boljka - Galerija Božidar Jakac

B'0'LTR'A
/'01 izgubiienih
l%l,železo
višina 30 cm
B'0'LTK'A
od 14. julija do 15. septembra 1990
JANEZ BOLJKA
Aleksander Bassin
stvarjalna pot slovenskega umetnika Jancza Boljke, ki nosi v sebi vse značilnosti sodobnega umetnostnega raziskovalca,
je danes, ko je ta pot dolga več kot trideset let, še vedno odprta; odprta v smislu trajanja zrelega obdobja, ki ga je
Boljka očitno dosegel v vseh svojih stalnih izraznih medijih. Kajti specifičnost umetniške pojavnosti Janeza Boljke je
zlasti v prepletu kiparstva in grafike, s katerima obema se takorekoč sočasno in enako intenzivno ukvarja. Pomemben
je seveda tudi njegov vstop v slikarstvo, ki ga je Boljka napovedoval že vsa sedemdeseta leta, predvsem skozi samo
kolažno tehnologijo svojih sitotiskov; ti so dobesedno izzivali s svojimi barvitimi in slikovitimi detajli, kar pa v dobršni
meri velja tudi za posebno igro svetlobe in senc, ki izvira iz Boljkovega asemblažnega kiparskega pristopa ter modelacije
v zadnjcm desetletju.
V delovni biografiji tega predstavnika zrele srednje generacije beležimo nekaj datumov, ki so pomembni v ustvarjalnem
obziru. Boljka je prvi slovenski kipar, ki obdeluje železo v začetku šestdesetih let in ustvari z njegovo pomočjo enega
najizrazitejših in hkrati najintimnejših ciklusov na temo narodnoosvobodilnega boja; v drugi polovici šestdesetih let začne
intenzivno razvijati svoj živalski ciklus, h kateremu se nenehno vrača; prvo polovico sedemdesetih let posveti študijam
spomeniške podobe pisatelja Ivana Cankarja, tako da se pojavlja Cankar ob še starejšem Ribničanu v tematskem
kontekstu svojevrstne nacionalne likovne »kronike«; dalje je tu številna mala figuralna plastika, značilna v svoji igrivosti
in izraznosti, prepeta s svojevrstno nadrealno vizionarno razsežnostjo...
Tema živali, ki se je v Boljkovem delu tako izrazito odrazila v drugi polovici osemdesetih let, je v likovni umetnosti
starcjša od človeške pojavnosti. Kot je jamski človek uporabil motiv živali za posrcdno sporočilo o svojem boju z naravo
in njenimi, zanj ncznanimi silami, tako naš sodobnik preko ostankov, rušcvin civilizacije, tehnično�industrijskega sveta,
ki so se zažrle, prepele s svojo strukturo živalsko maso, izraža svojo misel o problemih dmžbenega zla, ki smo mu priča
že v našcm vsakdanjiku. In ki grozi s slabo napovedjo prihodnjika. Boljkov animalizem kot idejni problem v
umetnostnem jeziku predstavlja torej svojcvrstno projekcijo strahu posameznika pred splošnim zlom, usodnostjo, ki jo
razkriva avtor v izrazito poetiziranih likovnih vrednotah, z zrclo kiparsko skušnjo in prepricljivo odkritostjo.
Boijka uspeva skozi ta animalizem opredeliti svoj izrazni razpon od naturalističnega nadrealizma preko groteskne
fantastičnosti, ko postanejo živali magično�fetišistično opredeljeni objckti usodnostne violence, do še intenzivnejše
psihološko�skulpturalne metafore, ki se kaže formalno v abstraktncjc obravnavani kiparski gmoti, kjer prevladujejo
konkavne oblike z izrazito razjedeno, razžrto površino.
Sodobni umetnik torej ne zmore več ustvariti nove različice mitološke legende o biku in lepi Europi: ob simbolični
živalski nasilnosti je preostal samo še resigniran, prikrit spomin na propadlo žensko lepoto � predstavljen v razjedenem,
razžarjenem in nabuhlem torzu Hirošimske Madone!
Kiparjevo ustvarjalno prepričanje, da se mora iz zadnjih, še prcostalih življenjskih moči organske ostaline, pa čeprav so
jo podkopale in prepele ocitnc in prikrite zlovešče moči moderne, tehnično�civiliziranc divjine, spočeti, zaroditi vsemmu
navkljub novo življenje, je torej posebna erotična razsežnost, ki na svojcvrsten način plemeniti Boljkovo kiparsko
poetiko.
Boljkov izraz sc tedaj vključuje v avantgardne razsežnosti modernc umetnosti, pri čemer pa je treba ugotoviti, da nista
imela niti njegovo kiparstvo, niti grafika barikadnega, militantnega značaja. Boljka pripada namreč svojcmu
individualnemu »trendu«, zato tudi ni bfl boja za stilne spremembe, skrbel pa je za ozaveščanje, za prečiščevanje svojih
idej znotraj svoje umetnosti in znotraj njene lastne rasti. Prav zaradi tega lahko tako očitno priznavamo kontinuiteto v
njegovi ustvarjalnosti, priznavamo strukturo modernega likovnega jezika tako v formalnem kot vsebinskem smislu, v
okviru katerc je (človeška) figura takorekoc neizbežna, tisti veČni nosilec največjih etičnih vrednot in moralizirajoči
izpovedovalec v Času in prostoru, sredi katerih obeh je razpeta.
