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Just to
start introducing you to our public, who is
Costantino Contini?
I am a simple guy who loves art and life.
How did you start being involved with
art, did you look for it or was it art to find
you actually?
Just like every love story we found each other,
but I admit I have done my best to start this
relationship with art.
What was your training process, did you
attend art schools and did you have teachers?
I attended an art-oriented high school in Rome.
Among my teachers there was a lady, Irma Costa,
who helped me a lot to free myself from academic
schemes and find my own way to cromatic
expression.
Abtractism
is a genre apparently more difficult for the
public to understand and appreciate. It is
though made using very simple shapes and tracts,
let's say the basic patterns of our perceptive
experience. Do you think this means abstractism
is less tied to conscious elaboration e is
therefore the best means to express our emotions?
Abstractism is a sum of feelings which are more
or less profound according to the viewer's
sensitivity. Everything else is food for mouth.
When was
the first time you were really satisfied with
the result of your work? I mean, is there any of
your paintings you consider the best you ever
made?
I am never satisfied 100% of my work. Otherwise
I think all my paintings do represent me and my
favorite pick is "The Mirror of the World".
You live and work in France. Did you
find any differences in the art world outside
Italy?
None. In both countries I find there is a
general apathy regarding contemporary art. Maybe
the latin mentality lives art only referring to
the past.
Is the artist always a sign of his times
or is art beyond time and space?
I would say both things are true.
You define
yourself "an astronaut of color", can you tell
us what does it mean?
To be an astronaut of color means to me to
always explore new cromatic horizons and new
gestures. The astronaut's strength relies on his
naïvety which stimulates his curiosity.
Do you
believe artists when they say they didn't want
to put any message into their works?
Of course I do. Art is not only the message or
significance. In many cases it is just a mix of
feelings, like Jackson Pollock's paintings, for
example.
How is the
relationship between the artist and art? Is it a
continuous passion or can it turn to routine?
Personally I don't have this kind of problems
with art, but I admit I went through some
periods when I didnt' feel I could produce much.
At that time I preferred to quit painting and
just wait for a more proficuous moment.
What are your future projects?
Only my work will reveal my future projects...
like Annibale Carracci used to say: "We painters
must talk with hands only".
What are your major fears nowadays? And
what make you happy anyway?
I fear both cynicism and Man's stupidity. I see
big countries thinking just about their own
business and going on wars for profit, religious
fundamentalism and everything which makes this
little but wonderful planet a place where human
values lack and business is the only god.
Nevertheless what really makes me happy is life
itself which is always worth living and the
woman I love.
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Have you
ever experimented with the figurative style?
Of course I had and I guess I will have more in
the future. There is so much more to paint...
Some say mastering drawing is the most
important part of the painting technique. What
is your opinion about?
It is surely important but I don't think you
need to master in drawing to be a good
abstractist. Abstractism has much to do with
instinct, color mastering and freedom of
expression.
To live just on his work is never easy
for an artist, you have to deal with the most
trivial sides of business and sometimes an
artist feels he needs to sell his soul to
success. How did you manage to remain pure in
the art business world?
Surely I paint for pleasure, not for money. It
is therefore true also artists have to eat every
day. The problem is nowadays art has become a
real business, kind of an industrial product.
What would you suggest to a young newbie
painter?
It is difficult for me to give advice, I don't
even give it to myself. If this young artist
really wants to hear my opinion then I will tell
him to keep on doing what he wants, not to do
what the others think or want.
Do you have or think you will have
pupils?
I never thought about it. For the moment I don't
feel the need for that, in the future who knows.
Is there a subject or technique you
would like to try in the future, as a personal
challenge?
Though I have been around in the art world for
over twenty years, I think there are still many
subjects to find and countless tecniques to try.
Art is like science, you find its beauty in
experimenting and discovering.
Many artists now have websites
presenting their works on virtual galleries in
the Internet. Don't you think the lack of
physical closeness to the painting could turn it
all into a fictitious experience?
It is surely a new and very positive thing
because if you want to exhibit in non virtual
galleries nowadays it is very hard if you aren't
already famous or have a critic who believes in
your work and pushes you to fame. The lack of
fisical contact and also direct communication is
a problem, but it is just a different way to get
yourself known by all those you are art
enthusiasts.
How do you see the future in art? Will
there be new movements, new means of exchanging
experience among artists or the general
materialism has already affected the art world?
I am quite optimist regarding the future of art.
There is of course a certain apathy but I am
sure there will be new movements also in the
future.
Thank you Costantino!
Thanks to you. |
