On 3 December 2016 at 4 pm, Kunstverein München proudly presents Darius Mikšys’ Artists’ Parents Meeting, in the context of the 2016 Jahresgaben exhibition. Mikšys has invited all of the parents of the exhibiting artists for a special private discussion concerning their own role as artists whose artwork – their children – are the artists in the show.
Dear parents of my well respected German colleague,
I’d like to invite you to an event in which you may recognize your artist daughter or son as an artwork of your own. On 2 December 2016, Kunstverein München will present its annual Jahresgaben exhibition, featuring a selection of artworks by your children alongside over 70 other contemporary artists who live and work in Munich. On 3 December 2016 at 4pm at Kunstverein München, all of the parents of the artists are invited to have a group discussion within the context of this exhibition. I hope that you will agree to join us for this Artists’ Parents Meeting, where you can get acquainted with other parents of Munich-based artists.
We’ll have the exhibition space filled with artworks by your children and we will sit next to each other at a table with refreshments, just as your children’s works have settled next to each other in the surrounding room. Perhaps then you could remember the first time you were facing this dilemma: to choose an artistic path for yourself or for your kids. Or both? Or was it that your kids didn’t want a rational life and you decided to consent to their preference? Even if it happened in a completely different way, we still have similar results – as we will see their works next to each other, each distinct but somewhat familiar or even looking alike.
Just as we will sit around the table stuck on this mid-afternoon, similarly your artist children may sometimes feel stuck in their mid-carriers, uncertain of where to move next. For a start to our discussion, we could all speculate on “how to produce better artists?”.
Back in 2007, the Artists’ Parents Meeting was simply an idea to credit artist parents as artists themselves whose artwork – their children – are the artists in the show. I wrote:
“Sometime in the beginning of the 1980s I was sitting in the front-seat of our family car, holding new set of artistic tools in my hands: a new portable easel, tempera paints, charcoal, and brushes. I was 14 and I was about to apply for the art gymnasium, which was not very appealing to me. I preferred to see myself becoming an engineer rather than an artist. My mom was of a completely different opinion. She argued that only from one side engineering might look attractive, but that, in reality, it was nothing but routine. And she, being an engineer herself, seemed to know this. Holding the new toys in my hands, I had to decide which way to go. Well, now I am an artist and I love routine – not mine, but that of others. To me, spending time in the office seems like a dream and I would never advise my children to become artists, because it is quite routine as I know it.
I wonder what motives drive other parents to support their children as artists? For me, it is hard to believe that most of you did not take part in their decision: being an artist is a specific position, which requires long-time care and support from both family and state. In fact, I think that the parents who support their children to become artists produce the artist, and are therefore the unacknowledged artists. I am curious to discuss with you some of the following questions: How to produce the artist? Where do artists come from? Is it a matter of choice to become an artist, or do some predefined qualities make it inescapable? Are there some particular features in a person's surroundings that make one an artist? Do people who make artists believe they are artists, or is it the inverse? When does a person begin being an artist? Is it possible that life and career choices either induce or terminate the formation of the artist?”
This will be the 7th Artists’ Parents Meeting. Previous ones have taken place in Lyon, Sydney, New York, Vilnius, Cardiff and Brisbane. I’m happy to address you through the Kunstverein München team, director Chris Fitzpatrick and curator Post Brothers, who kindly invited us to attend this meeting in Munich.
Kind Regards,
Darius Mikšys
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Darius Mikšys, Artists' Parents Meeting, Kunstverein München, 2016. Drawing by S. Zolotuchina. Courtesy of the artist.