Speed Date / IVAN GALDÍK, graphic designer
Where are you from?
I was born in Rožňava, grew up in Rimavská Sobota, now I live and work in Bratislava.
Where did you study?
At the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava and at the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland.
Who was your best teacher?
It was probably Peter Nosáľ, who taught the graphic design preparatory course at the Academy of Fine Arts in the first year. It was only there that I understood what I really came to study, and that I really enjoyed it 😀 😀
Who were/ are your parents?
My dad works as a sales rep for a distribution company and my mom has tried more jobs. She’s currently working behind a computer at an engineering company, handling orders, invoices and all sorts of stuff. I don’t know exactly what the position is officially called.
What don’t you enjoy in design?
The fact that I have to sit behind a computer a lot.
And on the contrary, what do you?
Probably the fact that it still responds to the specific needs of people or the environment. It sets certain boundaries within which the designer/architect moves, trying to fill them as best as possible.
What do you listen to?
There’s an awful lot, but I feel that I’ve been glued to smart female singers and musicians with interesting voices like Angel Olsen, Susanne Sundfor, Anna von Hausswolff, Emily Wells or Anna Calvi for many years. I also like different kinds of electronic music, synthwave, ambient, absolutely most of all I adore techno.
Your favourite film, cartoon, series?
I’ll confess here that no film or series has this status with me. With so many good titles, is it even possible to choose one?
Who do you respect as an authority in and out of your field?
In my field, for example, Martin Pecina – I’ve always wanted to do books like him. Outside of that, e.g. Zuzana Čaputová. And Beyoncé.
What thing did you last buy?
Enchilada bread and raspberry mousse.
Do you buy professional literature? What was the latest book?
Yes, I do, the last book I bought was Modern Architecture: A Critical History by Kenneth Frampton.
Do you vote?
Of course.
Who throws the best parties?
I don’t know, but it would be great to hear from someone.
Your favourite dome?
I can’t choose.
Party dress. Made by…?
Someone probably already dead, since I often wear retro thrift store stuff to parties.
Your hero from the past?
I’ve never been into making up heroes.
Best/nicest house?
The first one that came to my mind was this one: Jindřich Kumpošt’s own villa.
But considering the emotional connection and memories, it would have to be our family cottage near Zelená Voda, built by my grandfather. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to see it on google maps (it’s behind the trees), but I’ll put a link here to the location of the pier in front of it, where we spent a lot of time in our childhood, e.g. watching my brother fishing.
Do you have any stereotypes when you work? How do they show?
I tend to illustrate everything and stick drawings everywhere.
What’s on your desktop?
A photo of an interior I would feel very comfortable in and then random pdfs and screenshots.
Best exhibition, work of art?
I was pretty impressed by the Hollywood, hand-painted movie posters exhibition in St. Petersburg in 2017, I think. I still remember some of these absurd motifs sometimes. Of the Slovak ones, Sen a skutočnosť [Dream and Reality] exhibition at the National Gallery of Art was definitely one of the best ones about art and propaganda.
What do you respect both from the local and foreign design scene? And why?
I respect any designer who can earn their own money with work they enjoy, maintain a high quality of output and ideally not go crazy.
Ethics or money?
These two things are not mutually exclusive, although it’s true that in some situations they stand in opposition to each other. That’s when I choose ethics.
Extraordinary book?
I may be being elementary here, but I can’t help it – Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. The book changed my perception of the world around me, as did his other books. Of the books I’ve read most recently, definitely Ztracený svatý by Ondřej Horák and Alexandra Kusá. An interesting combination of a probe into our past, fine art and very nice book design and illustrations.
Optimist, pessimist, nihilist?
I think I’m an optimist, with elements of nihilism in some situations.
Do you have any hobby?
I like to seek out good modernist architecture of the interwar period and wander through residential areas, mentally choosing a villa I’d like to live in.
Apart from that I like to draw, read and play games.
Solo or in a collective?
Solo.
Slovakia as the Promised Land?
Not really.