What is the best thing that I love about my work?
I’m a visual artist and I like to use different languages and make them interact. Photography, sculpture, video and writing. I like the opportunity to express what I have inside through these techniques. There are various steps that I like very much. When I have a new idea in mind, a new emotion, a new place and connections and visions begin to be created. The time of action, loneliness and adrenaline during work. Preparation and reflection. The relationship with people who relate with my work.
What is my idea of perfect happiness?
Happiness is knowing how to dance on the waves. Then…there are so many moments of perfect happiness. When I’m with the people I love. When I work, when I’m by the river or in the high mountains, when someone smiles, the plant world, the music…
What is my greatest fear?
I am afraid of seeing the people I love suffer and to lose them. I am afraid of arrogance and indifference. Labelling.
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?
I stopped playing musical instruments…but I can start again! Sometimes I’m really too emotional and empathetic. I like this side of mine, but sometimes…not so much…
Which living persons in my profession do I most admire?
There is more than one person I admire… and with some of them, we became friends and this is a great fortune!
What is my greatest extravagance?
Ehm… I don’t think I have extravagances … maybe, sometimes…strange “rituals”. And I accumulate useless and old things.
On what occasion would I lie?
In case of extreme need. Or if the truth would unnecessarily hurt the person. But probably my face will turns red.
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?
I dislike when I have to relate to people without passion and they are unclear in working relationship.
When and where was I the happiest, in my work?
There are many moments. The inaugurations of my exhibitions. The acquisition of one of my artwork by the museum Archivio Nazionale dell’Autoritratto, MUSINF in Italy. My solo exhibition “L’anima femminile” in the Galerie Lichtraum eins in Vienna and then in Capo di Ponte (Italy) for the Photo Festival Segni. See my artworks published in various newspapers, books and magazines in Europe. And in every place where I took photos.
If I could, what would I change about myself?
My hair. To be unable to relax. Body pain.
What is my greatest achievement in work?
The network of relationships and when the connection between my artworks (and my sensibility) and other people begins. When they tell me their emotions that, through the work, come back to the surface. And when the questions start to come out and they help to go to a different awareness and understanding.
Where would I most like to live?
I like where I live now. It is a village, 40 minutes from Vienna. The landscape is wonderful and makes me feel good.
What is my most treasured possession?
My external hard drives. My books and my music collection. Some special gifts that I keep with love.
What is my most marked characteristic?
A sort of gut feeling (in Italian I would say “sentire con la pancia”). Instinct and empathy. Curiosity and strong energy. I’m good at organizing.
What is my most inspirational location, in my city?
My attic. And the fields.
What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city?
My favorite places are the Heuriger. They open only for a few weeks a year. You can drink their own wine and eat very good local meal! They also offer homemade products.
What books influenced my life and how?
There are several books for different moments of my life. But I would like to mention Éloge de la fuite by Henri Laborit, Neige and Le Violon noir by Maxence Fermine, (The unbearable lightness of being) Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí by Milan Kundera, Le città invisibili (Invisible Cities) by Italo Calvino, Le Chef-d’œuvre inconnu (The Unknown Masterpiece )by Honoré de Balzac, The Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship by Charles Bukowski.
Who are my favorite writers?
Kundera, Calvino, Bukowski, Alda Merini, Sylvia Plath.
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day?
Avec le temps – Léo Ferré. Smisurata preghiera – Fabrizio de André. Cello Suite No.1 – J.S. Bach. Hurt – Johnny Cash. House of the rising sun – The Animals. Perfect Life – Steven Wilson. Henry Lee – Nick Cave e PJ Harvey . I’ll Be Your Mirror – The Velvet Underground. Yann Tiersen. Goran Bregovic. And many others…
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?
Jane Eyre, Jo March, Mulan.
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?
I could not say just one name. Are all those people who have courage to live their life with passion and they make a positive contribution to the world, putting it into question and look for other ways. Expanding the way of thinking, which must be a positive criticism and sharing.
Which movie would I recommend to see once in a lifetime?
Surely the Lars von Trier’s movies. Then: Departures by Yōjirō Takita, Big fish and Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton, Il postino by Michael Radford e Massimo Troisi, He Died with a Felafel in His Hand by Richard Lowenstein.
What role plays art in my life and work?
It is an integral part of my life and my being. I can not clearly define the boundaries. And it saves me, it saves me every time.
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?
In different ways, my husband, my family and my friends support me. And also my collectors.
Whom would I like to work with in 2019?
I’d like to start collaborations with other places and galleries in Vienna. I would like to continue the collaborations in Italy, France, Hungary and Serbia.
Which people in my profession would i love to meet in 2019?
I would like to meet people who live with passion and believe in what they do. People who are interested in communication, representation and change. So as to create new relationships and collaborations. They are always a source of personal and professional growth.
What project, in 2019, am I looking forward to work on?
I have two different projects planned and will be developed trying to connect and interact photography, sculpture and video. I also started a collaboration with the artist Norbert Mayerhofer ( my husband). We will make a poetry book in Italian / German, dialect of Brescia / Viennese dialect. And new collaborations with other artists are starting in Vienna and in Lower Austria.
Where can you see me or my work?
https://stefaniazorzi1.wixsite.com/stefaniazorzi
https://www.facebook.com/stefania.zorzi.5
https://www.premioceleste.it/stefaniazorzi
http://www.artelupier.com/portfolio_3/zorzi-stefania/
http://www.gare82.net/artisti/stefania-zorzi
https://www.kulturvernetzung.at/de/stefania-zorzi/
Books:
Un sassolino con un cuore di pomodoro. Zorzi – Fostini . MalEdizioni.
https://www.amazon.it/sassolino-cuore-pomodoro-Stefania-Zorzi/dp/8897483046
Il corpo solitario. L’autoscatto nella fotografia contemporanea Vol. II by Giorgio Bonomi . Rubbettino Editore.2017. You can see my artworks in the pages 121/122.
What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me?
If passion is true and deeply rooted in you, it is part of you, never retires. It is necessary and vital. You can not put it in a drawer at rest with the pension label. Then, what do you do? How do you live?
Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story?
Sonia Gansterer, a very great Austrian artist.
How can you contact me?
You can contact me here:
https://www.facebook.com/stefania.zorzi.5
https://stefaniazorzi1.wixsite.com/stefaniazorzi/contatti
The Heroine's Journey 