Interview Marija Markovic

 

Who is Marija Markovic?

Marija is a graphic designer and still undefined art historian.

 

Where do you reside? 

Belgrade, Serbia.

 

Which athlete you get out of bed for to watch? And why?

A long time ago I was really, really crazy about basketball. I used to stay awake until 3 AM to watch the Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers until around 7 AM, when I had to prepare to go to school. My basketball heroes of all time were (and still are, of course) Vlade Divac and Allen Iverson. Two totally different players but for me – all time favorites. 

 

You are clearly a big fan of football and basketball. Which teams get your blood pumping? And why?

Red Star, of course! All of my family members are Partizan fans and I am the only one supporting Red Star. They were wondering why I chose ‘’the wrong’’ club, instead of Partizan, but it is needless to explain why. Simply, because of everything! For me, Red Star will always be the best club in the world no matter what! Beside Red Star, I like a lot Arsenal and Atletico Madrid. 

 

Do you play football of basketball yourself? If so, are you as good at it as your artworks? If not, do you play any other sports?

This question reminded me of my very unsuccessful attempt to deal with basketball. I started to play basketball when I was 12 years old and in the beginning it was totally cool. But at a certain point I realized that basketball is not for me. Maybe it wasn’t as horrible as I think it was, but I realized it is much better if I stay away from the court and just watch it on TV. At least, I still have legendary Spalding Sacramento and Utah Jazz balls as a nice memory of that period of being a player myself.

 

Who’s your favourite artist? And why?

Uh, I can’t name just one. Along with graphic design I also studied History of Art and I have developed a huge love for Caravaggio (in my opinion, the greatest painter of all time), Alphonse Mucha, Lucian Freud, Gustav Klimt, Botticelli. Why? I am fascinated how talented they were, everything they created it’s a true masterpiece. Top geniuses. 

 

What was the key moment your love for art grew?

When I was 10 years old I started with my painting classes in the Russian cultural center. I fell in love with the way Russians presented art to us kids and I knew that I wanted to be an artist like them when I grew up. I’m not quite sure I imagined my art with football and basketball when I was 10, but it turned out to be even better!

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How did your love for sports come about? And specifically football and basketball?

Basketball is considered a ‘’national’’ sport in Serbia, so it is understandable why. We have a very long tradition in this sport and it’s impossible not to love it! With football it's almost the same, except our results are pretty bad. But football is football. You don’t need some special reason to love it!

 

When did sport become a subject of your own art?

The period after I graduated I was a bit experimental in my work. I was into collage and mixing techniques since my student days and I realized that style suits me best. So I tried to apply all of that in sport design. Around four years sport is the main subject of my work. But who knows what will happen in the future!

 

What is Marija Markovic’s style?

Actually, I never know how any of my posters is going to look like in the end. I do have some sketch in my head, but often that sketch and final version do not match completely. I use photos, typography, brushes, sometimes different textures and all of that mixed together is representing my work. 

 

And how did you get to this style? Or how did the style choose you?

I guess this style is the product of the constant elements mixing from my previous answer. The way I work now will probably stay as it is in the future with some periodical style changes, which is quite normal for every designer.

 

You clearly love typography. What is your favourite Font? And why?

Sometimes work without typography looks incomplete. I use Courier New font if I have to write a text. For work, I like to use Bevan, Street Cred and Press Style often. Due to the fact that Cyrillic is my first alphabet and I prefer it more than Latin alphabet. I would like that font designers pay attention to us! We need more nice Cyrillic fonts please!

 

Where do you create your artworks?

I feel most comfortable when I work on my computer and from home, where everything is organized the way I like.

 

What is your favourite sport artwork you made?

No doubt, Dejan Savićević.  He is my favorite player, along with Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Bergkamp, Piksi. I created numerous posters of Dejan Savićević, beacuse a lot of football fans simply love him. 

 

If somebody wants to see your work in real life, where do they have to go?

At the moment only on the website www.behance.net/marijabg. Soon I hope, when I put some more effort in, people will see it in real life.

 

Which sport, sports team or athlete has always been on your mind, and is on the list to make a work of?

Atletico Madrid. But cycling and swimming are quite tempting for sport design.

 

Which sport artist/colleague of yours do we have to check out?

Definitely, Osvaldo Casanova and James Taylor. I love their work!

 

If you could choose one athlete you could make art with together for a day and he would teach you his skills, who would it be? And why?

Thierry Henry. Simply a legend.

 

Julius Caesar used to say (freely translated): “Give the people bread and games, and they will be quiet.” If you were Julius for a day, wanted to keep everybody relaxed, what food and which games would you give them?

I bet that Julius Caesar would suggest the same: first watch Arsenal – Liverpool. Then watch the 

basketball finals Serbia – USA, where Serbia wins, finally! All while eating popcorn! Just to keep everybody relaxed.  

 

When I say Art Loves Sport, what’s the first thing that pops up in your mind?

Art + Sport = Perfect combination

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