Boljka tedaj gradi svojo kiparsko poetiko (ki jc v bistvu vendarie primarna v primerjavi z grafično) na figuri, pri čemer
lahko znova ugotovimo, da je uspel razviti posebno odmcvno, torej na široko odprto likovno govorico, ki je nastala v
razmerju med izbrano mitologijo, antropologijo tcr še posebej antropocentrizmom; zanašajoč se bolj na intuicijo, dalje
na tisto sposobnost, preiti od površinskega ogledovanja v globino, v strukturo objekta, sposobnost, ki jo Herbert Read
pripisuje razvijanju tako imenovane skulpturalne emocije, vzpostavlja Boljka preko osnovne metafore stik med vidnim
in nadrealnim svetom, mcd številnimi pojavnimi oblikami prvega brez obvczujoče anekdotičnosti in litcrarnosti, ter
duhovno eksistenco človeškcga bitja. V tem navidez prcprostem, enostavnem videnju, ki ima torej vse opticno otipljive
lastnosti in pojavnosti, pa velja poiskati in opozoriti na tisto miselno srcdišče, ki prav gotovo nastaja kot splet različnih
okoliščin in zaradi katerega se na primer Boljka vztrajno izraža svojem, še vedno nastajajočem, živalskem ciklusu, kot
recimo svojevrstni osebni kozmogoniji ali njenemu antipodu � ataklizmi.
Rihard Jakopič
1969, vosek
višina 220 em
Atomska Venera
1968, hron
višina 95 cm
BOLJKOVO EDINSTVENO DELO
Taras Kermauner
u
metniški � kiparski in graficni � opus Janeza Boljke je eden najobsežnejših slovenskih tovrstnih opusov, obenem pa, kar je
odločilneje, eden najbolj pomembnih. To ni vljudnostna fraza. Boljkovo umetniško pot spremljam že blizu treh desetletij in
zmerom znova me kipar preseneča z vitalnostjo, silovitostjo, domiselnostjo, domišljijo, a tudi tehnično izdelanostjo,
strokovnostjo, estetskim čutom svoje osebnosti.
.Boljka sodi v generadjo, ki je prva po vojni razbila revolucijsko klasiko in malomeŠčanski lepi videz slovenske umetnostno
kulturno ideološke zavesti. Ta generacija je doživljala v otroskih in deskih letih okuparijo, revolucijo, povojni zanos in teror,
skratka silovite zgodovinsko strukturalne spremembe slovenstva. A uradnim razlagam ni verjela. Že kmalu je začela izdelovati
� zoper uradne, ob njih � nove svetove, drugačne. Izšli pa so prav iz strašnih doživetij vojne in povojne. Odtod prvi �
psihosocialni � razlog razkroja zunanje forme, naluknjanosti, zmletosti, prizadetosti oblik, ki so bile prejšnji generaciji (Kalinom
itn.) še lepotno nedotakljive, zunanje popolne, gladkc in skrivajoče grozno resnico sveta.
V razkroju pa Boljka ni šel radikalno do konca, do nihilizma, do abstrakcije, do redukcije človeškega na snovno, reisticno, zgolj
površinsko; nitine vzgolj igrosorazmerij. Osnovno merilo mu je ostalčlovek, vendarne kakrŠen koli � liberalno humanistični
� človek. Model Človeka, ki ga je z zanestjivim čutom našel že na začetku svoje umetniške poti � konec 50. let �, je bil nekdo,
ki je na tem svetu najprej popotnik, napol izgnanec napol radoživ (RibniČan), kasneje pa je kipar odkril njegovo bistvo in resnico:
Razpeti, Križani, Odrešenik. Tu je temelj: v človekovem trpljenju, ki pa ne vodi v gnus, v samoizgubo identitete, v nič, ampak
prek srarti v vztrajanje in celo v vstajenje. Boljka je pesnik trdne vere v zmago plemerritega, ne zgolj sekularnega človekovega
bistva.
Res je po eni strani kipar nadaljeval z razkrojem, ko je ustvarjal železne Ijudi iz ostankov industrijske civilizacije � jeseniške
železarne. Prišel je do roba: do puščave, nastale po atomski vojni, kar je treba razumcti simbolično: po revoluciji, po terorju,
po radikalni dehumanizaciji. A se ni zadovoljil s to destrukdjo, sc pustil zapeljati v avtodestrukcijo, z gnusom in dolgočasjem
dokončne brezvrednosti in zničenosti sveta. fa konec je bil zanj le možnost novega začetka. Omogočal je kiparju � človeku �
da nadaljuje nekdanje stvarjenje sam, v sodelovanju s Stvarnikom. Tu pa se sproži kiparjeva radoživost.
