BLOWN UP – BLOWN AWAY
Tatjana Milosavljevic
To see life. To see the world. To watch the faces of the poor, and the gestures of the proud. To see strange things. Machines, armies, multitudes, and shadows in the jungle and on the moon; to see man’s work – his paintings, towers, and discoveries; to see things a thousand miles away, things hidden behind walls and within rooms, things dangerous to come to; the women that men love and many children; to see and take pleasure in seeing; to see and be amazed; to see and be instructed.
This is what in 1936 Henry R. Luce wrote in the first issue of Life magazine editorial. And although his words refer to the press photography, it seems that they summarize the essence of the philosophy of photography. Rather holding to the similar attitude – by observing the world around himself, looked into it, intensively searching for the subtle relations of the ordinary reality and technical possibility that photography as medium gives – Ivan Arsenijevic has, in almost every phase of his work – while taking pictures of People from barracks… and now Blow-Up , confirmed, now we can say it for sure according to the context he put them in – some kind of his social engagement. What witnesses comprehensiveness of Arsenijevic’s engagement is his continuous professional improvement as well as perennial involvement in creating and realization of cultural and art projects in Kragujevac.
Photography today does not tend to achieve optimal possibilities regarding technical standards – they go without saying; but without standards an artist could not survive the diversity within the wide field of photography today.
Up-to-date contemporary photographers are interested in external reality, sharpened individual vision, developed personal optics … They are aware that instead of relying on symbolic strategy they have to explore psychological narrative elements within the medium of photography itself.
In that frame we perceive Mannerism i.e. Differentia Specifica of Ivan Arsenijevic’s artistic code. Looking through all these years, and having in mind all his “cycles” we can see that this group of his works – photographs – are linked with a single motif as an identity, and systematical applying of the method pars pro toto – a part for the whole – which means that he can feel, notice, and then in a right, subtle way extricate from the whole, group etc. – a characteristic – whatever it is – gesture or expression of an individual, anecdotal detail etc.
Arsenijevic explores, notices and establishes unique paradox between identity (individual) and uniformity (group). Thus, Blow-Up magnifies and emphasizes that strength and vulnerability of the individual and group separately. For, rare are his photographs without the obvious presence or, at least, implied presence of Man.
Unexpected Passers-by, Coachman, Occupied Tourist in Front of the Souvenir Shop, Just Married Couple, Man on the Bridge – the only in a group with a look wandering in a different direction, The Family Portrait, Invitation to the Exhibition Opening, Policemen Keeping New Order in the Street… etc.
Scenes and settings show Arsenijevic’s ability to observe and use space – open squares, wide streets in Prague…. or anywhere in Europe – and to transpose it into Universal space.
People of different skin colour, different ages, different moods; spaces somewhere in Europe or anywhere else – Microcosm within Macrocosm – two experiences of one World which belongs to all of us, which we belong to – are witnesses of Universality. The point is that each of us – in every single frame or square, additionally singled out and magnified – make ourselves known, although this held expression of happy, smiling face looks frozen, theatrical, fixed… sometimes even honest, but melancholically honest. So much that we are completely Blown away from this Blow-Up.