Belgrade, Serbia, i-cold January 13th of 2012. I am truly shaking as I am writing this … In Serbian art community everybody understands the public talk is a no-no and every top art dealer is trying to secure reliable connections within the police, financial control, politicians, lawyers, doctors, and other state authorities if need be. Now I must come out clear A.G.B. because my life is constantly threatened by the certain groups of art and antique traders that through their “second hands” are connected to major figures – like Bata Klepic on one side, and the gypsies from Kalenic market on the other. These small groups or one large group are the go between the two sides. I am the small fish to fry and I consider myself art critic, painter, collector, and the future museum founder and not a dealer for the only time I exchange art is when I want to get new paintings.
Beside Bata Klepic, major figures on art scene as art dealers are: Boris Srbinovski, Radojica, Milos Petkovic, Mosa Todorovic, Miki Stamenkovic, Ivan Mitic, Vera Matovic, Biserka Zelic, Madlena Zepter, Nadezda Perovic, Zoran Vujicic, Milan Jan (a "knowledgeable" guy that in tphonic conv. revealed things about me (mixed me up?!) I had not heard of so why not retort) …. and a lot of others, think perhaps I do not want to include the names of interest and why. These are players behind the scenes. Together with their associates/friends from various walks of life the amount of influence they possess within a Serbian society when translated in United States power terms equals to the likes of George Bush Senior, Dick Cheney, Henry Kissinger, Emanuel (Obama).
UTILIZING PUBLIC POSITION FOR PRIVATE HARRASMENT…
Now in fear of those who obtain art for the major players (that also makes them their associates) I have to constantly watch my back and constant watch is one of the hardest things to do in life. “They” have the name. Milenko Mitrovic alias Vodenica (The Mill in Serbian; given by his Serbian Secret Service (“BIA”) colleagues for yapping his mouth 24 – 7; I wish I had his photo) has promised to kill me cursing my dead father and cursing my mother. I must say that I have become really paranoid for these threats.
The issue came around the constant intrigue that he was trying to place on me. Like: “nobody in the town likes you”, “you don’t pay shit”, “gypsies will swish your ass”, “stojan pacov, dusan mikonjic, bogoljub jovanovic, you are collecting crap” (the bad cop), and “let’s be friends and let me teach you a nice lesson how will you behave yourself among sellers”, “you know, bata klepic did this, bata klepic did that” and so on (a good cop on the other side) … while all the time he and his posse and the likes of Dragan Vukovic Vuchko is trying to undermine my friendships and transactions out of pure evil and jealousy. Simultaneously, they are trying to shit on everything I own and make their junk look good, so they are good promoters, nevertheless I must admit occasionally but rarely they do come across good art as well. By falsely presenting themselves as art collectors and connoisseurs it’s easy for them to defame because they are not looking at this as at the life time effort, they look at art as at the opportunity for making of quick and easy buck. There are a couple of other guys connected to Mitrovic that I am aware of and whose identity I would like to preserve for the time being as well in the story. After I could not listen to "good and bad cop talk" any more, I told Mitrovic to go fuck himself and then he went into the rage, threats and tirade which immediately took out my sense of security for the rest of the night and most likely for the rest of my life as well. I do not know whether I will be able to weather the storm with all other problems that pressurize me in my life.
