elements to make the story that I want to tell with the collage complete-says Lindner-Kostadinovska.
In the creation of her works she also uses leaflets from the “Volksbühne“ Theatre in Berlin. Its logo has an important place in the collages since the beginning (2012), and it is interesting that now this theatre holds debates about the end of democracy with fierce criticism to capitalism, in which people like Slavoj Zizek, Srecko Horvat, and at one of them via video conference, Julian Assange, have taken part.
She worked on the triptych for nine months (with long breaks), and what was planned to be one collage became three in the end.
Svetlana K. Simonovska
Translated from Macedonian: Dolores Atanasova – Lori
http://paratissimaskopje.mk
Bosh Festival
http://boshfest.com
Prolog
http://prolog-zeichnung-und-text.de/blog/