 Povodom Prve međunarodne
likovne kolonije Bihać 2008.
SEDAM DANA
KOJI SU
PROMIJENILI
SVIJEST
Piše: Husein Dervišević
Onda kad su bogovi silazili da posiju ljepotu, posebno su pazili na dolinu Une, baš kao da su bili u dosluhu sa piscima i živopiscima, jer ono što posijaše bi potaman oku svakog umjetnika, ma odakle on dolazio. Mnogo kasnije toj ljepoti dadoše razna imena, uz sve moguće atribute, a kule naokolo Une nazvaše kulturnom baštinom. A još kasnije se Ahmet Ibukić, meštar ovdašnji, sjetio sve te ljepote i smislio slogan „Umjetnošću čuvajmo kuklturnu baštinu“. I tako se rodila Prva međunarodna likovna kolonija, bihaćka. U rodnom listu joj piše godina rođenja 2008, zreli august, onda kad ljeto krenu kraju.
Novine su tih augustovskih dana bile prepune naslova: „Umjetnici u zidinama srednjovjekovnih gradova“, „Evropa je uz Unu“, „Krajiški dragulji kao nadahnuće“... I onaj čuveni Ibukićev dlogan bio je u naslov pretočen, a kako i neće, kad se takvo nešto dešavalo ovdje, prvi put, kad se događalo sedmodnevno čudo u Pounju. A gdje čuda, tu i radoznalaca; dolazili oni iz grada, sa sela, kao prolaznici ili izletnici – pratili koloniju. I sricali do tada nepoznate riječi: land art, multimedijalnost, performans, konceptualizam, navikavali se na nove tendencije u umjetnosti i učili da umjetnost nije samo sladunjavi realizam mio prosjeku, ili da slika nije samo ukras na zidu, nego da je ona i stvar ideje, i inspiracije, i pogleda trećim okom. Na ovu vrstu edukacije, priznaćete, mnogi nisu bili spremni, jer sva ona modernost, koju donosi novo vrijeme, djelovala je šokantno, naglo pred oči sručena, ali to nije bio razlog da se i neznalice ne dive i raduju, baš kao da se zbog njih stvara taj šareni, hrabri, apstraktni svijet.
U naseljima blizu pojedinih kula i gradina mještani su umjetnike dočekali kao rodbinu, kao svojtu iz daljine, iznosili pred njih sve čega su se sjetili; s osmijehom nudili domaću hranu, bosansku, krajišku, da osjete gosti malo drukčije Evrope na trpezi, a kako i ne bi kad im je u posjeti neka probrana Evropa, čudna, čudesna, stvaralačka. Uostalom, prvi put vidješe umjetnike koji drukčije govore i čije je ponašanje malo slobodnije, jer među njima je bilo stvaralaca iz Italije, Slovenije, Srbije, Hrvatske, Lihtenštajna, Francuske i, naravno, iz Bosne i Hercegovine. Organizator kolonije, akademski slikar Ahmet Ibukić, predsajednik Udruženja likovnih umjetnika Unsko-sanskog kantona, izjavio je koji dan prioje toga za sarajevsko „Oslobođenje“: „Kolonija će se odvijati na više lokacija. U prvoj fazi u srednjovjekovnim gradovima kao što su Sokolac, Havala, Orašac, Rmanj, Martin Brod, Brekovica i Ostrožac, te u starom jezgru grada Bihaća. U radu će učestvovati profesionalni, školovani i afirmisani umjetnici i univeruzitetski profesori, koji će u predivnom abijentu srednjovjekovnih zidina, uz veličanstvene poglede na Unu i njenu okolinu, slikati i stvarati umjetnička djela u svim medijima likovnog izražavanja. U Bihać će iz Slovenije doći: Petar Beus, Irena Polanec i Igor Banfi; iz Italije: Elena Monaco, Paola Zorzi, Cristina Molfeta i Valerio Bertelio; iz Srbije Branislav S. Marković, Gordan Pomorišac i Mehmed Slezović; iz Hrvatske Milan Knežević i Aleksandra Goreta; iz Lihtenštajna konceptualni umjetnik Vlado Franjević; iz Francuske Mirza Morić, te iz BiH: Seid Hasanefendić, Vlado Puljić i Ibrahim Novalić. Nastala djela radom u ovoj koloniji umjetnici će ustupiti za stalnu postavku umjetničke zbirke Muzeja USK-a u Bihaću.“
Pa, rečeno – učinjeno, baš po planu. Ono, možda svi navedeni i nisu stigli, a bilo je najava i iz drugih zemalja (Češća, Ukrajina i sl.), ali i to je bilo dovoljno Evrope za prvi put. Uostalom, neki su i dotrčali: vedran Babić iz Sarajeva, Sandra Stupar i Igor Sredojević iz Banja Luke, te Pier Mottola iz Italije, koji je priredio u Sali Kmuzeja jedan neobičan multimedijalni hepening od zvukova i svjetla. Hepening land art performans posmatrali su izletnici, a novine su o tome rekle ovako: „On je radio u Račiću, na unskom ostrvu, u skoro netaknutom oprirodnom abijentu. Vlado je u zemlji kopao spiralni kanal (sličnu instalaciju imao je već u Estoniji i Srbiji) u kojem su stajali papiri sa ispisanom porukom „Magija Unine vode – tišina, molim!“ na dvadesetak jezika.“
Pažnju je privukao i u novije vrijeme hvaljeni skulptor Mirza Morić, bosansko-pariski div sa aladžom, dok je ublizini bihaćke Kule, uz radoznalost prolaznika, oživljavao na svoj način ogromni kameni blok: Ostali su slikali po lokacijama koje su bile određene za to, a neki su radili u muzejskom Izložbenom salonu, ili u obližnjoj osnovnoj školi, u tišini, sami sa kistom.
