ART OF
MIO
by Lulu Berton
His mixed media technique consists of overlaying video and photography multiple times in order to build up distortion. The process is then finished with sublimation on aluminum canvas
using heat and pressure.
Mio shares his insights into his art, and his life.
“Art has saved my life”, admits the artist from his Venice Beach studio while adding the finishing touches on his unique metal canvas portraying a black and white profile of James Dean. Originally from former Yugoslavia, Mio has moved to Los Angeles twenty years ago after witnessing the deterioration of his country during the war, and “part of that” he says, “is subtly reflected in my artwork”.
Among many other things, he has worked as an actor in Hollywood, starring alongside Jeff Bridges in Stick It (2006), and subsequently went on to become a very resourceful screenwriter, with currently a couple of film projects in development.
His unique artworks on metal canvas have gained him international attention. With his automotive collection, he appeared as Jay Leno’s first artist on Jay Leno’s Garage Show.
steady future. The toxic effects of conformity and consumerism make it harder for true art to be seen and recognized. Also when the money does come sometimes it brings with it the ugly side of people involved.
Describe your creative process…
I try to be sensitive to my intuition and follow the signs it gives me. Then I follow the feeling and try to distort the image repetitively until I end up with an image that satisfies this longing for peace and calm, even though it might be abstract or indiscernible to anyone else.
Why did you chose aluminum as a media instead of canvas?
I like the smooth richness of color I get from sublimating on raw aluminum where the white color is void, it gives the feeling of sleek rigidity without being heavy or cumbersome. Image sublimated on aluminum transcends from a hi-def, hi-res digital image into a solid field of color, any kind of pixelation and highly measured boundary is eliminated.
Could you expand on your sublimation process?
The word itself signifies something changing form. Image is baked onto a sheet of aluminum using high heat and pressure and the paint or pigment went from liquid to gas to solid.
On what is your art iconography based? Which art subjects do you like working on the most?
I would say it's based on nostalgia for some kind of beauty that is abstract and fantastic to a different degree. Softening the hard lines of subject's identity whether it's a person or an animal or a car r just raindrops on the window can reveal a certain depth where a feeling or even a story can come through.
Who are your favorite artists?
Dali, Robert Williams, Kandinsky ...
You are also an automotive artist. What is it about cars that inspires you most?
Cars are the expression of the frantic explosion of the industrial, technical and cultural evolution in the 20th century. As sculptures they are the symbols of our times, they affect our lives to a different degree through the compromise of function and esthetics. I grew up on the coast of northern Yugoslavia which is now Croatia, listening to the sounds of the engines of Italian exotics winding up and down my street.
You were the first artist to be featured on the Jay Leno Show. How is Jay in person?
Jay has a kind of emotional intelligence that's very rare in people. He can "read" a person and lead a conversation with absolute ease. He is obviously happy to spend his weekends in his garage and his garage crew are the happiest and luckiest bunch of guys you will find anywhere, that says a lot.
Which profession rather then yours would you like to attempt?
It would be a fairly even struggle between a pirate and an architect, which makes for a zero sum game. Writing and directing is next to art as my main interest.
You are also a screenwriter. How did you learn how to write?
As an actor I met a screenwriter on a movie set and we decided to write something together. I learned the basics and just kept going.
As an actor you also starred with Jeff Bridges. Was he fun?
Jeff is a true gentleman, multitalented and generous of spirit. He treats everybody with utmost respect and has a calming effect on all the people he works with.
Who are your real life heroes?
My parents lost literally everything due to the war right when they were about to retire. They went through hell and in spite of that their love for each other and their spirits grew stronger. I am their only child and they are my true heroes.
Which historical figure you most identify with?
Nikola Tesla was born in a village not too far from where my mother was born. I don't identify as much as long to tell his tragic story to the world. The inability and the unwillingness of the world to recognize his gifts is a true global tragedy.
Which are the qualities you most admire in the opposite sex?
Honesty and loyalty.
…and in other men?
Honesty, loyalty and courage.
If this was your last day on earth how would you like to spend it?
Giving all my possessions away shouldn't take long and the rest of the day surrounded with the love of my life and a bunch of puppies.
How would you define success?
Freedom to be true to yourself and to express that freedom by doing things that benefit all.
Your idea of perfect happiness….
Catamaran anchored in front of a shack on a beach on one of the Cook Islands with a true love for company and a dog. An Airstream trailer somewhere in Big Sur also comes to mind.
You have a motto you live by?
Above enemy, above desire, win first, fight later and you will always be glorious (Bushido samuraj). What you see with your eyes shut is what really counts (Lame Deer, Lacota).
ARTWORK ON METAL CANVAS
Perreault Magazine - 30 -