Ob kipih človeško božjega martirija ustvarja Boljka z enakim umetniškim darom in interesom, predvsem pa uspehom figurc tega
sveta;pritemmislimpredvsemnaciklusživali. Mojsterje tudi vdrugem; vmaliplastiki, ki jojeobrnilČistodrugam,kot jebila
pri Smerduju, Zdenku Kalinu ali šc BatiČu, iz idiličnih igric in Ijubezenske pastorale v ironične zveze, v ujemanje takšnega, kar
je za kiparstvo skoraj neujemljivo (Pogovor s senco, Pogovor o akupunkturi, Človek, ki išče ipd.)� Pa v mistiko arhaično � že
v začetku 60. let (Idol, Totem). Pa v kombinacije iz odvrženega orožja in v slike Atotnskih Vener. Povsod v tem je duhovit,
domiseln, vsebinsko poglobljen; odkriva magično arhaično v času, ko se o tera na Slovenskem še komaj komu sanja � le Maksimu
Sedeju mlajsemu, pesnikoma Strniši in Zajcu. A živalski ciklus je najpomembnejši.
Igro razume Boljka kot sostvarjenje; zato ni le ludistična igrica. Živali ne slika kot nadomestke za Ijudi, kot psihološke posebnosti.
Ampak v njihovi zvrstni in položajski svojevrstnosti, kot da hoče ohraniti pluralizem najrazličnejših oblik živega sveta, njegove
vitalnosti, zanimivosti, polnosti, jasnosti, naravne lepote. Z živalskim svetom dopolnjuje pasijonskega. Poenostavljali bi, Če bi
gledali kiparja le kot radoživega epika tosvetnosti, celo slasti, kar tudi je, a prav tako, če bi ga zvedli !e na pesnika človekovega
trpljenja, izgubljenosti, osamljenosti, celo obupa ali tožbe nad opustelim svetom. Boljka je oboje.
Cudovito je, kako zna držati ravnotežje med enim in drugim. To je Boljkova osebnostna in sijajna poteza: da ni ne histeričen
ne agresiven, pač pa vztrajen in zvest. Da ga ne zanaŠa ne sem ne tja, ne v zapeljevanje ne v samosmiljenje, niti ne v čezmerne
pustolovščine, kjer bi se izgubil. Zmerom je pri sebi, živ, smotrn, notranje čvrst, na zemlji, a s pogledom v odrešenje. V tem bi
moral biti za vse nas zgleden. Kajti pretirano se odrekati terau svetu z askezo vodi v čudaštvo in čemernost; pretirano vdajati se
mu pa v to, kjer smo danes: v karnizem in hedonizem, ki je izgubil mero in smer. Dati Bogu, kar je božjega, a naravi, kar je
njenega, je deviza Boljkove umetnosti. To devizo mojstrsko in sugestivno ponazarja z umetniškimi sredstvi.
Boljka pa je tudi stvaritelj velikih spomenikov, Ti se mu tembolj posrecijo, ker je v jedru njegovega kiparstva čut za spomin.
Za spomin na osnovni pasijon sveta, na osnovi tega pasijona kot vzorca pa za vse druge človeške pasijone. Odtod kiparjeva
zmožnost, da se zna tako dobro vživeti v mrtve (spomenik na Žalah), v ponesrečene (žrtvam letalske nesreče na Korziki), v Žrtve
kot take (spomenik v Brdih taboriščnikom itn.), v padle bojevnike (za severno mejo). V Boljki je navzlic njegovi pobožnosti ali
prav zaradi nje silen občutek za umirajoče, trdo preizkušane, udarjene.
Oba osnovna momenta njegovega umetniškega naturela, ki je zrela osebnost, sodelujeta, ko odkriva slovenski simbol; mislim na
kip Ivana Cankarja. Žal so mu preprečili, da bi ga postavil sredi Ljubljane in dal Slovencem pravo identifikacijsko točko � ob
tolikerih enostranskih (spomenikih, raztresenih po Ljubljani). Njegov Cankar je slovenski Kristus, se pravi obenem nacionalni
junak. Ne heroj v antičnem pomenu. Ampak prej svetnik: popotnik, ki postaja romar, v tem ko spozna, da ne hodi izgubijeno
v tri dni, v nič, ampak da ga tudi smrt ne more zavreti pri njegovi hoji v presežno, v transcendenco. Izvotljen, brez kože in mesa,
kot da je nekaj desetletij prebil pod zemljo Roga, mučen in ubijan od vseh podivjanih. pa vendar trden, neuničljiv, ena sama
silna vera, čeprav skromna in ponižna, nič naduta in ne agresivna. Je tisto, kar ostane po najhujših preizkušnjah: ostane kot vera
v absolutno točko sveta. Če se bomo Slovenci zmožni poistovetiti s tem in takšnim Cankarjem, potem smo vendarle prešli iz
obdobja samosmiljenja in heroizma v zrelejŠo dobo.
