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An interview with Sven Regener

3. June 2011 Artists, Quotations Leave a comment

Dominic Dillier, editor and presenter from Swiss Radio DRS 3, recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sven Regener, among other things about his books, the music from Element of Crime, art and Berlin. A fascinating discussion. The full interview and also a performance of the music from Element of Crime at the KIFF in Aarau can be heard on www.drs3.ch

A few extracts from the interview, especially on the theme of art, are collected here.

Sven Regener…

… about criticism

“A serious artist will not change what he is doing just because someone or other writes that he thinks it is silly.”

“Honesty is not a criterion for me in art.”

“Critics are responsible to the public and not to me.”

“One should not complain about poor reviews, but equally one should also not thank critics for good ones.”

… about art

“I do not have a message […] In art it is not a matter of sharing one’s thoughts or expressing oneself.”

“It is about making art. About creating something that didn’t exist before. We are playing. For this reason I do not like to hear the term “work” used in art. […] In art we get to play, and that is what we like about it. With art we do not want to see the outcome of hard work.”

“The great thing about music is that even sad music is beautiful. […] If life is lived properly, sadness does not make one happy. But it can do in music. This makes music into a unique, magnificent art.”

…about the quotation “art is when someone says that it is art and finds someone who believes him” from his book “The Little Brother”

“We are mistaken when we believe that the term “art” in itself is a judgement. We should never forget that there is also bad art. […] When something is art, then it is art. It is no use saying that it isn’t art because it is stupid, or such like. No, art can be stupid too. Art can also be boring. But nevertheless it is art. It is art as soon as I myself say that it is art and find someone who believes me.”

“The love of art is not a virtue. I think it is great when people love art, but there are also people to whom it means nothing at all. And that’s ok too. It is all just offerings.”

… about Berlin

“It is the biggest city that we have. And to a certain extent also the most relaxed. Because Berlin is a city that actually isn’t needed at all. Berlin is a completely pointless city in Germany. […] I personally absolutely love living there, and it is a very relaxed city because it exercises very little economic pressure. It is relatively easy to live there. For many artists, above all young artists, it makes it very easy to go there and to keep their head above water.”

“After a week in Berlin you are simply there. No-one is interested in where you come from, who you are otherwise, what you have planned and where you were born, whether or not you are a Berliner. It is simply of no interest to anyone; it just does not matter.”