Kolonije, međutim, nije predstavljala samo terenski rad, ili tek rad, jer bilo je dovoljno vremena za izlete, druženje, pa i za okrugle stolove. Svi bi se pojavili zajedno za ručkom, za večerom, kad teren završi, a onda bi krenula priča i pjesma. Svraćali su i prijatelji umjetnosti, i neki novi prijatelji umjetnika. Svi su htjeli da se druže s tihim Branom Markovićem, pjesnikom čudesnih slika, ili sbučnim Morićem, ili s briljantnim Pomorišćem, s čijih se fotosa kamenje može hvatati rukom. Ili s Kneževićem, slikarom nježnih tonova. Ili s talijanskim umjetnicima iz Torina i Rima. I, naravno, s domaćinom – Ahmetom Ibukićem, koji se toliko trudi oko svega, da bi, kad bi to ovaj realni svijet dozvoljavao, ovu manifestaciju mogli zvati „Ahmetova kolonija“. S pravom, jer čovjek sve i na sve stiže; dijeli maetrijal, ispraća na teren, dočekuje umjetnike i šalje na počinak, kao neka brižna umjetnička majka. On je, uostalom, usred priče, centralni lik: katkad uvaženi docent i slikar, a katkad prosto Ahmet za sve. Homo universal. A i šta bi: Bihać prvi put ima jednu međunarodnu manifestaciju i treba ljude pripaziti, ostaviti utisak, stvoriti kredit za drugi krug, jer ovdje se neće i ne smije stati. U šali sam rekao: Mali korak za Ahmeta, a veliki za umjetnost. A tako je to i bez šale.
I to je tek početak priče, prvi pasus, budući da je manifestacija već sada institucija. Ona ponovo ide i ne traje samo onih nekoliko dana prijateljstva, nego cijelu godinu, svih onih dana i mjeseci tihe pripreme, kad organizator razmišlja kako da nastavi pričo o koloniji, da je napravi boljom, raznovrsnijom. A kad mije Ibukić prije godinu dana, govorio šta namjerava, samo sam vrtio glavom. Te, ko će te ljude dovesti, ko ugostiti? Ko će ih po razvučenom terenu rasipati i sakupljati? Da, i ko će to platiti? Ja tako, a ono Bihać dobi ništa manje nego međunarodnu likovnu koloniju. A ta kolonija je zapravo podvig, ono za što niko do sada nije imao hrabrosti, osim Ahmeta Ibukića. On je spojio, uostalom, baštinu i umjetnost, smislio umjetnost o kulturnoj baštini, te baštinu u umjetnosti, ili umjetnost baštine, svejedno. I taj skup što liči druženju u raju. I slogan... Zbog toga ću mu pozajmiti i ovaj, moj: „Baština se čuva kistom“, tako da potakne i mlade literate da se perom umiješaju u priču o koloniji. Jer i ostali vide ono što je slikar ukazao: dolinu Une i okolinu, gdje su, možda, i sišli bogovi da nađu lokaciju za evropske kistove. Tu oko i ima šta da dohvati, mada ne zna šta bi prije; da l´ vodu koja prolazi i opet dolazi, ili kamen koji ćuti. Ili drveće, travke, nebo prošarano oblacima od pamuka. Jer sve je tu: s ljepotom i vijek, i pamtivijek. Prepleteni međusobno i spremni za one koji će ih čuvati kistom, ili perom. I pomoći da kolonija bude ponovo uspravan san, u nastavku priče. Jer takva kolonija – gospodo, nije šala. To je prvi put u vremenu, i ovdje. I dešava se nama.