Boljkovo umetniško delo ni edino na Slovenskem; a je posebno in teraeljno. Kot malokatero � po Groharju in Jakopiču,
Bernekerju in Kraljih itn. � se je približalo slovenskemu bistvu oz. oblikovalo to � zgodovinsko � bistvo tako, da se usklaja z
absolutnim. Pravim: usklaja, ne pa podreja tosvetno absolutnemu z izbrisom tosvetnosti. Polno živi v tosvetnosti, vitalno naturni,
arhaični, zgodovinski, raaterialni in intelektualni, a vsemu daje navdih in duha, ki presega zgolj sekularnost. Takšna polna
kombinacija nasprotij, oblikovana kot skladje, je silno redka. Hvaležni moramo biti, da nam je dana skoz Boljkovo edinstveno
delo.
Nočni popotnik II
1961, železo
višina 136 cm
Spotnin na zrtve
1%1, železo
višina 76 cm
Slovenski totem l
1962, železo
višina 250 cm
SVET JANEZA BOLJKE
Jože Javoršek
z
elo redki so Ijudje, ki doživljajo umetnika ali umetnino po načelih, ki naj bi bila za vse enako veljavna. Vsak človek je
osebnost zase in vsak človek umetnika in umetnino občuti, razume in razlaga z izrazito zasebnimi merili (čeprav se včasih
I
skriva za znanost). Največji umetniki so tisti, ki so Ijudje o njih nasprotujočega nmenja oziroma si jih razlagajo vsak po
svoje. 0 umetniku si ne ustvarijo »kolektivnega občutja« ali »kolektivnega odnosa«, ampak vidijo v njem in njegovih
delih svetove ki jih umetnik sam ni niti videl niti slutil. Le taki umetniki žive večno življenje in so vredni vse pozornosti.
Janez Boljka je kipar, ki nudi Ijudera pestro izbiro interpretacij, zato v dosedanjem popisovanju njegovega umetniškega
sveta ni mogoče zaslediti enotnosti ali vsaj dokončne umestitve njegovega opusa v svetu umetnosti. � Veliko pametnih
Ijudi je ugotavljalo, da so Boljkove umetnine izraz postatomskega sveta, izraz tiste strašne ujme, ki je spremenila Zemljo
v puščavo, Ijudi izmaličila, izvotlila, izžela ali pa jih spremenila celo v pošasti. � Spet drugim se likovni svet Janeza
Boljke prikazuje kot predsvet, kot svet iz časov, ki se šele oblikujejo, iz časov, v katerih se stoletja šele pripravljajo,
da se bodo izvalila iz kaosa v red, ki ga poznamo. Čas svet lomi in trga in sestavlja in še ni prišel do tega, da bi oblikoval
konja kot kakšen Donatello (ki bi ga Boljka lahko dosegel, če bi le hotel in če ne bi že Donatello dosegel tega, kar je
dosegel). Skrajnosti se stikajo, zato imamo tudi skrajnostnc razlage umetnin.
Vendar pa lahko rečemo, da »predzogodvinsko« pojmovanje nekaterih skulptur Janeza Boljke in nekaterih njegovih
grafik lahko velja samo za nekatera njegova dela. Ža vsaostala bi lahkozgotovostjo trdili, dasodijo včasprihodnosti,
v čas, ki ga pripravlja človekovo brezumje. � V današnji evropski kulturi se že dolgo prikazujejo tiste oblike umetnosti,
ki so izraz človekovih slutenj (in premišljevanj) o vsesplošni pogubi našega planeta. Vsi čutimo zdaj tako, zdaj drugače,
da drvimo v pogubo, najsubtilnejši znanstveniki in vidci nas opozarjajo in kličejo k modrosti in pameti. A človeštvo se
ne more več strezniti. Prišli smo do najbolj tragičnega trenutka svojega bivanja: nihamo med videzi in ničem, med
varljivo obliko bivanja in odsotnostjo bivanja. � Boljkove skulpture in druge likovne stvaritve so izraz tistega trepeta
(vibracije), ki lovi te skrajnosti.
Kljub univerzalnim razsežnostim umetnosti Janeza Boljke bo človek, ki je navajen sobivanja z njegovimi deli, odkril
dokaj hitro v njegovi univerzalnosli izrazito slovenske prvine. Mogoče zlepa ni modernega kiparja, ki bi, tako kot Janez
Boljka, povzel v svojem delu toliko osnovnih značlnosti (ali vrednote) slovenskega sveta. Vzemimo samo njegovo
»železno« obdobje, ki je z nenavadno silovitostjo in izvirnostjo prikazalo kvintesenco slovenske tragedije v zadnji vojni.
