Holiday "bus" with Tarantula's Artists and Writers
"Bus" - Swedish for mischief
Tijana Pakić
Tarantula: Authors and Art: If you could collaborate with one artist on decorating your Christmas tree, who would that be (they can be dead or alive)
Tijana: With Christo and Jeanne-Claude !
What was your favorite piece of art, besides your own, in 2021?
Jungle Blues, C.W. Stoneking. It dates from 2008.
Did any book leave an impression on you in this year? Which one?
Encampment Wyoming, Selections from the Lora Webb Nichols Archive, 1899 - 1948
Do you have any special rituals/meal to celebrate the holiday?
Every year I celebrate Christmas twice, first in France on December 25th because I have a child with my husband who is French and after that in Serbia on January 7th, when they celebrate Christmas. Completely different food and different customs! In France people eat foie gras and oysters while in Serbia beside meals like prebranac (baked beans) people bake a bread and put a gold coin inside. Than the oldest person distrubutes the pieces of bread to everyone on the table. Who will get the coin? Finally, one person gets it and everybody is happy for them. The gold coin symbolizes healthy and happiness. I always liked this part of the Christmas evening.
Which book would you gift a child as a Christmas gift?
My little Picasso, Marie Sellier
What would you like to do, see, feel more in 2022?
I would like to gather physically with more people than in last two years.
Is there a gift that you would like to receive?
I have a bit of a hard time to understand the way the capitalist part of the planet celebrates Christmas. People take part in the massive and excessive consumerism that has no meaningful explanation. I hate it. My parents offered me every year a pair of socks and that’s cool.
Anything coming up for you artistically in 2022?
I hope so! If it happens, I will talk about it in 2022.
Karen Grace
Tarantula: Authors and Art: If you would collaborate with one artist on decorating your Christmas tree, who would that be? (They can dead or alive)
Karen Grace: Frida Kahlo
What was your favorite piece of art, besides your own, in 2021?
I can’t pick just one! But my favorite exhibit was the Utopia exhibit by Cooper & Gorfer at the Fotografiska Museum in Stockholm, Sweden (it’s still there I believe!)
Did any book leave an impression on you in this year? Which one?
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. Such a magical depiction of Scandinavian summertime!
Do you have any special rituals/meal to celebrate the holiday?
Since moving to Stockholm (from the USA) we are mostly trying out new Swedish Christmas traditions!
Which book would you gift a child as a Christmas gift?
Moomintrolls Christmas! It’s my new favorite Christmas story!
Anything coming up for you artistically in 2022?
I think this is the year I’ll write a book 😄
Sanja Vladovic
Tarantula: Authors and Art: If you would collaborate with one artist on decorating your Christmas Tree, who would that be? (They can be dead or alive)
I would love to see Christmas Tree decorated by Magritte.
What was your favourite piece of art, besides your own, in 2021?
Sculptures by Nikola Smilkov.
Did any book leave an impression on you in this year? Which one?
This year it is two non-ficiton books: ”Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul” by Shawn Askinosie, and ”Love Around the World” by Davor Rostuhar
Do you have any special rituals/meal to celebrate the holiday?
Chocolate!
Which book would you gift a child as a Christmas gift?
Chocolate - The Consuming Passion by Sandra Boynton
What would you like to do, see, feel more in 2022?
”Dolce far niente”
Is there a gift that you would like to receive?
”Dolce far niente”
Anything coming up for you artistically in 2022?
I plan to start working on documentary film ”HUMANS OF CACAO.”
Ivan Petrović
Tarantula: Authors and Art: What was your favorite piece of art, besides your own, in 2021?
Instead of mentioning an example from the world of art, I would like to refer to a piece of work that belongs to the realm of amateur photography. In question are the photographs of Colonel Jeremija Stanojevic who systematically photographed urban changes in Belgrade in the early 1930’s.
Did any book leave an impression on you in this year? Which one?
Oswald Spengler The Decline of the West (Der Untergang des Abendlandes)
Do you have any special rituals/meal to celebrate the holiday?
In the Orthodox Christian way of celebrating Christmas which is celebrated in Serbia according to the old Julian calendar, a Christmas tree, Yule log (in Serbian is badnjak) is brought into the house on Christmas Eve - a young oak tree about 1-1.5 m high. The tree is placed in the center of the living room where the family gathers, then, at the bottom of the tree a sign of the cross is engraved over which wine is poured in addition to being coated with honey. Symbolically, straw is spread through the room which is also sprinkled with wheat. A lenten diner is served that consists of fish, beans, pickled vegetables, ajvar (paprika spread), stuffed peppers, and sauerkraut pie. Once the Christmas tree is brought into the house, no one is allowed to leave the house or come to the house until the next day: everyone is waiting for a “položajnik” - the one who will come first to the house and be the guest of honour.
On Christmas morning, a thin wheat bread called ”česnica” is made, in which a metal coin is hidden, as well as a grain of corn, one bean and sprig of hawthorn. Each of the components have their own meaning and symbolism. A coin for earnings and well being; corn for food on the table; a bean for gainings; hawthorn for good health.
Upon entering the home, the “položajnik” breaks off a small branch from the Yule log and leaves a gift; he then approached the hearth where with a blessing (saying good wishes to the family) he lights a branch that partially burns. The branch is then placed above the hearth and kept for a certain time. Everyone then gathers around the table and the bread “česnica” is broken. Gifts are given to the first guest, the “položajnik”.
Maja Milanovic
Tarantula: Authors and Art: If you would collaborate with one artist on decorating your Christmas tree, who would that be? (They can dead or alive)
Maja Milanovic: Swedish photographer, Helena Blomqvist.
What was your favorite piece of art, besides your own, in 2021?
I recently discovered James Castle. Born deaf, at the end of the 19th C, he used drawing as a way of expression. What is interesting and inspiring about him for Tarantula:Authors and Art readers is that he used scrap and materials found at home to make exquisite sculptures.
Did any book leave an impression on you in this year? Which one?
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It changed completely the way I view and refer to nature.
Is there a gift that you would like to receive?
A writing class with Lidia Yuknavitch, a mentorship of some sort, be it work or life in general, or a pair of Chie Mihara shoes, why not?
Anything coming up for you artistically in 2022?
My short story “The Language of Strawberries” will be published in The Stripes Magazine this upcoming January, and then we will see! I hope to have more creative collaborations come my way.
Happy Holidays!
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