On the occasion of the traveling exhibition “Reflection of the Plains”, Miona Marta Markovic, Biljana Jotic wrote an author’s text that follows:
Biographically, Miona Marta Markovic is a representative of the middle generation of contemporary visual artists. Originally from Belgrade, where she started with artistic expression and education, she graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts, in the class of Professor Slobodan Đuričković. It is important to mention the fact that she chose the stained glass technique for her graduation thesis, and the theme “Embrace”, because the iconography of the series of works that follow will develop in that direction. He continues his studies in Naples, at the specialist studies that he completed at the Accademia di Belle Arti, majoring in Arti Visive e Discipline dello Spettacolo – pittura, with the mentor prof. Salvatore Provino. In the personality trait, which is also visible in artistic expression, there is a recognizable need for new research, it does not stop and does not satisfy the achievements, it curiously goes further, deeper and wider, towards constant improvement.
She received a scholarship from the Italian government for doctoral studies in the field of contemporary art at the Sapienza University in Rome, and she defended her doctoral thesis “Marina Abramović – gli esordi tra gli anni Sessanta e Settanta” with the mentor Dr. Claudio Zambianchi, in the direction of Contemporary Art History. It was this biographical path that influenced Miona’s work and determined the recognizability of her expression, directed the composition, illuminated the color scheme and simplified the visual composition behind which lies an abundance of connotations and the concept of life. She is an active artist, regularly exhibits independently and in groups, she has been awarded for photography, she writes about the art of her colleagues, and three of her texts have been published so far.
Thought and reduction are two theoretical concepts in which I recognize the root of Miona’s expression. They further complicate, expand, deepen, complement, intertwine and stimulate, take on new threads and imply the inner states of being, but in the final visual representation they remain simple. The very fact that the process of Miona’s creation is not based on what is seen, on imitating something from the memory of what is seen, but represents a journey, exploring combinations that lead to new visions, visual compositions that can never be the same, testifies to active thought processes. at the time of drawing or painting. Since thought is never alone, nor completed, but is alive and active and moves the senses, so the process of creation in that correlation gives new forms, and the interrelation of many new forms practically creates a visual effect that continues in the eye of the beholder.
The content is behind the visual, within the forms and their relations, and that is why it is not only possible to pass by them, but to think about what these mutual combinations tell us, what they are talking about. Perhaps it can be compared with words, that is, with constructions of stories from words, because each term implies several visions that arise from how the writer manages to evoke the atmosphere of what he wants to say. On the other hand, it can also be notes, ie compositions that combine notes and each is for itself and sounds different. Thus, Miona’s visual forms concentrate within themselves the sensibility inherent in an artistic being, and the compositional whole speaks of a visual story.
Why do they appear as two-dimensional and flat? Why is space indifferent and why is visual reduction noticeable? Which artistic discourse dominates the compositions? In the answers to these questions, the artistic expression of Miona Marta Markovic can be analyzed, observing each composition individually. We are witnesses that artistic practice has not been happening for a long time under the auspices of one dominant meta-discourse, but in a multitude of dominant discourses, a discourse-atmosphere, as evidenced by Miona’s work.
The research side of her artistic personality is visible in the atmosphere of abstraction of content, which passes from the visible to the invisible, in the conceptual, atmosphere that hides in relations between only somewhat geometric shapes and combination with other visual signs. On the other hand, in the subtlety of the approach to the construction of the composition, one can look for a parallel with the seemingly naive children’s game woven from the primary senses. And from the combination of these two states arises the need for expression which turns into the specificity of its visual language.
So far, three thematic series can be singled out, which are compositionally connected, which represents one active continuous creative flow. The compositions from the series “Reflection of the plane” are movable. These are dynamic reflections of planes and details that react to each other, like a game of moments that self-organize the whole. What is specific is the separation of coloristic sensuality and the presence of light in colors, then the reduction of space due to the transcendental atmosphere that turns into a naive vision. The intensity of the rhythm is variable, the forms appear somewhere as wider images with a more concrete content, and then again in some wholes they accumulate and accelerate the rhythm, as if fighting for their place within the whole. Perhaps the reflection of the plane can reflect the contours of time and space in which Miona Marta Markovic lives and creates.
Biljana Jotić, art historian and curator
