
Tkane skulpture Jagode Buić
Premda mi danas, zbog neslućena razvoja sredstava informiranja i prometa, živimo u tzv. međunarodnom svijetu, moram istaći da svaki čovjek, svaki umjetnik, nosi biljeg vlastite tradicije. Neki kažu da moje tapiserije podsjećaju na udovičke haljine iz krševitih predjela u Dalmaciji. Neki pak tvrde da pojedina djela bojom prizivaju ratničke pojase iz Crne Gore. Može biti. Ne odričem vezu s našom tradicijom, ali ipak osjećam pripadnost umjetničkom izražavanju ovoga vremena. (Jagoda Buić, 1966)
U Muzeju savremene umetnosti u Beogradu, 23. novembra 2023. godine, otvorena je izložba Esencijalnost niti hrvatske i jugoslovenske umetnice Jagode Buić. Na četvrtom i petom nivou muzeja, do 26. februara 2024. godine, biće predstavljen deo stvaralaštva ove multimedijalne umetnice, kako kustoskinja izložbe Svetlana Mitić naglašava, jedne od ključnih umetničkih pojava druge polovine 20. veka na jugoslovenskom prostoru.
Stvaralaštvo Jagode Buić obuhvata širok spektar likovnog izraza, od pozorišne i filmske scenografije i kostimografije, preko tapiserije kao najznačajnijeg područja njenog delovanja, do serije specifičnih radova na papiru i od papira, poput crteža, kolaža i asemblaža, kojima počinje da se bavi od 2000. godine.
Počev od 1962. godine, konkretno delom Reminiscencija na Dubrovnik (1962), Jagoda Buić počinje da se bavi tapiserijom, koja će sve do početka građanskog rata u Jugoslaviji biti dominantan oblik izražavanja u njenom radu. U svom intenzivnom bavljenju tapiserijama, umetnica je prošla kroz više stvaralačkih faza: od klasičnih i tapiserija izrađenih u vidu plitkog reljefa, preko tapiserija perforirane površine i sa brojnim otvorima i prorezima, koji uvode belu površinu zida kao ravnopravan element celine, do tapiserija koje, potpuno oslobođene zida, predstavljaju prostorne oblike u potpunosti sposobne da samostalno funkcionišu. Ovim potonjim radovima u prostoru, poput tapiserije Vertikala II (1970), Jagoda Buić je redefinisala pojam tapiserije, pretvorivši je u tzv. tkanu skulpturu. Ona je tapiseriju oslobodila tradicionalne uloge podređene slikarskoj disciplini, i dodelila joj autonomnost zasebnog umetničkog medija.
Ipak, pored savremenog senzibiliteta koji je Jagodu Buić podstakao na radikalno drugačije poimanje i tretiranje tapiserije, u svome radu umetnica teži da predstavi i zadrži tradiciju ambijenta iz koga potiče. Pronalezeći inspiraciju u svom zavičaju – u suncu, kršu, spomenicima i ljudima Dalmacije – Jagoda Buić je svojim tkanim komadima, uprkos njihovoj masivnosti i težini, podarila utisak lakoće, vibrantnosti, ustalasane površine pod uticajem blagog strujanja vazduha, koji posmatrača neminovno asociraju na primorske prizore, uz koje je sama umetnica odrastala, pored kojih je živela i stvarala. Tako pokret – pokret poput vetra, oluje, talasa, mora, nemira, vazduha, materije, duše – postaje osobeni simbol ovih radova, nastalih primenom vune, sisala i kudelje, prirodnih boja, među kojima se posebno ističe poliptih Dinamički krug (1977).
Istraživanje i emancipovanje tapiserije kao medija, Jagodi Buić donelo je međunarodni ugled. Umetnica je tokom višedecenijske karijere svoje monumentalne tekstilne instalacije izlagala na svetskim bijenalima u Veneciji, Sao Paulu, Lozani, kao i u brojnim važnim svetskim muzejima. Njena se dela danas nalaze u mnogim javnim i privatnim svetskim umetničkim zbirkama.
Pored gorepomenutih tapiserija – Reminiscencija na Dubrovnik (1962), Vertikala II (1970) i Dinamički krug (1977) – u sklopu izložbe Esencijalnost niti, predstavljeno je još devet tapiserija, devetnaest skica i crteža, kao i jedan video-rad Jagode Buić. Izloženi radovi deo su zbirke Muzeja savremene umetnosti, kao i zbirke Muzeja primenjene umetnosti, umetničke kolekcije Palate Srbije, umetničke kolekcije firme International CG u stečaju, zbirke Muzeja grada Beograda, kolekcije galerije Haos, Radionice za izradu tapiserija Atelje 61 iz Novog Sada, kao i deo više privatnih kolekcija u Beogradu. Izložba, zajedno sa predstavljenim radovima, omaž su umetnici koja je, u duhu vremena u kom stvara, tapiseriju izvela u prostor.