The art group in question probably has got a problem with volume of my art collection (jealousy – they are in fear that with my smarts I do not come close to their breadwinners like Bata Klepic they’d like to keep me away from him and/or them). Mitrovic’s posse must also sense rivalry as they look upon my collection as the goods for trade. They fear that I am a better trader while all the difference is that they sell whatever they acquire within the time range of one week, tops, for a quick buck and I do not; I am in for the keeps, and they do not want to understand that. The problem is they see me as competition. They present their fears to the guys for whom they acquire art too and the big fish out of greed may be thinking that I am out there to take the piece of their cake too; just for these intrigues I feel completely isolated. Then comes the elbowing. I feel as if they are trying to extract me out of business although the only business I have is the creation of my art collection. I had no headaches for the time I stayed away from them, but recently they acquired some art that interested me – and they knew it; THEY CALLED ME and it seems even a couple of days of their proximity was enough for confrontation. The problem has emerged for in the past I had let them yapping their mouth – that said spraying intrigues seems like the usual routine for the policemen around the world – instead of confronting them loud and clear. For example these half literate mob disputed that I am an art critic at all while many texts that I have written are there to witness in favor thereof - black on white. They probably were encouraged more when they learned I have not got a back-up posse like all of these other major figures and even they do. The truth is – knowledgably and mindedly, I am in ballpark with /their master/ Bata Klepic, while without a “proper” entourage of politicians, showmen, policemen and businessmen friends AND I ALSO MUST ADD – MONEY (BECAUSE MONEY IS THE KING IN SERBIA, NOT ONLY LANGUAGE AND ORIGIN) these p.o.s. think I am in their ballpark – and thus their righteous peer and competition for elbowing. So I made a mistake of letting a braggadocio, egoism and machismo of their empowerment become a routine when they were talking to me. Finally, I had to confront them and show them that I am not a pussy. Now it is too late, I have scrambled my mind engines with dangerous delay while the war of words has escalated into a life threatening situation. And by having to write this – to deny later rumors that my death was suicide and that I will probably be exterminated by poison or bullet – I am in the quicksand for the last thing in my mind was to write about the major art figures like said above. Now even though this life threatening situation has little or nothing to do with art legitimacy (as I have not heard all of the intrigues – from this type of people one must be ready to expect everything, not necessarily from Mitrovic, but I know his associates are ready to do the worst verbal and physical things at the least), the major players will be willing to destroy me too – but I had to involve as much as I knew to legitimize the situation and provide each one of them with an opportunity to clean the shit up in their own backyard. Their buddies – pickers and providers – started it all. We are not talking elbowing for more money anymore on their part – we are talking life and death and all those virgins.
When I started collecting art in USA, I had read the motto of one private Mass. collection which read “the Silent Collector”, I always wanted to be that silent collector but the non-existence of powerful friends and constant fear has led me into the situation which is totally opposite
Secret Agent turned art dealer into his spare time - Milenko Mitrovic has got weapons and lives on Maksima Gorkog Street in Belgrade, Serbia and he works for the Serbian Secret Service BIA and he obviously has many friends there and his friends have friends that are well connected high up to Boris Tadic. He has got a good reputation with his neighbors – which is the mask for I know his true face that is not pretty – as before the confrontation the guy approached vowing to start making art purchases from him. Do you know who it was he asked? The regional director of Coca Cola Company!!! Mitrovic and his friends are all armed with legally owned weapons while bombs and illegal weapons are easily obtained for the guys that work for public agencies. In the past the real cops were the only reliable mafia hitmen. And they still are because no one is there to confront them. I must vouch that neither one Serbian public agency was the equal opportunity employer - at least they were not when I was of age and when I was able to work for certain agencies but instead everyone’s obtaining employment there through the connections and bribe money which is the modus operandi in Serbia – in such a corrupt government – even the parking authority officers obtain their jobs through connections.
I do not have any idea who and how will they get me, whether it will be Milenko’s coworkers and their buddies from different police departments in Serbia or Milenko’s friends gypsies from Kalenic market, or Milenko’s friends doctors and their buddies who will not pay tribute to Hypocrite Oath and do me harm while I am hospitalized. .
I am truly in fear and paranoid because of the threats that this state service's member has presented and I do not believe in any apologies and I do not believe in downplaying this situation as the threats will be served cold if it is too hot now. I am not afraid but the police in Serbia has too many tails that - in addition to all stated herewith - I feel ordinary people started to hate me for being myself. It is all a non-constructive and degrading talk as the cause. I have not done any harm to anybody! I have not cheated anyone! I am ready to talk with the right people. The only person I fear is God. The only bullets and bombs I fear belong to those I wrote about in this blog. Basically, I am writing this for not having to worry about fearing mafia, hoodlums, corrupt government and clans within/thereof, and for not having anybody to discuss with about what to do. The point is, even though I am alone, the truth will prevail and eventually come out somehow. This situation has made wonder for whom I am making my collection and doing all of the effort and work?
My lesson after all of this is: when the cops start running the art world, it turns into a mob scene.