Miroslaw Balka interview (2004)
Miroslaw Balka interview: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
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Miroslaw Balka. 225 x 66 x 109, (2003). Steel and light bulb, 225 x 66 x 109 cm.
Miroslaw Balka (continues): I’m very much concerned about the entire development of my art. I want to make these objects myself, and I want to focus on artistic production. I am also concerned with the people surrounding the exhibition. Becoming a successful artist is very much about meeting people. At every exhibition, I meet a lot of different people in addition to the curator. So, the exhibition is very much about personal exchange. Every curator you work with is a different human being, so the exchange is important.
R.J. Preece: What decisions did you make when installing this show at White Cube?
Miroslaw Balka: Before the show, I had my leg plastered for about two months because I tore my Achilles tendon. I had surgery. I started to lose contact with what I was doing in my studio. I usually work with a certain rhythm, and, during this time, I could only read in bed. The cast finally came off, and I had only one month to really work. As so often happens with me, because I work very closely with the site, I changed quite a few things in this show at the last minute. I knew I had to work on things here at the gallery to get everything into the final shape that I wanted. I finished one hour before the opening.
R.J. Preece: The London art scene is very mass media-oriented. And White Cube leads this with some of its artists. How do you see yourself within this culture?
Miroslaw Balka: I’m here for five days, so I concentrate on the show. The show is most important and the other things are not so visible to me. Of course, I know that the position of White Cube is very strong. And it’s good for my works. My part is to make a good show and present my best work at the moment. The rest is part of their work.
R.J. Preece: So you are not affected by it or really interested?
Miroslaw Balka: Yes.
R.J. Preece: So you don’t want the TV cameras. For example, BBC London news has been running a lot of features concerning White Cube artists lately— Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk, and Antony Gormley.
Miroslaw Balka: My art is not so geared toward that. My works always look much better in person.
Miroslaw Balka interview: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
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