Hello Karolina. Today we will talk about the relation of your academic work to your passion for Serbian orthodox iconography and how languages have an essential role in these disciplines. Could you introduce yourself to our readers?

Sure. My name is Karolina Miłkowska and I am 25 years old. I am originally from Warsaw, Poland, but I decided to move to Amsterdam about one year ago. My academic background can come across as complex. This is because I studied History of Art and Law in Poland, as well as being a fresh graduate of the master’s programme in Museum and Heritage Studies in Amsterdam. Furthermore, I also recently graduated from my master’s programme in Law, which I completed at the University of Warsaw. In that sense, I am interested in the disciplines of art history, combined with components of law. The restitution of artwork, as well as intellectual property law in museums, are examples of certain actions where my knowledge in law can be applied. 

It must have happened on multiple occasions that you had to elaborate on your academic background, I suppose. Before diving into your academic interests in relation to those aforementioned disciplines, we are curious to know about the languages you speak. I remember you mentioning that they take an integral part in your academic research. 

Polish is my mother tongue, which, for obvious reasons, is also a hard language to learn from scratch. If people have ever seen some Polish writing, they will certainly know what I mean. I speak English and French, as well as German on a foundational level. I am also starting with a Dutch language course in the very near future, which I am quite excited about!

Just to highlight one language: I am quite interested in your motives to learn French. Why did you adopt the language? 

I think the idea to learn French came to my mind when I was in Paris for the first time. This was about seven or eight years ago. I remember visiting a bakery and the lady at the counter was really disgusted with how I pronounced the word ‘baguette’. I think I pronounced it like ‘bagetta’ or something. I felt I had to improve something. Soaking up French culture with annual visits to Paris with my mom really guided me throughout my journey of improving my French. Retrospectively, I am glad I took the opportunity to learn this language, because it also helps me in my academic research. There are many papers out there written in French, especially in the field of art history. 

You just graduated from your master’s programme in Museum and Heritage Studies in Amsterdam, but you have also written a thesis on a law-centred topic. 

As a lawyer in the art history discipline, I believe it is essential to know about themes revolving around the ideas of ‘cultural appropriation’ and ‘ownership’. In my thesis I was focusing on the legal consequences, such as the applicability of copyright law, in connection to international conventions, such as the UNESCO conventions. In my thesis, I used the case study of colonial museums and researched the dynamics between indigenous people trying to retrieve ownership of (im)material heritage displayed in these museums. I believe that this is a prime example of where art history, culture, and law are coming together. A real interdisciplinary field. 

One of the articles you have published is titled ‘The Death of Serbia and Rulers in Serbian Iconography’. Could you tell our readers how you have applied your academic knowledge into researching such a niche field?

Definitely. To begin it is important to explain the definition of ‘iconography’ as it has different connotations in a variety of settings. Iconography is a branch of art history that studies the identification, description, and interpretation of the content of images. So, basically, any visual depiction that is used to convey cultural or historical context or symbolic meaning. This can be imagery of food specific to a certain region, or the frescos and statues in villas and churches. 

Prior to doing research for this article, I was already trying to answer the question of how Serbian rulers in Serbian art were depicted in the Middle Ages. It is often seen as undermined and rare, most often even skipped in literature. Which is a shame. Serbian art is something special and I really think it is still something to explore in more detail. For instance, I perceive medieval Serbian art as a delicate combination of European art at that time, but also of the Orthodox church art and the inspiration of the Italian Renaissance. So, I was trying to figure out what makes Serbian art so… unique. 

Have you visited Serbia in order to conduct observations and analyses first-hand? 

Yes, I have been to Serbia twice, but unfortunately I only visited the capital city of Belgrade. In order to really explore the art, you need to rent a car and go off the beaten track, because much of the art I refer to in my paper can be found in smaller cities and villages in Serbia. Luckily, I was able to visit some Orthodox churches in Belgrade, but it is not the best place to learn about medieval Serbia, really. I am still planning on returning to Serbia and venturing to these remote places in order to get a better picture of medieval Serbian art. 

Does your interest in orthodox iconography also extend to other places, for instance in other former Yugoslav countries or other parts of Eastern Europe?

For sure. Geographically speaking, I think that the iconography in Cyprus is really interesting. To a comparable extent, they also combine the art styles of the West and the East. Being at these crossroads creates interesting art styles that are unique in their origin. 

How does it feel for you as somewhat of an outsider to conduct research into these complex histories of art? What kind of approach do you apply?

I think that my position, not being an inside researcher, is somewhat fragile and vulnerable, to be honest. It is of utmost importance to keep in mind that there are multiple perspectives on complex realities. As a researcher, it is important to be aware of, for example, implicit bias. Interviewing artists, researchers or locals needs to be done in a careful manner. There are so many external variables involved. A great example is the language issues revolving around the fact that the ex-Yugoslav region has been split into a multitude of ethnic minorities and religious movements.

The addition of the law discipline is also really important in the case of Serbian art history. The current law in Serbia is not fully protecting the monuments there. Occasionally, we see that the United Nations or UNESCO is trying to intervene and change something regarding the lack of safeguarding Serbian art. However, it is rather apparent that many artworks are still being looted or destroyed due to (most often) religious motives. 

I found out that Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, after years of strained relations with the Serb and Albanian inhabitants. Would you say there is more attention drawn to art preservation and safeguarding Kosovar heritage because it is under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation-led peacekeeping force (the KFOR)? 

It is hard to say whether it would be about drawing more attention to Kosovar heritage. Lots of people are not able to move around freely, because of the peacekeeping force. I think this also extends to immaterial heritage, for instance the limitations of religious celebrations. Can you really preserve or safeguard these types of heritage if there is no (full) access to them? It is definitely a topic that I am interested in researching more about. Again, it is important to maintain an open vision to all the different perspectives and voices out there, in this case dealing with the Kosovar, Serbian and Albanian perspectives in the foreground, whilst not forgetting the contribution of Western media, as an example. 

I think your last statement could also serve as your takeaway message for our readers!

Yes, definitely! Try to think of how many perspectives there are in the case you are invested in. Find those perspectives on multiple grounds, such as how languages can influence people's behaviour. How even the perception of a simple word can be interpreted in numerous ways. In addition, I would like to say that language is also sort of a gateway to really immerse yourself into the case. Fingers crossed for my upcoming Dutch language course!