Tu nezaboravnu sedmicu ponijeli su majstori u Evropu. A mi kroz vrijeme nosimo sliku kako oni zadovoljni oblijeću kao pčelice oko motiva, da ih prenesu na platna za budućnost, ili ua muzejsku vječnost. Te svoje iskrice vječnosti, sasvim drukčije viđene, tu našu baštinu. I ne samo baštinu, jer mnogo toga se omaklo oku i kistu, u čuđenju, u otimanju od vremena i njegovog zuba. A ocjene? Njih ćemo takođe ostaviti vremenu, pa neka ono djelo po djelo važe. Uostalom, ovo nije kritika. Ovo je, uslovno, tablica sabiranja utisaka i sjećanja na neke posebne dane za nas. A to, koja je slika bolja od koje – nije važno. Za sada je važnije šta rekoše novine i silni članci puni hvale i nevjerice da se nešto ovakvo ipak dogodilo. A dogodilo se – i opet će, onda kad august ponovo sazri. Ili, možda, neki raniji mjesec. Pa, do viđenja do tada. Ili, do sutra, jer vrata nisu zatvorena, a kolonija, kako već rekoh, traje cijelu godinu, a ne samo onih famoznih sedam dana koji su promijenili svijest, ili svijet, makar ovdašnji. |
On the occasion of the first international art colony – Bihac 2008
Seven Days That
Changed Minds
When the gods first came down to plant beauty on the earth they paid special attention to the Una River valley creating landscapes the way the most gifted writers describe them. That which they planted was pleasant to the eye of every artist no matter where they came from. A long time after, many names were given to that beauty with all possible attributes and the towers around the Una came to be a part of its cultural legacy. And even later, Ahmed Ibukic, local professor, remembered all of that beauty and came up with the slogan: “Through Art our Cultural Heritage is Preserved.” And so the first international art colony was born in Bihac. The year inscribed on the colony’s birth certificate is 2008, a time when August was in full bloom, when the summer was drawing to a close.
During those August days, the newspapers were full of titles like: Artists Between Walls of Medieval Cities, Europe Has to the Una, and Krajina’s Jewels as Artistic Inspiration. And Ibukic’s slogan was turned into the title; and how could it not be when something like that happens here for the first time, when the seven-day miracle happened in Pounje. And where the miracle is there are a lot of curious people; they came from the city, village, as passengers or picnickers – to follow the colony. They were saying so far unknown words: land art, mixed media, performance, conceptualism, they were trying to get used to these new tendencies in art and were learning that art is not just a sweet realism close to average or that a painting is not just a decoration on a wall but the essence of an idea an inspiration, and a look through the third eye. You have to admit that those who attended the colony weren’t ready for that kind of education because all the modernity that new times suddenly threw before their eyes seemed to be shocking, suddenly, but this was no reason for the unenlightened not to be happy and enjoy the brave, colorful, and abstract world as though it had been created just for them.
The locals in the villages nearby towers and old buildings welcomed artists as their family, relatives from far away, gave them every thing they could think of; with a smile they offered them home-cooked Bosnian food from the Krajina, so guests could feel a little bit of another part of Europe on the table. And why not when you have a select group of strange, creative, and miraculous, Europeans visiting? Anyway, it was the first time those locals could see artists who speak differently and whose behavior was more free, because there were creators from Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Liechtenstein, France, and of course from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The organizer of the colony, an academic painter, Ahmed Ibukic, the president of the community of artists in USK, made a statement a few days before that for Sarajevo’s Oslobodjenje: “The colony will take place in many locations, in the first phase in Medieval cities such as Sokolac, Habala, Orašac, Rmanj, Martin Brod, Brekovica, Ostrožac, and also in the old center of the city of Bihać. Many professional educated and well-recognized artists will create art works in the beautiful atmosphere of Medieval cities which include glorious views of the surrounding Una river valley in various artistic media. To Bihac from Slovenia, the following artist will come: Petar Beus, Jerena Polanec, and Igor Banfi; From Italy: Elena Monaco, Paola Zorzi. Cristina Molfeta, and Valerio Bertelio; From Serbia Branislav S. Markovic, Gordan Pomorisac, and Mehmed Slezovic; From Croatia Milan Knezevic and Aleksandra Goreta; From Lichtenstein conceptual artist Vlado Franjevic; From France Mirza Moric and from BiH: Seid Hasanefendic, Vlado Pulic, and Ibrahim Nomalic. All artwork created at the colony will be given by the artists to the permanent exhibition collection of the USK Art Museum in Bihac.”
