Goddy Leye
(artist)
What is, in your
opinion, a professional artist?
A professional artist would
be someone who dedicates 100% of his/her time to the production
of art. This includes working in a bakery just to be able to buy
a canvas and paint, for instance.
What's the relation between art and money in your work?
I need money to produce art.
But I donØt produce art for money.
How do you resolve the conditions of visibility of your work in
the context you work in?
I use different means to achieve visibility: - I work harder
- I inform myself as much as I can
- I meet people (artists, critics, curators, and laymen.)
- I make use of the internet (creating web sites for my projects
and works)
- I develop a web of friendship with people sharing the same ideals
on the art scene Through these different strategies I increase
the chance of showing my works. Another strategy would be to just
follow the trends of the main stream. But then can we talk of
real visibility when one is swallowed by fashion? When you are
just visible like millions of others?
How would you define cultural tourism?
It is a new trend in the tourism industry. I wonder if there
is at all any tourism that is not cultural: popular, folklore,
high culture
How would you define culture shock?
Culture shock occurs when, one encounters another culture
that seems so different in its external manifestations that one
feels lost and helpless and unable to adjust. It happens for instance
when someone from Bamako goes to New York or vice versa and even
when the same person returns after spending a lengthy period there.
It may also happen when someone from Beverly Hills is dropped
in downtown LA. The only difference here is that the person has
the possibility of a quick retreat.
What's the relationship between control and chance in your work?
I learn a lot in order to have some control over what I do.
But at the same time, I am totally dissatisfied with a work that
I control totally. The ideal thing would be a balance between
chance and control in my work. I work hard to have control just
to be able to loose it, without just surrendering to chance.
How important is it for you to be able to talk about your work?
It is very important for me to talk about my work. Because in
general it deals with different layers, it is always good to provide
some sort of context. Furthermore, talking about my work is at
the same time discussing art in general, recalling various experiences,
places and periods, broadening the scope of my understanding of
art and people. That is necessary.
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