� Vzcmimo podobc ribniških krošnjarjev, ki so mu bili nckaj časa priljubljcna umctniška zaposlitev; krošnjarje je
povzdignil v slovenske samohodce in svetovljane z nagrmadeno muko vscga tistega, Čcmur sc pravi: »omnia mea mecum
porto...« Vzemimo njegove podobe slovenskih umetnikov, med njimi predvsem Ivana Cankarja, v katerih izpričuje svoja
videnja umetnosti in svojo Ijubezen do »rož�mogot«, do rož čudotvornih, do bclih krizantcm, do obsedenosti s čopičem
in s svetom. � Izrazite domačijske prvine (v najžlahtnejšem pomenu te besede) se skrivajo tudi v Boljkovih spomenikih,
na primer v spomeniku na Žalah, v Hmeljarju, zlasti v Ijubljanski »čele�kuli«, ki jo je postavil v spomin na junake I.
svetovne vojne. Pa tudi v številnih drugih. Boljkova občutljiva poetičnost je intimno zvezana s poetičnim (grozljivim)
slovcnskim svctom.
Ko človek premišljuje o Boljkovi umetnosti in ko je že prepričan, da je vsaj približno zaobsegel in dojel njen fantastično
raznoliki svet, se nenadoma znajde prcd popolnimi prcscncčcnji. Na primcr prcd njcgovim živalskim svetom. Včasih se
nam dozdeva, da gre za tisti svet živali, ki bodo preživele vesoljno katastrofo, saj jo bodo menda preživele na primer
želve, nosorogi, škprpijoni, kozorogi, divje svinje, mogočni biki. Skratka: človck ima vtis, da sc jc Bo!jka lotil
upodabljanja živalskega sveta zaradi tega, ker mu po vseobsežni katastrofi ni ostalo nič živega; v bikih, nosorogih,
pobesnelih konjih, v divjih svinjah, v tigrih, kozah in žirafah pa je našel tisto energijo, ki se je bila zmožna upreti
vsestranskemu razsulu. Boljka energijo teh živali dobescdno obožuje in ponazarja v zmagoviti obliki. Najbrž na svetu
ni kiparja, ki bi z živalskim svetom igral take filozofske in poetične igre...
Jancz Boljka je v kiparstvu in v drugih svojih umctniških izrazih nckaj podobnega ali od časa do časa skoraj enakega
kot v romanopisju in gledališču Samuel Beckett. Oba upodabljata podobne (ali cclo istc) postave, lc da Boljkove ne
govore artikuliranega jezika, Beckettove pa komaj, komaj... Gre za iste izsušene, zmrtvičene, preluknjane Ijudi, ki so
jim simboli oblika razpoznavanja. Ko pa izginejo celo simboli, ostanejo samo slutnje. Strokovnjaki uvrščajo Becketta
in Boljko zdaj v nadrcalizcm, zdaj v fantastiko, zdaj v svet absurda. Nckatcri Ijudjc primcrjajo Boljko, na primer, celo
s Hieronymom Boschem (kar ni čisto od muh), a nc Beckctta nc Boljkc ni mogočc stlačiti v kakršnekoli civilizacijske
sheme. 0 obeh lahko trdimo samo to, da jima je blizu tragično občutje sveta ali ponazarjanje tega sveta v oblikah, ki
razodevajo tragičnost. Razčlovečenje, ki ustvarja tiste grozljive prikazni današnjega človeštva, ki ga ni mogočc opisati
z besedami, sta ponazorila z umetniškimi sredstvi, Oba sta mojstra »nihilistične odiseje«, oba nenadkriljiva kronista
»razpadanja« in oba znanilca »konca človeštva«. Kljub temu je v srčiki njunega ustvarjanja ginljiva poetičnost, ki je
najbrž osnovna encrgija njunih življenj.
Za Jancza Boljko velja isto, kar so švedski akademiki zapisali za Samuela Becketta, ko so mu dodeljevali Nobelovo
nagrado za književnost: »Beckett je razgrnil podobe človeške bede v današnjem času v novih dramskih in proznih
oblikah.« Prav tako je Boljka razgrnil podobe slovenske bede v novih kiparskih in slikarskih oblikah. »Njegov poetični
talent se dviga kot mizerere za vse človestvo nad pusto zemljo in njegov pridušeni glas obljublja osvoboditev tlačcnim
in nesrečnim!«
Motiv iz Ribnice II!
1961, železo
višina 175 cm
Ivan Cankar
1984, olje na platnu
50 x 35 cm
Križani Cankar I
1986, bro
višina 40 cr
10
Omutek zu spomenik
Ivana Cankarja
1972. raavec
višina 78 cm
Kibničan
1984, bron
višina 27 cm
Ribničan
1984, bron
visina 47 cm
15
Jeten Divja svinja
1990, bron 1983, bron
višina 56 cm višina 18 cm
Kozorog Hrla
1983, br<m 1990, bron
višina 56 cm višina 36 em
25
JANEZ BOLJKA
Aleksander Bassin
creative path of the Slovene artist Janez Boljka, who carries in him all the features of a modern artistic experimenter,
lies today, when this path spans more than three decades, still \vide open. It is open in the sense of the continuation of a
matureperiod which Boljka evidmdy achieved in all of hispermanent media ofexpression. For the spedfic feature ofthe
artistic phenomenon of Janez Boljka is particularly in the intertwining of sculpture and graphic prints, wiih which he is
involved simultaneously and with equal intensity. His efforts in the ari ofpainting also deserve mention. Boljka had been
announdng throughout the '70s, particularly in the collage technology ofhis silkscreen works, his entrance into the world
ofpainting. The silkscreen works have literaliy challenged the viewer with their colorful and vivid details, which to a large
degreeistruealsoofthespecialplay oflightandshadowissuingfrom
Boljkasassemblage-orientedsculpturaleffortsand
modelling technique in the past decade.
