An exclusive interview with Jana Lande, an artist whose works are presented in galleries in Ukraine, England, the USA, and Europe.
On October 25, the Kyiv space Tuzov Gallery will host the opening of a new exhibition “A Prayer for Insensibility” – the first to present the photographs of the artist. We are talking with Yana Lande about contemporary art and the details of the upcoming exhibition.
An exclusive interview with Jana Lande, an artist whose works are presented in galleries in Ukraine, England, the USA, and Europe. On October 25, the Kyiv space Tuzov Gallery will host the opening of a new exhibition “A Prayer for Insensibility” – the first to present the photographs of the artist. We are talking with Yana Lande about contemporary art and the details of the upcoming exhibition.
For an artist, anticipation is more important, you can draw endless inspiration from it.
- Please tell us about your anticipation for the Prayer of Insensibility.
As before any exhibition, there is no way to sleep, such a state greatly changes the perception of reality. Increased concentration and a clear focus on the most important moments. And an incredible buzz from all contact with space and what magical moments it gives. The pleasure of communicating with different people. In the preparatory period, the skill of each participant is important and there are no minor trifles. For me, the value of the work of each person involved in the project is the same. People working on the embodiment of my idea, my dream, become family. I am grateful to fate for each new meeting, I think we are all enriched from new meetings, I hope the viewer will feel everything.
All complex projects consist of a thousand simple moments, and any viewer does not have to perceive everything as a whole if it is difficult for him. You can choose a small piece that is understandable and close, take it carefully in your hands, put it in your pocket next to your heart and take it with you, and when you need it, get it and feel something or share it with someone.
- Do I understand correctly that the power of modern art is manifested in the fact that everyone can read it in their own way?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With art, an interesting thing happens: the work is the artist’s view of some topic, he looks at something from a certain angle. And the spectator is looking at the eye of the beholder. This is the layering. And everyone, of course, sees something of his own in an infinite number of refractions of views, times, and mentalities.
- Should the artist explain to the viewer what he has done?
I don’t write anything about my projects on my site. I post pictures without prompts. Because time will pass – and perhaps they will tell more than I can at that moment of creation. But at the exhibition, I will be happy to share my experiences with those who will be interested.
- But what about the opinion that contemporary art simply needs a legend?
There is a deal of truth in it. Only the legend is for sale, this is today’s marketing. It leaves the theme of skill, and it’s a pity. Craftsmanship is in a thin, elitist layer, but less and less craftsmanship remains in the general availability. Although they have always been few – and they have always been valuable.
If something is not done very well, explanations are required. Everyone read the fairy tale “The Naked King”. The value of this approach is clear, but it works.
Previously, one tapestry could be created for a lifetime, and its value was like a lifetime. It takes incredible courage to go down that path.
- During the “Pray for Insensitivity” exhibition, several types of media will be presented. The first is photography. Why is she?
The speed of the modern world does not allow you to create works of art with the old methods. New technologies are being created. Today it is digital photography, it allows you to capture the moment as quickly as possible. Sometimes ideal things do not cause me such a desire to capture, them since everything is already said in them. I want to see perfection in imperfection, to fill in the gaps, but I need to do it in such a way that there are pure moments for the viewer’s imagination, and it’s more interesting for me to communicate with the viewer through the painting.
- Performance is also expected. Why is it needed at this exhibition?
Performance is a kind of rejection of the material. There’s a whole slew of young artists doing nothing, and the biggest collectors today are those who buy an artist’s time. This is a subtlety that is very difficult to understand.
The artist should not leave anything behind, he should not be useful. Residences are being created where artists who oppose material values live. The art business, led by auctions, has brought the world to the point of absurdity with its crazy prices, and progressive artists have put forward the idea of a new stage of development – to do nothing. And I believe that it can be traced that in recent times more and more people are drawn to spiritual values.
- What do you think the viewer gives the artist?
I caught myself feeling that I do not expect anything from the viewer before the exhibition, because I am open, and this is always a very naked state. Creativity is a very complex, energy-consuming process. At first, ideas live inside me, and not everyone is destined to come true. Then a moment comes when it is no longer possible to keep everything in yourself, and you let it out. If the viewer can share your feelings with you, it will be great, but if not, this will not stop the artist. Vernissage is a kind of proposal: let’s get together.
Perhaps this is the task of the viewer: to rise together with the artist to those heights that are accessible to the artist. I also have artists who are divine for me, they are my landmarks, my stars. I understand, and they also have artists who lift them to their heights. They experience the same thing but in different spirals of evolution. It’s so cool.
- Are you a spectator?
Of course, I watch a lot, and for me, it is very valuable. There is an opinion that a cow does not need to drink milk in order to give it, and often artists believe that it is better to protect themselves from the art world.
When I was little, I often wondered how people, without modern means of communication, made very similar discoveries, and why the same ideas descend into completely different mental fields. I was interested in the topic of the general information field: a layer of knowledge from which we all draw the truth. This magical theme from childhood has become more understandable today thanks to contact with the philosophy of Buddhism. As a child, I imagined a picture with a Soviet receiver (remember, one in which, in order to catch a wave, you need to pull out the antenna as much as possible?): we are also trying to lengthen our antennas, clear them and hear some messages from there.
And I’m interested in what others are catching in order to understand how finely tuned my receiver is. And if I used to be upset when I came up with something and found out that it already exists, now I am very happy about it. It’s great when you come to the Biennale and see how another artist has done what I felt but did not have time to embody in art.
