Maja Erdeljanin is a visual artist, writer, and curator from Novi Sad, Serbia, born in 1971. Her artistic practice reflects a dual concern for ethics and aesthetics. She explores philosophical and ecological themes, as well as concepts of beauty and harmony, with a particular focus on the psychological significance of colors (cycle “Color Therapy” 2006-2012).
She has been active in the art scene of Novi Sad and Vojvodina since 1992 and has collaborated with art institutions and organizations across Europe since the late 1990s. She has published the novels “24 x 30”, “Der Diary” and “Aloud” , the travelogue “La Postcard”, the collection of short stories “Dear Diary”, and the art monograph “Novi Sad: Cityscape – Novi Sad in Fine Arts, 18th-21st Century” (co-authored with Vladimir Mitrović and Sava Stepanov).
Since 2006, she has been keeping a visual-prose-video diary, which today includes more than 500 works (paintings, short stories, video, and audio recordings). The largest section of this diary consists of 366 paintings, part of the “Awareness Year” polyptych (each painting measuring 24 x 30 cm, symbolically representing 24 hours in a day and 30 days in a month), with a total length of 17 meters and a height of 185 cm. This cycle also includes larger-sized paintings, around fifty short stories, and about thirty video works, each accompanied by a legend providing information about the World and the author’s Days of Awareness. The catalog for the “Dear Diary” exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina (2023) was, for the first time in the museum’s half-century history, a publication combining both fine art and fine literature.
The latest part of this cycle consists of books-objects titled “Dear Diary, Library”.
“Besides wondering about the purpose, origin, and way of marking each of the World Awareness Days—some of which are deeply poignant, some educational, and some comical—each made me question how aware I am of my own reality, what I did on a given day, and what I was thinking about. We can only try to understand others from our personal perception. I designed this cycle with the hope that the observer will do the same, reflecting on their own reality as I share my story, prompted by an even larger and more important World Day. The events described (such as going to a concert, riding a bus, buying curtains) and their lack of a direct connection to the World Days only emphasize our disinterest in them—our preoccupation with daily routine and personal problems. We condemn each day to oblivion if it does not provide us with enough drama or satisfaction…
… The mind hastily forgets yesterday, erases the past, in order to function unrealistically today, trusting in a spectacular future. That is why I wanted to contrast the major themes with seemingly insignificant ones—those that, in their insignificance, deviate from the race for obligations, success, and fame. These moments become a vacuum, a silence, the silent center of the tornado.”
— Maja Erdeljanin
Maja Erdeljanin (Novi Sad, 1971) bavi se umetnošću kroz autorski (likovni i prozni) i urednički rad. Njena umetnička praksa podjednako postavlja pitanja etike i estetike, istražuje filozofske i ekološke teme, kao i koncept lepote i harmonije, sa posebnim fokusom na psihološki značaj boja (ciklus “Color Therapy” 2006-2012).
Na umetničkoj sceni Novog Sada i Vojvodine aktivna je od 1992. godine, a od kasnih devedesetih sarađuje sa umetničkim institucijama i organizacijama širom Evrope. Objavila je romane “24 x 30”, “Der Dnevnik” i “Naglas”, putopis “La razglednica”, zbirku kratkih priča “Dragi dnevniče” i umetničku monografiju Novog Sada “Slika grada – Novi Sad u likovnim umetnostima 18–21. veka” (koautori tekstova: Vladimir Mitrović i Sava Stepanov).
Od 2006. godine vodi vizuelno-prozni dnevnik koji danas broji više od 500 radova (slika, kratkih priča, video i audio zapisa). Njegov najveći deo čini 366 slika koje su deo poliptiha “Godina svesnosti” (svaka slika je dimenzija 24 x 30 cm, simbolično 24 sata x 30 dana u mesecu), ukupne dužine 17 metara i visine 185 cm. Ovaj ciklus čine i slike većih dimenzija, pedesetak kratkih priča i tridesetak video radova, a svaki rad prati odgovarajuća legenda sa podacima o svetskim i autorkinim Danima svesnosti. Katalog izložbe “Dragi dnevniče” u Muzeju savremene umetnosti Vojvodine (2023), bio je u isto vreme i prvi put da ovaj muzej u svojoj poluvekovnoj istoriji štampa publikaciju iz oblasti likovne umetnosti i iz lepe književnosti istovremeno.
Najnoviji deo ciklusa čine knjige-objekti pod nazivom “Dragi dnevniče, biblioteka”.
„Osim zapitanosti o svrsi, poreklu i načinu obeležavanja svakog od Svetskih datuma svesnosti, od kojih su neki duboko potresni, neki edukativni, a neki komični, svaki je učinio da se zapitam koliko sam svesna sopstvene stvarnosti, šta sam radila određenog dana, o čemu sam razmišljala. Iz lične percepcije jedino i možemo da pokušamo da razumemo druge. Ciklus sam osmislila sa pretpostavkom i nadom da će i posmatrač isto da učini, ako mu ispričam svoju priču, potaknutu nekom još većom i važnijom, nekim Svetski danom, da će da se zapita o sopstvenoj stvarnosti. Opisani događaji (odlazak na koncert, vožnja autobusom, kupovina zavesa) i nepostojanje direktne veze sa svetskim danima samo naglašava moju/našu nezainteresovanost za njih, okupiranost dnevnom rutinom i ličnim problemima. Svaki taj dan osuđujemo na zaborav ako nam na ličnom planu nije pružio dovoljno drame ili satisfakcije…
… Um užurbano zaboravlja juče, briše prošlost da bi mogao da funkcioniše danas nerealno se uzdajući u spektakularnu budućnost. Zato sam htela da u kontrastu sa velikim temama prikažem neke potpuno nevažne, one koje svojom beznačajnošću odstupaju od trke za obavezama, uspehom i slavom, postaju vakuum, tišina, nemi centar tornada.“ (Maja Erdeljanin)
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