:: Goran Micevski

Baštenske kućice, 2007-

Na kraju njihove prve knjige pod nazivom “Anonyme skulpturen – Eine typologie technischer bauten” (1970), Bernd i Hilla Becher su, u kratkoj izjavi, napisali i sledeće: “…U ovoj knjizi prikazujemo objekte koji su prvenstveno instrumentalnog karaktera, čiji oblici su direktan rezultat proračuna i koji su vidljivi rezultat procesa razvoja. Ovo su zgrade kod kojih je anonimnost prihvaćena kao njihov stil. Njihova posebnost proističe ne zbog, nego upravo usled nedostatka dizajna.”

Fotografije prikazane ovom prilikom su nastale na uskom području Miljakovca. Ovako spontano nastale bašte postoje u rubnim područjima Beograda, na mestima gde se novoformirana, planski građena naselja (recidivi 70-tih i 80-tih godina prošlog veka) susreću sa ničijim delovima zemlje, međutim, začuđujuće, svaka od tih, uslovno nazvanih “kolonija”, ima svoju osobenu arhitekturu, kako samih bašta, tako i kućica.

Serija je inspirisana radom Bernd i Hilla Becher, ali, direktnije, i željom da se dokumentuje jedna vrlo neizvesna situacija – usled ubrzanog procesa urbanizacije, svaka od ovih enklava je direktno ugrožena. “Ovi industrijski pejzaži neće biti tu zauvek, čak iako budu trajali 50 godina, oni se menjaju sve vreme. Oni su nomadske forme arhitekture, dolaze i odlaze kao i priroda”.

Razmišljajući o radu, pošao sam od ideje da što direktnije citiram Becherove. Korak po korak, pojavljivale su se prve pukotine: odlučio sam se za upotrebu boje jer sam shvatio da bi crno bela fotografija posmatraču oduzela pola užitka. Kako je izbor pao na kolor negativ, sasvim logično je bilo osloboditi se dosadne, ujednačavajuće svetlosti i pustiti oštroj senci da bude konstitutivni deo fotografije. Iako je, na prvi pogled, arhitektura ovih kućica jako šarmantna, ona je, u isto vreme, i duboko uznemirujuća. Da li je to što gledamo samo dokument rada neveštih neimara, priručnih rešenja, ili se, kojim slučajem, priložene fotografije mogu čitati i u post-industrijskom ključu?

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Garden houses, 2007-

At the end of their first book titled “Anonyme skulpturen – Eine typologie technischer bauten” (1970), Bernd and Hilla Becher wrote: “…In this book we are showing objects which are primarily instrumental in their character, whose forms are a direct result of calculations and which are visible results of that process of development. These are the buildings whose anonymity is accepted as their style. Their peculiarity derives from the lack of design.”

Photographs shown here were taken in the borough of Belgrade called Miljakovac. I wanted to broaden my exploration to other parts of the city (as those spontaneously built gardens exist in all peripherial areas of Belgrade), but to my surprise, I realised that each of these “colonies” has its own architectural style, of both gardens and houses. This series was inspired by the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, but more specifically, by the wish to document a very uncertain situation: due to the accelerated process of urbanization, each of these urban enclaves is in danger.

“These industrial landscapes won’t be here for ever, and even if they last for fifty years, they are still changing all the time. These are nomadic forms of architecture; they come and go just as nature does.” As I was planning my work, I begun by wanting to quote the Bechers as directly as possible. Over time, first cracks started to emerge: I decided to use the color film because I realized that black and white would take away half of the joy from the viewer. After that, it logically followed to get rid of the monotonous light and to allow shadow to be a constitutive part of the photograph. The architecture of these houses is quite charming, but at the same time quite disturbing. Are they just a product of unskilled hands and good intentions, or could they be interpreted in a post industrial context?