Conversations with Kristina Bogdanov

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Bogdanov.

Hi Kristina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I come from a country that sadly no longer exists – former Yugoslavia. It fell apart in the civil war during the 90’s. The part of former Yugoslavia I was born in and raised is now known as Republic of Serbia. I graduated with the BFA from the Academia of Applied Arts University of Belgrade, and then, with a miraculous turn of events, (quite extraordinary, believe me), I got an opportunity to pursue graduate studies in the United States. I came to America in 2003 to pursue the MFA degree at the University of Kentucky, and I graduated with emphasis in Ceramics and Drawing media. I joined Ohio Wesleyan University, Fine Arts department in 2007, where I have been teaching ceramics, drawing and design classes. For the past 17 years, as an artist, I have been perfecting photolithography image transfer technique on different clay bodies to create an interdisciplinary visual language that merges the inherent beauty and expressive potential of ceramics, photography and printmaking. Memory is a subject that intrigues me in many ways. Memory is vital to shaping us into who we are. Human memory is influenced by complex and multifaceted layers of personal experience, history, heritage, globalization and information age. In a society that is obsessed with recording reality on a daily basis in a virtual realm, I am drawn to transform the impermanence of mundane by utilizing objects, process and image.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In my personal and artistic journey there have been struggles, and in some years, I dealt with significant issues and stressful circumstances. It was not easy to reestablish my roots on the new continent, but on the other hand, the shock of the new and unknown was also the catalyst for learning how to trust myself, who am I and what kind of a person I want to be. The deep dive into my own authenticity naturally involved the research and work I have been doing for my graduate art degree. Although heavily struggling financially as an international student and being under a constant pressure on how to cover the bills and live day to day, I knew that the investment in my education and intellectual growth was giving me the symbolic wealth and invaluable resource. As a student and avid reader, I felt lucky for being able to access so many incredible libraries, college or public, and so many art venues, from museums to art centers and galleries. At this point, as college professor, I always share with my students how art is a powerful, universal language, and how for that reason, it is very importnat that they approach the study of the art language critically as well as intuitively. As a non native English speaker, I experienced how artistic expression can go beyond the restrictions of formal, language barriers. I am privileged and honored to teach at college, however, there are still problems and issues that I encounter, as every person: taking care of family, health, finance, state of the world in general. Life is hard, but I learn every day, and because of this constant mode of open curiosity I strive to be in, I tend to see and recognize patterns and signs, both in my personal life, and on more global level. As an immigrant, being away from my immediate family has been hard, but from this longing I learned to recognize and accept some people here as my newly found family.
In retrospect, I owe a lot to several individuals, and mentors who guided me and supported me when needed; they are true examples of kindness and humanity. It was essential to have the love and unquestionable trust that I can do art professionally from my husband and soul mate. Becoming a mother, and giving birth to my first daughter as a student during my graduate studies was a significant challenge, however, it was also the most profound push for me to become the best version of myself.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am primarily working with clay, but I am interested in intersections of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional arts, and the integration of different mediums. It was important to me to develop a low tech and low cost photo transfer technique on clay because the subject of recording memory has been the larger context of my artwork. For past 17 years, I have been working and developing a photolithography transfer technique. I have learned the lithography technique as a graduate student in the printmaking class. In 2009, I collaborated with OWU student., Lisa Dorazewski, and we worked together on reviving the photolithography process in clay. Over time, I have increased the finesse of the printing process by applying the image on different clay stages, and by combining traditional underglaze and overglaze painting processes with the transferred image. I love how this technique merges the inherent beauty and expressive potential of ceramics, photography and printmaking. My work on platters investigates the relationship between the social and the individual, the public and the domestic space. During the most intensive period of the COVID 19 I began photographing daily occurrences in my kitchen. I was drawn to the complexities of shapes of the clustered dishes in the sink. The idea to transfer these images of chaos on familiar household objects such as plates was my translation of how our collective connectivity and the meaning of tangible things were challenged by epidemic. The series does not eschew a subtle sense of humor by adorning plates with “dirty dishes.” Some of my earlier work, the tile canvas installations focused on images I took of my family or during my travels.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a shy but very stubborn kid, who somehow, early on dreamed of becoming an artist. I loved to draw, paint, and make things. I also loved writing and journaling, so I was very prone to day dreaming and creating stories in my mind. Reading was another, very importnat activity; as a kid I read all kinds of genre: fiction, non fiction, poetry, from classics to contemporary. Most of my time, I spent on drawing, doodling and later, as a student in art, on learning throwing and sculpting with clay. I don’t think I ever said “I am bored” in my life. Through out my childhood, I had several collections going, I loved to collect different things, from miniature objects, to stamps, and brushes. School and education were always very importnat to me; I was a very good student, a “nerd” as one might describe me. Personality wise, someone once told me I was an introverted extrovert, and I think that is still true.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kristina-bogdanov-ilic-art.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-bogdanov-577292218/