E. Bžeskas, who disappeared from public view, remembered the times when he founded a theater with his then-life partner K. Krysko
An immature party lion, a girl, a producer of popular TV projects and music groups – we will only meet one and two people who can describe Egmont even on the street. Egmont is all about it – after all, so far it has only carried such information and has been flashing in public.
Many remember the times when music groups produced by Egmont won laurels at various awards one after another. The gold and platinum music albums, packed in the concert hall at the time, came as no surprise. Until now, the music of the groups produced by E.Bžeskas has remained popular, and the fans of new songs and their return to the stage are still waiting.
“The baby boy label, I think, has been attached to me since I was unmarried, I didn’t have children, I enjoyed a free and independent life. And it was crowned with the ubiquitous fame and successful projects.
At the time, I was able to afford a lot and shared that with all my immediate surroundings. The circle of alleged friends grew, some eventually becoming knowledge themselves. I will not hide – this stage was fun and public, it gave me a lot of colorful experiences, important acquaintances.
I believe that someone, having written the script for the film of my life, was having fun from the heart – he really has a good sense of humor and experience as a playwright. (Laughs.) I feel this hilarious part of the story and its end is yet to be seen.
I’m now at a stage in my life that I might call the start of another series, or “Wait for the sequel,” Egmont was not in a good mood.
E.Bžeskas does not regret his crazy youth at all. He is sure: he has no excuse for anything, even for himself. more than a period of his life, he names it as a school, an experience that gives him other powers today. The man is convinced that he is on the right track at the moment, guided by good intentions and is extremely optimistic.
“It simply came to our notice then. Then I realized I had a hard time with them, there was another meaning to living, and the windless fun was just a beautiful memory left.
I have a very clear goal today and I feel extremely confident. The beginning of a successful and new life is already very much with Aurika, and children just need a trustworthy, loving and always smiling father, ”said Egmont, who spoke after a long silence and is simply called Mantu.
Then what is the other side of E.Bžeskas that was previously silenced?
As a child, Manta led her not to a childish but to an adult performance, films, and explained to her son the figurative meanings of the action seen. Black analyzed the structure of the universe, the importance of the spirit and other invisible, intangible things.
As a child, nine years old, Mantas wrote a “book” about the universe and explained what it looked like to explain who man was and where we came from.
“My grandmother Sofija Juknienė was a painter, her mother Marija Danutė a graphic artist, a teacher of drawing, and an illustrator of many children’s books. From an early age, I saw my mother’s students – future artists – at home. They gathered to draw their still lifes, human acts. A naked body was my usual insignificant routine, a craft.
We attended an anatomy lecture at the academy with doctors, future surgeons. At the time, I knew all the names of muscles in Latin, drawing human anatomy to my memory. “The science of anatomy of the human body and eroticism are two different worlds,” he said.
As a child, E.Bžeskas wandered around his mother in the adult world and valued him with his childish mind.
“I used to see art books, I was interested in Mayan culture, pyramids. All this different environment of the child’s life had an indisputable effect on me – after graduating from school, I clearly learned that I would enter the Vilnius Academy of Arts, ”Egmont shared his memories.
Egmont graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts – in 1998 he obtained a master’s degree in graphics here and continued his career at the Academy of Successful Accompanying Artists for quite some time. At that time, he organized several international exhibitions, joined the Artists’ Technology, discovered new graphic technologies, and founded the theater troupe KarMan, with which he successfully toured the European Experimental Theater Festival, in the cultural and social activities of the Treaty.
Even then, the paintings of the young graphic artist found themselves in exclusive expositions: in the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, in the art collection of the Kingdom of Sweden, in the expositions of famous art collectors.
Egmont says he didn’t do any of his projects under deduction, he just enjoyed the creative process.
“Then I really received a lot of advice to continue the traditions of realistic art. I was told it would be more profitable that not everyone could. I was well versed in drawing, a classic realistic drawing.
For me, it was already a milestone, I was interested in finding new means of expression, technology, yet myself.
I will not lie – often as a student I argued with academy professors about my technological experiments – is it art? “I did not stop making a revolution, I was on the path of my search then, not knowing yet that today – after so many years – those experiments will be appreciated by professionals and will end up in the Museum of Contemporary Art,” smiled the man.