There are several tnilestones in the artistic biography of this representative of the malure middle generation which are
significant in terms of artistic creativity. Boljka is the first Slovene sculptor to work in iron in the beginning ofthe '60s.
He creates one of the most expressive and the most intimate series on the theme ofthe national libemtion stmggle. In the
second halfofthe '60s he intensifies efforts to devdop his animal series, to which he returns again and again. He consecrates
(hefirst halfofthe 70s to the study ofmonumental representation ofnovelist Ivan Cankar. Thus Cankar appears alongside
the older Ribnican in (he thematic context of a singular national artistic »chronicle.« And then there is also the. prolific
smaUfigural sctdpture, characteristic in its playfulness and expressivity, imbued with a specific surreal visionary dimension...
The animal thetne, which so empatically pervades Boljkas works in the second halfofthe '70s, is older than the depiction
of the hutnan figure in the historj of art The cave man used the itnage of an animal as a direct message in his struggk
with nature and iis unfathomableforces. The contempomry man does likewise when, by way ofthe waste, the vestiges of
civilization and ofthe technical and industrial world, which have penetraled and infihrated the animal mass, he expresses
his views of the problems and the sotial evit which wecandaily witness, andwhichportendanominousoutcome. Boljka's
animalism as a conceptual issue in the artistic ianguage presents therefore a singular projection of fear of the individual
confronted with all-pervading evil, fatefulness, which the author reveals in empatically poeticized visual values, displaying
a mature sculptural experience and persuasive honesty.
Boljka succeeds through this animalism to delineate his expresive range from natumlist surrealism through grote$que
fantastic art, where animals turn into tnagic, fetishist-like. objects ofthe violence of destmy, to even more intensive
psychohgically sculptuml metaphors, which manifest themselves formal!y in more abstractly (reated sculptural mass, where
(he concave forms with a pronounced gnarled, eroded surface predominate.
The contemporary artist therefore can no longer create a new version ofthe mythologic legend ofthe bull and the beautifui
Europa. All that remained of the symbolic animal violence is an acquiescenl, veiled memory of the wilted female beauty,
symbolized by the gnarled, blistering and swollen torso of Hiroshitna's Madonna.
The sculptor's creative persuasion ihat despite everything a new lije mmt be conceived from the last remaining life's forces
of the organic remnants, even though they have been undermined and surreplittously penetrated by the overt and covert
ominous powers of modern and technical dvilizing wilderness. This is in fact a special erotic dimension which in its own
unique way enriches Boljka's sculptural poetics.
Boljka's expression is then integraled in the avant-garde dimensions ofmodern art, where we must observe that ndther his
sculpture nor graphic art had a barricade or militant character. Boljka, after all, is faithful to his own individual »trend«
and, therefore, he has not striven for stylistic changes. He has, nevertheless, been concerned with the gwwth. And that is
why we can acknowledge continuity in his art, admit the structure of a modern artistic language in (erms ofform as well
as content, where the (human) figure is in fact indispensable, representing the eternal vehide of the hftiest ethical values
and the moralizing narrator in time and space where it has been suspended.
Boljka then builds his sculptural poetics (which in fact takes precedence to his graphic art) on the figure, where \ve can
once again observe that he manuged to develop aparticularly responsive, i.e., widely open artistic language, which emerged
from the relation betwem selected mythology, anthropology and in particular anthropocentrism, relying more on intuition,
and the ability to make the shiftfrom superfidal contemplation ofan object to the depth ofils stmcture. This ability, which
Herbert Read ascribes (o the devdopment oj the so-called sculpturd emotion, is established by Boljka by way of a basic
metapor, a link bettveen the visible and mpernatural world, betmenthe many phenomenal forms of the former, yet without
the binding anectodality and literalness, and spiritual exislence of the human being. In this, apparently simple,
uncomplicated view, which dispiays all optically tangible attributes and occurences, it is important to seek oul and point
out that spiritual center which indeed emerges in an intertwining of different drcutnstances and owing to which Boljka
persists in expressing himself in his own, continuosly emerging anima! series - his unique personal cosmogony or its
antipode - catadysm.
T
26
BOLJKA'S SURPRISING ART
Taras Kermauner
T
*he artistic, sculptuml and graphic production of Janez Boljka is one of the most voluminous Slovene productions of its
kind, and at the same time one ofihe most significant. This is no gesture ofcourte$y. I have been following Boljkas artistic
endeavours for almost three decades and I am repeatedly surprised by the sculptors vitality, artistic power, imagination,
creativity and also by the technical thoroughness, professionalism and aesthetic feeling of his personality.
