Speed Date / LINDA VIKOVÁ, ceramicist
Linda Viková, photo: Mafin Laurincová.
Where are you from?
Bratislava.
Where did you study?
I studied ceramics at the School of Applied Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design.
Who was your best teacher?
During my studies at the VŠVU it was, paradoxically, some of the conschool teachers with whom we shared what little knowledge and experience in ceramics we managed to gain. We supported and helped each other. Plus most of it stuck with me during my stays at the Margaretenhöhe ceramics workshop in Essen which is still run by ceramist Young-Jae Lee. Back at School of Applied Arts I spent the whole summer holidays in the workshop together with Young-Jae – nothing better could have happened to me.
Who were/ are your parents?
I owe my parents for my positive relationship with nature and art. My childhood was out of the norm as I knew my classmates in elementary school. Our trips to the forest, mountains and the amount of time spent in nature, as well as regular visits to galleries, museums, the theatre, the complete edition of Pijoan in the library, etc. were unique in the Petržalka housing estate during the former regime. My mother’s brother emigrated abroad, so they let the two of us go abroad, and thus I could already admire the Viennese Art Nouveau or the Der Blaue Reiter collection in Munich at elementary school. Today my parents are retired, still keenly interested in art, spending time in nature and supporting me in my work.
What don’t you enjoy in design?
When there’s an awful lot of it, megalomania, everything disposable, non-organic, poor quality materials and even shoddy workmanship, everything impractical and useless.
And on the contrary, what do you?
Mastered craftsmanship, timelessness when quality natural materials are used – ideally locally sourced, with no negative impact on the environment, authenticity, practicality and good vibes – something you want and need every day – whether in architecture or design.
What do you listen to?
Vinyl at home, Spotify in the studio, various podcasts and audiobooks. The list would be cruelly long…
Your favourite film or cartoon?
This is a tricky question for a film fanatic, it would be hard to be concise. Okay so at elementary school it was Nosferatu eine Symphonie des Grauens by F. W. Murnau, Dario Argento’s Suspiria and Demons still entertain me just as much. Later it was Rob Zombie and his House of 1000 corpses. Animated films by Suzan Pitt, Mamoru Oshii, Hayao Miyazaki. David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series, and for relief, the Trailer Park Boys series, or Ben Sinclair’s High Maintenance anthology.
Who do you respect as an authority in and out of your field?
I have experienced and recognize the aforementioned Young-Jae Lee as an authority in the field. Of course I also recognize other ceramists and artists. While I don’t know some of them personally, I do perceive and admire their work. Because they do their art properly and sincerely and it is their mission in life, not a trendy vanity.
What thing did you last buy?
Cotopaxi face mask.
Do you buy professional literature? What was the latest book?
I buy quite a lot that comes out about ceramics, but the last thing I bought was a monograph on my favorite American folk artist who lived and worked at the turn of the 19th/20th century. Bill Traylor.
Do you vote?
Yes!
Who throws the best parties?
In our neck of the woods, without a doubt, Jah Division Sound Gang and Kinky Afro.
Your favourite dome?
Sky.
Party dress. Made by…?
Pants and especially comfortable shoes.
Your hero from the past?
Sandokan.
Best/nicest house?
The blue house where the moomins used to live.
Do you have any stereotypes when you work? How do they show?
I definitely do. Honestly… I don’t want to deal with them.
What’s on your desktop?
It’s in order.
Best exhibition, work of art?
I like to think of The Oasis of Matisse at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam or the permanent exhibition of Giorgio Morandi in Bologna , but the best exhibition is always the one I’m currently in and I often find one or two or three there… the best works.
What do you respect both from the local and foreign design scene? And why?
As with the question about authorities – whether at home or abroad, I respect all those who don’t do their art superficially but it’s a sincere, authentic statement and honest, properly polished work that makes sense.
Ethics or money?
Both, in harmonious symbiosis.
Extraordinary book?
I first thought of Perdido Street Station by China Miéville so I’d better not ponder further, because the next list…
Optimist, pessimist, nihilist?
Melancholic.
Do you have any hobby?
Ceramics. It’s both my hobby and my profession.
Solo or in a collective?
Individually or in a pair, maybe a smaller collective – a very small collective.
Slovakia as the Promised Land?
Uff…