That a young future artist was on the right track was then confirmed by an unexpected guest from Bremen, Germany. The art collector bought E.Bžeskas’ paintings inexpensively, but it was a lot of money for the student, for which he bought all the necessary materials for future paintings.
Then the artist did not even dream how many more paintings would be bought in the future. With one group of four artists, E. Bžeskas organized several exhibitions in Brussels and at NATO Headquarters.
“These are old times,” Mantas recalled. – When Lithuania had not yet joined the European Union. At that time, with the efforts of the cultural department of our country’s embassies, Lithuania was presented not only as a successful country of sports and basketball, but also as a country with a unique culture. At that time, presenting Lithuanian art in a global context was an important cultural aspect. I am grateful that the paintings I have created are in such important exhibitions. ”
Egmont did not stop in the creative process: almost twenty years ago, he founded the KarMan Theater with his then friend, who was studying choreography at the time, and now the famous Lithuanian singer Karina Krysko.
It was more than a painting on the wall – movement, music, light effects – just moving works of art. Mantas felt that this was a new stage in his work. He built more than one such band, but was played by people invited from real life. They all have roles in their normal lives.
“I called it all a reality theater, which was performed by members of the now famous group Happyendless, professional striptease dancers, artists, athletes – all of them became the heroes of my performances. It was unexpected in the theater, the audience liked the performances, the Berlin theaters were crowded!
I have not yet realized that I will soon have to create a reality show on TV. And all the more so – that my own life will become a reality show “, – the artist laughed.
The man is convinced that it was these performances that opened the door to television for him. He was invited to direct television shows and create other popular projects. At the same time, he worked in the field of creative advertising, gaining marketing experience here, which later also became useful in the entertainment business.
As an artist, he became a producer and director of TV shows, accompanied by success, and later for a long time he was engaged in the activities of a producer of the most popular Lithuanian groups.
A bright man not only in his appearance but also in his works has always been the center of attention. It wasn’t a cookie: it was mostly from the closet of personal life.
“It was also a kind of performance of life, a decoration from the lower rags. All the works that were important to me at that time were forgotten, you discovered from all eyes, wearing women’s C-size bras, – laughed E.Bžeskas. “Now is the time to deliver what was covered under the skirts of my beloved women.”
It is no secret that Egmont has produced shows, concerts, and significant national competitions. However, he has also created decorations for several TV shows, as well as a news studio – the LRT news studio is still shown today, and all the vignettes of the channel group with fun cubes have been on the air for 8 years.
“I am a patriot, I always raise the Lithuanian flag during the holidays, I did it in my yard in Tenerife!
I am also proud to have touched the LRT television project “I raise the flag”. this documentary had to be directed and produced with prominent people in the country.
I also took care of the general style, decorations and host style of the national channel for several years, ”he said.
Although E.Bžeskas works on the screen today, we will rarely see music, his style and design works can be seen and heard on almost all Lithuanian televisions.
Mantas recalled his long journey to distant Azerbaijan. Egmont spent more than five years there, made good friends, and started a business.
It all started with events in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan in Baku.
The man calls one event directed and produced by him a considerable creative challenge – a performance-mystery, where 360 professional Azerbaijani artists performed and danced. The performance was presented to guests of the World Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, influential cultural figures from around the world as an evening solemn part of the event.
“It simply came to our notice then.
Then I realized that this was the successful start of my further activities in Azerbaijan. Later, I created several business projects of social significance there. “Azerbaijan has left me indelible the best memories, it is a big country with a very rich culture and great people,” said E. Brescas.
However, there will be those who say that far from all the projects created by E. Bžeskas are part of culture or great art. After all, the group “New Lithuanians” (NL) produced by people does not smell of culture, menu or multi-value. However, E.Bžeskas has a strong answer here as well.
“And this project is part of the culture!
It was brave to dare to change the stage at that time – a revolution, a news. And we wore nose clowns not just for ourselves. We showed people that clownade that goes on all around us. Glad the people heard us, we never lied – I think that’s why this project was so popular. It was a performance that showed us how powerful performing arts, shows and pop culture are, ”Egmont reasoned.
By the way, Egmont is convinced that “New Lithuanians” will return as well.
Read the full interview in the latest style of Stilius magazine!