Boljka belongs to the generation which was the first generation after the war to shatter the revolutionary dassic and
bourgeois nice appearance of the Slovene artistic and cultural consciousness. This generation has been *xperiendng, in
their childhood and adolescence, the occupation, revolution, post�war elan and terror; in short, powerful historical
stmctural changes in the Slovene reality. But it did not believe the offidal explanations. Soon it began to produce � despite
the officially sanctioned one � new, different worlds. Their worlds issued predsely from the terrible experiences of the war
and the post�war period. This is where the first psycho�sodal reasons of the decomposition of the outer shell, form, stem
from, as well as the perjorations, the gnarled look and the impairment offorms, which were to the former generation
(Kalin, etc.) still a taboo in terms of aesthetics: forms had to be externally perfect, smooth and hiding the terrible truth
about the world.
Boljka did not pursue decomposilion to its radical end, tonihilism, to abstraction, to a reduction of the human to material,
reified, mere superfidal. Neither did he go as far as a play of interrelations. The basic phndple has remained man, but
not any kind ofman � the liberai, humanistic man, The model ofa man which he hadfound with his refined sense already
at the beginning ofhis artislicpath, at the end ofthe '50s, represented a person who is atfirst in this world a travder, half
outcast, half life�loving (Ribničan), while later the sciflplor discovered his essence and truth: the Crucified Saviour. The
joundation is man's suffering, which, however, does not lead to nausea, loss of identity, and nothingness, but by way of
death into persevemnce, and even resumction. Boljka is a poet offirm jaith in (he victory ofthe noble, not merely secular
human essence.
It is tme (hal in a way the sculptor continued with decomposition, when he was creating iron peoplefrom the waste materials
ofthe industnal dvilization ofthe Jesenice ironworks. He had reached the edge ofthe desert which appeared as the result
of an atomic war, which must be understood symbolicaily. After the revolution, after the terror, after the radical
dehumanization. But he was nol content with this destruction, and allomd himselfto be waylaid into setf�destmctton, \vith
nausea and boredotn, into a world without a final value, reduced to nothingness. This end was for him only a chance of
a new beginning. Itpermitted the sculptor, the man, to continue theformer creativity alone, in cooperalion with the Maker.
And this is where the sculptors love of life is triggered.
Wi(h the sculptures ofhuman divine tnartyrs, Boljka creates with the same artistic gift and interest, and success, thefigures
of this world. Here I have in mind the cyde of animals. He is also a master in other types of art: small plastic art which
he has turned into a compietely differenl direction than the art ofSmerdu, Zdenko Kalin and BatiČ. He turned the idyllic
games and love pastomls into ironic associations, into a harmony ofelements which arefor sculpture almost ungraspable
(Conversation with a Shadow, Discussion on Acupuncture, Man in Quest, etc.) as well as mystical, archaical, already at
the beginning of the '60s (Idol, Totem). And into the combinations made ofrejects ofweaponry and into thepaintings of
Atomic Venuses. Everywhere in these works he is witty, dever, substantivdy profound, discovering the magical, archaical
dements at the time when in Slovenia this is still a completely unknown thetne, with the exceptions of Maxim Sedej Jr.,
ihe two Strniša poets and Zajc. But the life's series is ihe most important.
Boljka understands p!ay as co�creativity; for this reason, ihis is not a matter of a ludistic little game. He does not depict
animals as substitutes for people, as psychological curiosities, but is interested in uniqueness ofthdr kind andposition, as
ifhe wanted topreserve the plurality oflhe most diverseforms ojthe living world, its vitality, fasdnation, fullness, darity
and natural beauty. The animal world compkments the Passion world. We would embark on a simplistic explanation were
we to understand ihe sculptor merdy as an epic lover ofthe temporal world, and even its passions, which no doubt he is,
or if we were to reduce him to the poet ofhuman suffering, perdition, aloneness, and even despair or complaint over the
devastated world. Boljka is both.
It is vonderful to observe how he manages (o preserve the balance bdween one and the other. This is Boljka's unique and
brilliant feature: he is ndther hysterical nol aggressive, but persevering and loyal. He is not easily swayed, neither into
sedudion nor into self�pity, nor into presumptuous adventure, where he would get lost. He is loyal to himself, alive, wise,
internally firm, wi(h his feet on the ground, wilh his eyes set on salvation. And in this he should be a paragon for all of
us. To exaggerate in self�denial and ascetistn would only lead to eccentridty and lugubriousness. And io abandon oneself
to what the world has to offer today would lead to carnism and hedonism, devoid ojall moderation and direction. To give
unto God what is divine, and to nature what is natural, is the motto of Boljka's art. This dictum he masterfully and
suggestively represents with artistic means.
Boljka is also the author of large monuments. He is all the more successful in their creation because at the core of his
sculptures is thefeelfor memory, memory ofthe basic Passion ofthe world; all other human Passions are modeled on it.
This is where the scuiptors uncanny ability to step into the shoes of the dead comes from: the monument at Žale
comtnemomting the victims of a plane crash (victims of the plane crash in Corsica) and victims in general (monument in
Brda commemorating concentration camp victims, etc), monument to the fallen freedom fighlers (for the northern border).
