Sanja Klisarić, from Belgrade, is a graduate philologist and politologist, and has a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Political Sciences. Although, she has always been leaning toward art, she is also fascinated with Mathematics. And the incredible combination of these two fields will shine at her first solo exhibition called “Sounds of Universe – The Beginning”, staged in the Parobrod Gallery.
Your paintings are brimming with vibrant colours, and are quite expressionist in a way. How did that come about?
— Everything happens in an unusual manner for me. It does not originate from me, but from somewhere else, from a higher level with which I can adjust the frequency of my thoughts. Usually, an image that wants me to paint it on the mental plane draws attention precisely to the intensity of colours as a specific energy record that carries it within.
At first, I do not even see it as an image, but just as bright colours. I try to transfer these colours as believably as possible on paper and then an image is created. It is only at the end of my work that I realize that I, in some way, took something over from that mental realm, which I can reach in my thoughts whenever I want to. I cannot resist this mental vision, and I simply have to paint. Thus, it was easy for me to paint 60 paintings of the 100x70cm format in 40 days. They are all living images because these colours have their own “life stories”.
How come you are fascinated with Mathematics when you graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences? Does this fascination stem from childhood? Do you use mathematical reasoning to equalize macro- and micro-cosmos and bring it into our realm considering that there is mathematical proof that the macro- and micro-cosmos have an identical form?
— Every person should obtain an education and choose what degree and type of education they will acquire. In my case, everything was different. I have always been fond of Mathematics and ever since I can remember, I could
recognize mathematical patterns in nature, surroundings, and the people themselves. That’s how the connected world of Mathematics emerged, completely irrespectively of me. I think that Mathematics had won me over much earlier than I acquired any knowledge. Although I have an almost personal relationship with Math, my passion for other kinds of knowledge remains relentless. The Faculty of Philology and Faculty of Political Sciences were my intellectual choices which I, among the endless sea of my interests, picked because I did not want to study Mathematics due to my rather unorthodox understanding of it. I acquire knowledge more easily outside the limits imposed by faculties. Microcosmos and macroscosmos have certain mathematical laws that clearly rule in both systems, but the nature of their physical field is different and it is impossible to equalize them, hence we have only
the knowledge of these two cosmos in our mental plane in which we are able to operate, while the multidimensionality of cosmos is a mathematical law. Mathematical reasoning can givee an answer to every question.
So, it is safe to say that your style is „mathematical expressionism“?
— (Laughs) Yes, why not?! It is wonderful to be able to paint Mathematics.
You write both poetry and prose. You have also published novels “U Djavola Lavlje Srce” and “Vrtlog”, which was nominated this year for the NIN Award, books of poetry “Epiziotomija Razuma”and “Podsećanja na Večnost”, and fairy tale book “Mala Kolekcija Modernih Bajki i Fantastičnih Priča”. What inspires you to possess this Renaissance-like multidisciplinarity?
— The talent for writing is an exceptional gift that I was blessed with by the Creator. That is where my thoughts live forever. Often I feel physical pain when I am not writing. Literature, which portrayal from the eternity was chosen
by my mental apparatus to be depicted, explodes in the infinite existence of everything that a person can and should know. I can write anytime, anywhere and any kind of literature. I do not need inspiration. I got a gift because of
which the inspiration for me is just a symbol in relation to the continuous mental field from which my thoughts come to my mind.
You have also incorporated music into this ‘Holy Trinity’, the music composed by the likes of Hesse or Bach, who also spoke about the link between Mathematics and music. In which way do you pay homage to music in your paintings?
— It is interesting to note that, in my case, there is no link between literature and music, but there is a link between painting and music. Painting and music come from mental zones that are closely related mathematically, while literature has a completely independent dimension far removed from all laws. It is a system in itself. Music has power. It can cure a person, but it can also kill them. It can fly them high like a bird. It can do a lot, it can achieve the unachievable. But we know too little about it. Music is Mathematics with sound; if you want to hear Math, listen to music. Without music there would not be a single complex mathematical system. So, everything that can be mathematically written, can also be sang. I have evidence of this because I have been generously given the gift of singing. The first thing that was heard when young Mathematics was born was music. And, with its frequencies, it continued to trailblaze through dimensions and existences, reaching us not only as entertainment, but also as a serious drug, weapon or secret. Humanity has plenty of time ahead to remember this from its distant past that can be shown to us only by the future.
NOT CREATING OUT OF EXPECTATIONS
What do you expect from your exhibition at Parobrod?
— Parobrod is a beautiful place where my paintings shine with the brilliance I want them to shine. But I am not creating out of expectations, but for the sake of creation itself. So, this exhibition in Parobrod is just a reflection of creation. The triumph of creating in me leaves no room for expectations because creating, in itself, can find its own way, if it wants to. It doesn’t need me.