Artist of the Week
Nik Dudukovic
By Kerry Freek
Posted January 8th, 2008.
A few months ago, in a fit of inspiration, I decided to interview Nik Dudukovic in person using a newfangled analog recording device called a hand-held tape recorder. We had a great conversation about his incredible artwork. Alas, my computer crashed and I lost the transcribed interview — sad. Even worse, I'd since taped over our original interview! (What? Tapes are scarce nowadays!) Luckily, Nik is both an amazing artist AND a sport, so he agreed to revert back to the old-fashioned, tried-and-true method of the email interview. Here's said doc file in all of its digital glory — and heck, after all that trouble, he got to be the first AofW of 2008!
MONDO: When we last chatted, you talked about your departure from printmaking and editions. What draws you (pun wholeheartedly intended) to drawing? Does it make you feel different? Do you value one medium over the other? Where else do you dabble?
NIK DUDUKOVIC: I'm sort of glad that our recorded interview was lost, because I feel like I rambled a whole bunch — mainly on this question. The background, I majored in printmaking, but I was so dissatisfied with some of the things that I was doing that I didn't create a single print during my entire thesis year.
That's when the mylar drawings took the spotlight. I've worked with mylar for a long time, but never as consistently as I am now. The problem with my approach to printmaking after 3+ years was that I would justify an image based on the fact that I could reproduce it perfectly hundreds of times. I wasn't spending much time bettering my technical skills or flexing my analytical muscles.
At this point, I have the technical knowledge to reproduce any image that I want through printmaking, so I'd rather spend as long as possible working on each drawing. As for dabbling, I'm hoping to have a sculptural work finished by April for my next show. It'll most likely be some sort of layered wood with ink and latex paint, probably derived from the background layer of a drawing or something like that.
MONDO: Your ink, acrylic and mylar pieces were recently (and still are?) on display at Freedom Clothing (939 Bloor Street West). There's an interesting mythology going on here — civil war-esque military uniforms, eagles, goats — what were you trying to accomplish?
ND: I first started working with this imagery in the fall of '07 during my thesis year, but the mythology and sensibility of the work has evolved over the last year or so. Exploring a fictional history through fabricated documentation, the work merges the nostalgia of turn-of-the-century cartoons and illustrations with the familiarity of blemish-free draftsmanship. The characters are compositionally graphic from ten feet away and meticulously detailed from ten inches away, while the choice of materials and cohesive technique allow for a fluid — yet selective — narrative to emerge. Artist statements can be tough; one word out of place can change the meaning of the work for the both viewer and the artist.
MONDO: One of these drawings contains a scroll that says "Navigator, Lee Sheppard." Who is Lee Sheppard? Why is he the navigator?
ND: Lee Sheppard is one of three editors of the annual Pilot Pocket Book, along with Reuben McLaughlin and Bryan Belanger. The Pilot book publishes national and international poetry, short stories and illustrations. Every artist that has a portfolio published is also asked to illustrate one of the stories in the book, as well as a portrait of its author. Lee's story is called "Navigator." He's a dope writer and I'm glad to have worked with him. You can check out more Pilot stuff at thepilotproject.ca.
MONDO: There's a fine line that separates self promoter from sellout. You walk said line pretty gracefully, like a natural master of good vibes: no gold chains or creepy infomercials involved. In plain words, you're an entrepreneurial guy making a living as an artist, and you pull it off without looking like a jerk. How do you do it?
ND: You spoke too soon! My infomercial premieres tonight and I plan to make four million bucks and buy a gold basketball and a pair of platinum Adidas Pistol Pete's and destroy the playground courts for eternity... but maybe in a way that's not selling out. Shit, I don't know.
Yeah, it can be a fine line, but as long as you're doing work that you like and keeping it fresh for yourself then the line isn't much of an issue. The debate between self promotion and sellout usually works itself out anyways. I've tried to work with bands/labels/magazines that I wasn't entirely impressed by and it usually ends up in some sort of confrontation with us parting ways in the end. On the flipside, working with people whose work I respect makes the final product ten thousand times better because they like my work as well and the public is able to acknowledge that aspect of the professional relationship. I've had people ask me to paint living rooms and draw tattoos, and I wouldn't consider that selling out in any way because neither tattoo artists nor mural painters aren't sellouts, y'know? Like I said, it can be a pretty fine line, but you'll know if you ever cross it and you'll try your hardest to cross back.
MONDO:What are you working on right now?
ND: Right now I'm working on a show that I'm co-curating sometime in late-February, as well as pieces for a solo show in April at Omy Gallery (1140 Queen Street West). I'm also working on graphics for Let's Go To War, an electro hip-hop band that just signed a four album deal on Last Gang Records, and a show/party for next Nuit Blanche. Oh, and I'm going to school, which I can't stand.
MONDO:Where can people see your art?
ND: I have prints at Freedom Clothing, and I still have older drawings hanging at Omy Gallery from 2007. Other than that, pilot5.com is often updated. However, I'm not uploading any new work until after the show in April. I wanna keep it under wraps instead of ruining the surprise months before the show.