DILEMA VECHE (Year II nr.57/ 18-24 feb. 2005)
The World According To Fikl
-An interview with the painter Gheorghe Fikl -
You can visit the "ox and chandeliers" exposition featuring
works by Gheorghe Fikl at Galeria Posibila (Timisoara). His works
will be exhibited here until the 13th of March when it will open
in Arad. Should you see it you will discover a strange, surrealist
world - the world of Fikl - inhabited by all sorts of animals (ox,
dogs, horses or sheep) all guarded by angels and placed in elegant
environments, with drapes and chandeliers. Some works have been
painted on animal skins. Fikl is himself an interesting character.
Not only does he paint, but he has also been a part of Liviu Butoi's
jazz band. This past Saturday and Sunday, Fikl has invited his public
to join him for a cup of tea in the gallery.
What's the world according to Fikl like? What laws govern it?
I don't know what laws govern it. I'm only now beginning to discover
it myself. I'm constantly creating it, for quite a while now. I've
been building it up through painting, music and scenery-painting.
All that I'm working on is another step towards discovering this
world. In the past, for example, I used to glue nails and paint
metals. In the near future I'll try and bring all of my passions
together as a whole: painting, music and scenery-painting.
So you're thinking of fusion, of merging all these passions
into one?
Yes, I am attracted by all that is live in front of an audience
and I want to blend all these artistic interpretations into one.
I'm thinking of something big - something on the lines of a performance.
I'd like for someone to play the keyboards in the background. But
I have to think of something that would please me, it's not that
easy. The closest I've ever got to fulfilling this dream is my workshop
- a work in progress. It's filled with bronze sculptures, my sink
is covered in Mongolian goat skin - it's beautiful - and there are
several animal skins that will be painted on. I've frequently thought
of exhibiting my workshop. The works I have on display now, don't
satisfy my appetite for live performances (although you can see
and touch the materials they're made of). And I'm not pleased with
it. It's not like the theatre where even if you're watching a trivial
play it impresses you through that live performance. Through my
painting I want to someday be able to reach that level of impact
and communication. All the work I've done so far is a first step
into the unknown. I have to keep an eye on it, to discover it. If
you're sincere and have a good motivation you'll undoubtedly find
your path.
What's your motivation?
I'm definitely not doing this for the money or for the glory. For
example, as I was making these paintings I never thought that I
will get to sell them. It's my lifestyle - that's all. I have nothing
better to do (just my luck). I paint because this is my way of communicating
with others.
But if you have no other job and you're not interested in money
how do you make ends meet?
 I
live a modest life. From time to time I sell another work. But to
be perfectly honest with you I'm terribly upset when I have to sell
my paintings because I get attached. For example, even though I've
exhibited it, I would be very unhappy if I would sell the painting
of the horse. I was in a very rare mood when I painted it: joy mixed
with things I cannot put into words… Anyway, it's very important
to me and that is why I don't enjoy putting a price on it. I paint
for my own pleasure. I bought this house in an isolated village
in Ardeal - cost me a few nickels - and when I go there I make Russian-like
paintings. They're only for my eyes, I don't show them to people.
Why not show them?
Because they're very personal, because they're not part of my project
- that of communicating to people. These I paint out of pleasure,
like having a good meal. I have a much better interaction with nature
than the average tourist that is only interested in taking pictures.
It's my personal pleasure, nothing more.
Some people claim that my works don't fit in with others from contemporary
art. That what I'm currently painting could have been done even
in the 40's or the 50's. My college professor came up to me one
day and said: "Put some tinfoil on this dog. It will make it
more contemporary". I was baffled! On the other hand I couldn't
have done these works in the 50's since back then there were no
computers, no Photoshop - before I make a painting, I build it up
out of collages, frames and process it on the computer.
Are tinfoil or television defining features of modern art?
Some people believe that. If you'll attend some classes at a university
right now, you'll see that most students feel that way. Nobody has
the courage to start something new in painting. They worry people
will accuse them of not making contemporary art.
So you don't have these fears…
No, if I had them you would have seen that dog in tinfoil
Cezar PAUL-BADESCU
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