Irina Kurtishvili during the interview in her atelier in Tbilisi / Photography by Gia Chkhatarashvili / 2007

ART FAR FROM HOME: THE LIFE OF A GEORGIAN ARTIST IN GERMANY

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An interview between Rebecca Gould and Irina Kurtishvili. Rebecca Gould worked 2004-5 as a staff journalist for GEORGIA TODAY, a Tbilisi-based daily English newspaper

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Most commentators on the political situation in Georgia who reside outside her borders speak of the country as a burgeoning democracy, on the verge of becoming part of the “west”. Their optimism, however, doesn't take account of the difficult conditions facing the working artist in Georgia. I spoke with Irina Kurtishvili, a Georgian artist and set designer, who spends most of her time in Germany, on the current conditions for the creation of art in Georgia. Her diagnosis was quite differently from the ringing endorsements that are found in many accounts of contemporary Georgia by experts based in the West. Irina didn´t speak about politics; she spoke about art. Her voice is that of the unaffiliated commentator, the person who has nothing as stake other than her love for her country and her profession. 

GT: Let´s start with some background about yourself. When did your move to Germany?

IK: It was during the civil war. I was studying at the Academy of Arts in Tbilisi, but conditions were very difficult in Georgia at that time. I had no choice but to continue my studies abroad.  I enrolled in the Academy of Media Art in Cologne. It was difficult for me to adjust to the different system in Germany. The school I attended expected students to know computer technology well and I had no experience of that in Germany. So I had to learn a lot. But I adjusted and soon felt at home living abroad. After finishing my studies in Germany I was working as a set designer and TV graphics for German television. Also I was giving lectures on set design at the Cologne international school of film. Even now I give lectures on media- and set design in Germany, though I have an atelier in Tbilisi as well.

GT: Why did you choose to go to Germany rather than another country? 

IK: I can say now publicly what I wasn’t able to say before, during the Soviet period. Germans attached to the embassy struck up relationships with promising young students and encouraged us to come and live in Germany. I did not move there at the time, but that planted the seed for my ultimate decision to go to Germany. 

GT: What influences have had an impact on you as an artist?

IK: Literature is a big influence for me. I had my students in Germany create a set design for William Faulkner's The Sound and Fury. Faulkner is one of my favorite authors, and this book is his most important work. My students' project was purely hypothetical – no film was ever made – but the results were quite interesting. I had the students use three colours to signify different scenes in the novel: red, blue and green. Red signified all the blood shed and the rage which characterizes the book. Other literary works have also had an influence on me. My thesis project was a set of illustrations for a novel of Julio Cortázar. 

GT: How do you feel about the present-day situation for artists in Georgia?

IK: The art scene is quite stagnant. The old nomenclature is still in power, and makes all the decisions. The Academy only deals with the art that was in style over a century ago. A young artist has nowhere to turn, no forum to exhibit his or her work. When I compare the conditions for the creation and study in Georgia to those in Germany, I get quite depressed. The standards and level of technical expertise are much higher there. Perhaps, because students know there is a good chance of working in their field when they graduate, they are more excited about what they are studying then most of the students I have met in Georgia. Perhaps the stagnation of the art scene in Georgia is due to economic stress. When people have to worry about what they will eat the next day they do not have time for art.  
This is true. Artists have always been poor, everywhere, and at every time in history. The difference in Georgia is that everyone is poor. I have many friends in Germany who also have to work as taxi drivers or in similar jobs – which enables them to make their living and continue their artistic professions. 

GT: What advice do you have for the young Georgian artist? Would you advise them to study abroad?

IK: Absolutely. The conditions for studying art are far superior in Europe. At the academy where I gave lectures every student had a mentor, who helped in the search for jobs after they graduated. In Georgia, when an artist graduates from the Academy, they rarely have jobs or the means of continuing to pursue their dreams. 

GT: It sounds like you are quite pessimistic about the prospects for a flourishing art scene in Georgia in the next future. But what happens when Georgia's artists and intellectuals all emigrate en masse? What does this phenomenon mean for the future of Georgian culture?

IK: I love my country and my language, and I never wish to be parted from it. My family has very strong roots here. My father was an architect who designed many famous buildings in Tbilisi. My sister is also an architect and lives in Tbilisi. But an artist must go to the place which will permit him or her to develop his talents. If this country does not give me an offer to work or teach here, then I waste my time in Georgia. I say this to my regret, but it's true. Some Georgian artists abroad hat I know would like to work here or teach. But, as far as I can see, there is no request on our abilities. Georgians have faced of emigration many times before in their history. After Soviet Power took over in 1921 many Georgians who were active in Menshevik government headed by Noe Zhordania left Georgia and spent the rest of their lives in emigration, largerly in France and Germany. Many famous Georgians spent the last years of their lives abroad, among them the writer Grigol Robakidze, who wrote in German as well as Georgian and was better known during his life in Germany than in his homeland. Robakidze is read by Germans even today. Giorgi Balanchivadze (George Balanchine) spent most of his life in America and founded a world-famous school of ballet though he was Georgian. So you don't necessarily have to leave in Georgia to help the Georgian people. 

