Backstage with
Artist / Sculptor
MATYAS ATTILA
TODAY, WE HAVE THE PLEASURE OF SPEAKING WITH MATYAS ATTILA. MATYAS’S WORK REPRESENTS A CONSTANT DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE FIGURATIVE AND THE ABSTRACT, AS HE DELVES DEEP INTO THE ORIGINS OF LIFE THROUGH HIS INNOVATIVE MANIPULATION OF MATERIALS.
YOUR WORK OSCILLATES BETWEEN FIGURATIVE AND ABSTRACT ART. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH APPROACH TO TAKE FOR A PARTICULAR PIECE?
SINCE I WORK QUITE INSTINCTIVELY, I RELY ON MY INTUITION FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. I TRY TO PUT THE FUNDAMENTAL EMOTION INTO A COMPOSITION. SO, WHETHER IT LEANS TOWARDS A FIGURATIVE OR NON-FIGURATIVE DIRECTION, I USUALLY DON’T KNOW IN ADVANCE.
YOU EXPLORE THE ORIGIN OF LIFE THROUGH THE MANIPULATION OF MATERIALS. CAN YOU DESCRIBE A MOMENT OR EXPERIENCE THAT INSPIRED THIS EXPLORATION?
OUR ENTIRE WORLD WAS CREATED THROUGH THE MANIPULATION OF MATERIALS. THUS, CREATION AND CREATIVITY ARE QUITE SIMILAR PROCESSES. IN THIS WAY, I WOULD CARRY FORWARD THE WORK OF THE OLDEST SCULPTOR (GOD) WITH THE AIM OF CREATING SOMETHING NEW.
“SINCE HUMAN WILL IS A VERY COLORFUL AND PROFOUND CONCEPT”
YOU USE MATERIALS LIKE CLAY. WHAT UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS HAVE YOU EXPERIMENTED WITH, AND WHAT DRAWS YOU TO THEM?
CLAY IS ONE OF THE MATERIALS I WORK WITH. I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT GIVES ME A LOT OF FREEDOM. I ENJOY WORKING WITH OR EXPERIMENTING WITH MORE MODERN MATERIALS THAT ALSO PROVIDE ME WITH AS MUCH FREEDOM AS POSSIBLE TO BEST CONVEY WHATEVER COMES.
“MY STYLE IS CHARACTERIZED BY CONTRAST AND DIALOGUE”
YOUR STYLE EXISTS BETWEEN TRADITIONAL DISCIPLINES AND MODERN INTERPRETATIONS. HOW DO YOU BALANCE RESPECTING TRADITIONAL ART FORMS WHILE PUSHING BOUNDARIES WITH MODERN TECHNIQUES?
MY STYLE IS CHARACTERIZED BY CONTRAST AND DIALOGUE. THIS DIALOGUE APPEARS IN MANY WAYS: BETWEEN COLORS, BETWEEN TEXTURES, OR EVEN BETWEEN THEMES. BUT I DON’T AIM FOR BALANCE; I HAVE ONE SIDE AND ANOTHER. I GIVE THEM FREE REIN TO APPEAR AS MUCH AS I FEEL IN THAT MOMENT. BUT, IN SOME FORM, THE QUALITY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO THINGS USUALLY DETERMINES MY COMPOSITIONS.
” THE CONNECTION BETWEEN “CHAOS” AND A CERTAIN “WILL””
CAN YOU DISCUSS A SPECIFIC WORK WHERE YOU FEEL YOU’VE BEST CAPTURED THE ESSENCE OF THE “POWER OF WILL”?
PERHAPS HERE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN “CHAOS” AND A CERTAIN “WILL” CAN BE SEEN MOST EASILY, AS THE LATTER HAS A CERTAIN EFFECT ON THE SEEMINGLY ABSTRACT, DIRECTIONLESS SET OF FORMS. HOW IS SOMETHING CONSCIOUS BORN?
IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESS IN SCULPTURE. IN OTHER WORDS, UNTIL A STRONG WILL FOR OR AGAINST SOMETHING IS BORN WITHIN US, THERE IS NO DIRECTION IN OUR LIVES.
HOWEVER, THIS SCULPTURE IS ABSTRACT, BUT IT CAPTURES THE MOMENT WHEN A TRUE CONSCIOUS FORM UNFOLDS DUE TO A CERTAIN WILL. REFLECTING ON THE FACT THAT IN OUR LIVES, WILL IS THE “ORGAN” OF THE FUTURE, AND WITH IT, CONCRETE THINGS CAN BE ACHIEVED, AND NOT JUST EVERYTHING HAPPENS AS IF THE FUTURE WOULD CREATE ITSELF.
I WANT TO PRESENT FREE AND CONSCIOUS WILL, WHICH CAN CREATE ANYTHING, SO THAT SOMETHING CONCRETE CAN BE REALIZED, SOMETHING WE WANT, WHETHER AT A HUMAN LEVEL OR AT A HIGHER LEVEL.
(I’M NOT SURE HOW WELL THIS IS UNDERSTOOD.)
“THE ESSENCE OF ART IS THAT IT LEADS A PERSON INTO THEIR OWN INNER WORLD AND REVEALS THE SECRETS AND MIRACLES INHERENT IN THEIR SOUL.” – CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI
MAYBE THIS QUOTE WOULD BE APPROPRIATE, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT SCULPTURE IS THE BEST WAY TO KNOW MYSELF.
MY BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT I WANT TO DO MORE NEW THINGS THAN I AM CAPABLE OF. SO, OF COURSE, YES, I ALWAYS HAVE NEW DIRECTIONS, SUBJECTS, EXPERIMENTS WITH TECHNIQUES, OR A DESIRE FOR CHALLENGES. I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS IN ART AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHAT CONCERNS ME, WHAT IS WITHIN ME, TO CONVEY MESSAGES, TO DISCOVER, TO CREATE. I HOPE THAT IN THE COMING YEARS I CAN PROGRESS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ON THE PATH OF SELF-EXPRESSION AND CAN CULTIVATE THIS AS FREELY AS POSSIBLE.
“ART IS A UNIVERSAL COMMON LANGUAGE”
THANK YOU, MATYAS, FOR SHARING YOUR VISIONARY JOURNEY WITH US TODAY AND CHALLENGING US TO RETHINK THE VERY ESSENCE OF SCULPTURE, INVITING US TO EXPLORE THE LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES OF MATERIAL AND FORM. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WITNESSING THE NEXT CHAPTER OF YOUR ARTISTIC EXPLORATION.