Jagoda Buić rođena je 1930. godine u Splitu, gde završava osnovnu i srednju školu. Godine 1949. upisala je Akademiju za primijenjenu umjetnost u Zagrebu, a studije kostimografije i scenografije nastavlja 1952. godine u Rimu i Veneciji. Diplomirala je 1954. godine u Beču na Akademiji primenjenih umetnosti, na Odseku za unutrašnju arhitekturu i na Odseku za tekstil.
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Although today, due to the unprecedented development of means of communication and trade, we live in what is called a “globalized world,” I must emphasize that every person, every artist, carries the mark of their own tradition. Some say that my tapestries resemble widow’s dresses from the rugged regions of Dalmatia. Others claim that certain works evoke the colors of warrior belts from Montenegro. It may be. I do not deny the connection to our tradition, but I still feel a strong affiliation with the artistic expression of this time.
(Jagoda Buić, 1966)
At the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, on November 23, 2023, the exhibition The Essentiality of Threads by Croatian and Yugoslav artist Jagoda Buić opened. On the fourth and fifth floors of the museum, until February 26, 2024, a selection of works by this multimedia artist will be presented, as emphasized by the exhibition curator Svetlana Mitić, who describes Buić as one of the key artistic figures of the second half of the 20th century in the Yugoslav context.
Jagoda Buić’s body of work spans a wide range of artistic expression, from theater and film scenography and costume design to tapestry, which represents the most significant area of her practice, as well as a series of specific works on and made of paper, such as drawings, collages, and assemblages, which she began to explore in 2000.
Starting in 1962, with the work Reminiscences on Dubrovnik (1962), Jagoda Buić began to focus on tapestry, which would remain the dominant form of expression in her work until the outbreak of the civil war in Yugoslavia. Throughout her intense engagement with tapestry, the artist underwent several creative phases: from classic tapestries and those made in the form of shallow reliefs, to tapestries with perforated surfaces and numerous openings and slashes, which integrate the white surface of the wall as an equal element within the whole, to tapestries that, completely liberated from the wall, transform into spatial forms capable of functioning independently. In these later works, like Vertical II (1970), Jagoda Buić redefined the concept of tapestry, turning it into what is known as woven sculpture. She freed tapestry from its traditional role subordinate to the discipline of painting and granted it the autonomy of a distinct artistic medium.
However, alongside the modern sensibility that led Jagoda Buić to radically rethink and approach tapestry, the artist also strives to present and preserve the tradition of the environment from which she originates. Finding inspiration in her homeland – in the sun, karst landscapes, monuments, and people of Dalmatia – Buić imbued her woven pieces with a sense of lightness, vibrancy, and the undulating surface influenced by the gentle movement of air, despite their massiveness and weight. These characteristics inevitably evoke coastal scenes, the environment in which the artist grew up, lived, and created. Thus, movement – the movement of wind, storms, waves, the sea, unrest, air, matter, soul – becomes a distinctive symbol in these works, created using wool, sisal, and flax, and natural dyes, with the polyptych Dynamic Circle (1977) standing out among them.
The exploration and emancipation of tapestry as a medium brought international recognition to Jagoda Buić. Throughout her multi-decade career, the artist has showcased her monumental textile installations at prestigious biennials in Venice, São Paulo, and Lausanne, as well as in numerous important museums worldwide. Her works are now housed in many public and private art collections across the globe.
In addition to the aforementioned tapestries – Reminiscences on Dubrovnik (1962), Vertical II (1970), and Dynamic Circle (1977) – the exhibition The Essentiality of Threads also features nine other tapestries, nineteen sketches and drawings, and a video work by Jagoda Buić. The displayed works are part of the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Applied Art, the art collection of the Palace of Serbia, the art collection of the International CG company in bankruptcy, the collection of the Museum of the City of Belgrade, the Haos Gallery collection, the Atelje 61 tapestry workshop collection from Novi Sad, as well as several private collections in Belgrade. The exhibition, along with the presented works, serves as a tribute to the artist who, in tune with the era in which she worked, brought tapestry into the space.
Jagoda Buić was born in 1930 in Split, where she completed primary and secondary school. In 1949, she enrolled at the Academy of Applied Arts in Zagreb, and in 1952, she continued her studies in costume and scenography at institutions in Rome and Venice. She graduated in 1954 in Vienna at the Academy of Applied Arts, specializing in Interior Architecture and Textile Design.