The best way I can serve my country is by connecting foreign artists and Georgian artists. I recently initiated a scholarship program to support Georgian art students. All their expenses will be paid for and they will find mentors in Germany. I am still a citizen of Georgia. I have a film production service called Medea, which seeks to bring foreign filmmakers to Georgia. I believe that interaction with other cultures is Georgia's best hope for the future. When artists in Georgia are aware of what is going on outside their country, they will develop as artists. But there is a class of people who are not interested in such intercultural connections. This class is largely Soviet educated and unfortunately they are still in charge of most of the decisions about art in present-day Georgia. 

GT: Some artists create better in exile. Is this the case with you? Do you consider yourself an artist in exile?

IK: No. I wouldn't go that far. There are many artists who are forced into exile and I am not one of them. But, yes. I do believe that exile is important stage in the development of any artist. Many of Georgia's greatest modernist painters – from David Kakabadze to Lado Gudiashvili – spent their formative years abroad in Paris. You can better understand yourself and the place where you come from when you see it at a distance. Exile distances you from the prejudices of your country and gives you a chance to appreciate what others take for granted.  Sometimes I feel like I understand Georgia best when I am far away, just as I understand Germany when I am in Georgia. 

I have no simple answer to your questions about exile, but for me a divided life feels appropriate. It is hard to say to what extent my life-style is determined by the poor working conditions in Georgia and to what extent I live in Germany because a life in exile suits me. I suppose the truth lies in the middle. I do not want to give you the illusion that the exile is easy or romantic. Many of my Georgian friends in Germany have to struggle to make ends meet. However, all of them live better then they do in Georgia and they all find a more receptive audience for their work in Germany than in their homeland. I guess there is something in human nature which makes it easier for people to appreciate that which is far away. Otherwise I can't make sense of this phenomenon. You know that saying from the Bible „A prophet is without honor in his own country“. 

GT: What about the difficulties of learning a foreign language? This is one of the biggest problems faced by immigrants.
 
IK: Most of my Georgian friends in Germany know at least enough German to get by. Many have lived there for over ten years, so they have had time to adjust. It is true however, that this is a problem for many immigrants. But nowadays, it's enough to speak English if you want to live in Germany. The Georgian students who I will be bringing to Germany on scholarships all speak English, so they should have no problems finding their way. Of course, if you really want to assimilate into a foreign country, you have to know the official language as well as any native speaker. That doesn't happen in a matter of months, or even within a few years. Since I have lived in Germany for over a decade, I am as comfortable speaking and lecturing in German as in Georgian.

GT: What is the reaction to contemporary Georgian art in Germany? In general, what do Germans know about Georgians?

IK: The only thing most Germans think of when they think of Georgia is the Rose Revolution. Before that, when they saw my passport they would automatically associate it with the Soviet Union. Georgia was seen as part of Russia if not officially, then at least in the culture sense. In recent years the German public has learned more about Georgians and does not imagine Georgia as part of Russia any more. Now they tend exoticize it as part of the East, and oppose it to Western culture. Therefore, at least on a superficial level, Georgian art is very popular in Germany. It is a sort of fad. When Westerners view Georgia as part of the East, they aren't necessarily wrong. It is just that this too often takes the form of stereotypical divorce between Western and Eastern culture, although the two were polar opposites and had nothing to do with each other. I believe it's more accurate to see the West and East as complementary to each other rather than opposed. And there are many other ways to divide up the world than by using categories like „East“ and „West“. I believe that I grew up in a great country, which taught me a lot, but I am less optimistic about the future.

GT: If the popularity of Georgian art abroad is based on its exoticness, isn´t there a danger of such art becoming over-commercialized?

IK: This has already happened. The market is an inexorable force in the production of art. All contemporary artists produce their work in the context of globalization. People around the world are better informed about the latest news in American politics than they are about their own local events. The pervasiveness of American culture and the English language is commercialization of the kind which is impossible to ignore. It is a danger, and it should be resisted to the fullest extent possible, but we also have to realistic and not get caught up in romantic notions about the alienation of the artist from society.

December 2004

GEORGIA TODAY is one of the only independent English newspapers in Georgia with almost fifteen years of successful operation

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Editorial and concept: Irina Kurtishvili, Irakli Kiziria

Design: Irakli Kiziria / Deignprovocation, Berlin / www.designprovocation.com

Photos: Mike Beutler, Gia Chkhatarashvili, Jonas Gerhard, Andreas M. Kaufmann, Yuri Mechitov, Nugsar Nosadze, Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk, Sandro Sulaberidze, Timo Vogt

Texts by Irina Kurtishvili, Dr.Wolfgang Till Busse 
English translations by Alexander Nitussov, Manana Odisheli, Michael Vickers
French translation by Marie Christine Fischer

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