So, everything went as the article said, according to plan. Well…maybe not all the people mentioned in the article showed up but there were many other artists who had wanted to attend (Czech and Ukrainian among them) but that was quite enough of Europe for the first colony. Some were scrambling at the last minute to attend the colony: Vedran Babic from Sarajevo, Sandra Stupar, and Igor Sredojedic from Banja Luka, and also Pierre Mottola from Italy who prepared one unusual multimedia display with sounds and lights throughout the entire museum. Vlado Franjevic also prepared a performance. His land art performance was seen by visitors and the newspapers said the following about it: On an island on the Una in Racic, in an almost untouched, natural, and ambient location, Vlado Franjevic dug a spiral channel in the ground (he has created similar installations in Estonia and Serbia) where papers with the written message “the magic of the Una’s waters – silence please.”, in about twenty languages, were placed.
Newly acclaimed sculptor, Mirza Moric, Bosnian-Parisian giant, gained attention while he was, in his own way, and with the curiosity of passerby, giving life to a huge stone slab near the Captain’s Tower in Bihac. The rest of the artists were painting at locations that were specially selected for that purpose. Some of them were working in the museum’s main exhibition hall, or in a nearby primary school, in silence, alone with their brushes. However, the colony wasn’t just a day at the office for the artists, since there was plenty of time for picnics, socializing, and even for roundtable discussions. Everyone showed up together for lunch and dinner when the fieldwork was done, and then the conversation and song would start. Local art enthusiasts would come along with new friends of the artist themselves. Everyone wanted to spend time with the silent Brane Markovic, the poet of magical pictures or with the boisterous Moric, or the brilliant Pomorisac in whose photos stones can be caught by hand. Or with Knezevic, the painter of gentle tones. Or with Italian artists from Torino and Rome. And of course with the host – Ahmet Ibukic, who gave his best in every endeavor, so that we can easily call this manifestation “Ahmet’s Colony” if the real world would allow it. With all rights because the man meets every demand of the event with time to spare; he shares materials, guides artists to their locations, welcomes them back, and sends them to sleep like a caring artistic mother.
He is a central character in this story: sometimes respected professor and painter, and sometimes just Ahmet to everyone. Homo universalis. And how else could it be: for the first time Bihac has one international manifestation and people should be taken care of, and a positive impression should be made to ensure that the colony will continue in successive years because the end is not, and shouldn’t be, here. I said it as a joke once: one small step for Ahmet, but a big step for art. And that’s how it is, joking aside. And that’s just the beginning of the story, the first paragraph concerning that the manifestation is already an institution. The colony is something that will continue and which does not only exist for these few days of friendship, but the whole years, all those days and months of silent preparation when the organizer thinks of how to continue the story of the colony, to make it better by expanding the possibilities. When Ibukic told me a year ago what he planned to do, I was shaking my head. Who would bring these people here, who would host them? Who would spirit them to the various locations and gather them back? Oh yes, and who would pay for this? Skeptical as I was, Bihac got nothing less than an international art colony. And that colony was actually a great accomplishment, something which nobody has had the courage to do so far, except Ahmet Ibukic. Anyway, he conjoined heritage and art, invented the art of cultural heritage, and heritage in art, or the art of heritage, whatever it’s all the same. And also that group of artists who seem to bring a bit of paradise to earth. And the slogan…That’s why I am going to lend him mine to: Heritage can be saved by the brush so it can inspire young writers to get involved the story of the colony with their pens. Because others can see what an artist had pointed out: the value of the Una and its surroundings where maybe the gods did come down to find a location for European brushes. There is so much beauty to behold one does not know where to look first; water that goes by and comes back again, or a stone that is silent. Or trees, grass, the colorful sky filled with cotton clouds. Because everything is there: with the beauty forever and ever braided together and ready for those who will protect them with a brush or with a pen. Or for those who will help the colony to be a realized dream again, as the story continues. Because that kind of colony – gentlemen, is not a joke. It is the first in time and here.
And it happens to us. The artists took the memories of that unforgettable week back home with them to Europe. And through time we carry a picture of their satisfaction, flying around like bees putting the details down on canvas for the future or a museum eternity.Those sparks for eternity that are seen totally different: our heritage. And not just heritage as there are many things that an eye and a brush cannot see, in a state of surprise, as they grab moments from the hands of time. And grades? We will leave them to time too so that time can measure them piece-by-piece. Anyway, this is not a criticism; this is conditionally a table of adding impressions and memories of some special days for us. And which painting is better --- it doesn’t really matter. For now it is more important what the newspapers say, full of praise and disbelief, that something like this could possibly happen, did happen, and will happen again when August is in full bloom. Or maybe in some earlier month. Well, goodbye till then. Or till tomorrow because the doors are not closed, and the colony, as I already said, lasts the whole year and not just those famous seven days that changed minds, or the world, at least around here. |