Despite his religiousness or perhaps because of it, his works convey a powerfu( sentitnenl for the dying, the battle�tested,
the downtrodden, and the oppressed.
Both basic attributes ofhis artistic naturel, which is a mature personality, work together when he discoveres the Stovene
27
sjmbol Here I have in mind the monument oflvan Cankar. Unfortunately, the monument was not allowed to beplaced
in (he center of Ljubljana and thas provide for the Slovenes their true identifying point amid a multitude of monuments
presenting a biassed view (memorials strevvn throughout Ljubljana). His Cankar is a Slovene Christ, and a national hero.
However, not a hero in the antique sense ofthe term, but more a saint and a travder turned pilgrim when he realizes that
his waik is not aimless and lost, a walk into nothingness, but that even death can not stop him on his way to transcendmce.
Hollo wed�out, without skin orflesh, as if he has survived several decades under the soil of Rog, tortured and killed by all
thewildones, yetfirm, stolid, indestructible, a solitarv tnighty faith, although modest and hutnble, without arrogance'and
unaggressive. It is what remains after the worst tribulations, what remains as faith into a single absolule point ofthe world.
If we, Slovenes, are capable of identifying with this rendition of Cankar, (hen we have crossed the bridge from self�pity
and heroism inlo an age of greater maturity.
BoljkasartisticproductionisnottheonlysuchproductioninSlovenia. Neverlheless, itisspecialand fundamentalinour
land. After Grohar, Jakopič, Berneker and the Kralj brothers few artists have expressed the very quintessence ofthe Slovene
essence or shaped its historical fortn in such a way as (o conform with the absolute. Let me say again: this art conforms
and not subordinates the temporal to absolute by deleting the tempomlity. The absolute iives fully in the temporality, the
vitallj natural, archaic, historical, material and intellectual tempomlity, endowing it with spirit and inspiration, which
tramcend the mere secular reality. Thisfull combination o/opposites, shaped as a harmonious whole, is a rare occurence
indeed. We can be grateful that it saw the light ofdav in ihe works ofJanez Boijka.
28
THE WORLD OF JANEZ BOLJKA
Jože Javoršek
V
ery few people experience the work of an tirtist according to principles that are supposed to apply equally to everyone.
Each person is an individual entity and each person applies his own personal criteria (which sometimes parade as sdence)
to his experience o/ an artist and his work of art. The greatest artists provoke a difference of opinion, or even entirely
opposing views. They do notform a »collective feeling« of, or a »collective attitude« to the artist and his work, but discern
in his work realms which the artist himself had notseen or envisioned. Such art is timeless and commands attention.
Sculptor Janez Boljkasartlends itselfto a variety ofinterpretations. This is why notwodescriptionsofhisartistic world
are identical and that is why his production has not yet been awarded a fixed place in the world of art. Many \vise people
have found Boljkas works of art to be an expression of the post�atomic age, an expression of the holocamt which has
turned Eanh into a desert, deformed the people, hollowing, squeezing out their insides to the point of transforming them
into monsters. Still others find the visual universe of Janez Boljka as a pre�world, a world when the centuries of history
were only preparing to be hatchedfrom chaos into the present�day world oforder. The world is broken up, torn apart and
composed by time, and time is still not mature enough to fashion a horse like a Donatello (which Boljka would easily
achieve if he wanted to and if Donatello had not done so already). Opposites meet, and thus there are also quite radical
explanations of art.
However, one couid maintain that the »pre�historic« concept ofsome ofBoljka's sculptures and some ofhisprints is only
applicable toapart of hisproduction. The otherpart certainly belongs (o thefuture, referring to man'$ destmctive insanity.
The contemporary European culture has long been displaying the forms of art which express maris premonitions (and
reflections) on the all�encompassing destruction of our planet. The feeling of doom is shared by everyone, and the most
sensitive ofscientists and seers issue warnings, cafling for wisdom. And yet, humanity can no longer sober up. We have
arrived to the most tragic mommt ofour existence, hesitating between appearance and nothingness, between deceptiveness
of existence and absence of existence. Boljka's sculptures as well as olher an express the same tremor (vibmtions), which
hunts (hese extretnities.
Despite the universal dimensions of Janez Boljka, a persun who is used to the constant presence of his \vorks will soon
discover that this universaliiy hoids a distinctly Slovene streak. Few modern sculptors equal Janez Boljka in the »Slovene
content« oftheir art. Let us takefor example his »iron« period, which depicted with incredibte vehemence and originality
the very essence ofthe Slovene wartime tragedy. Another emmple are the woodenware peddlers o/Ribnica, who were his
favourite anistic preoccupation for a while. These peddlers were exalted as Slovene self�made craftsmen and men of the
worid, carrying the collected agony of all that we call »omnia mea tnecum porto...« And there are also his renditions of
Slovene anists � atnong which (he most notable is that oflvan Cankar � through which he conveys his views on art and
his lovefor »flowen with magicalpowers«, miradeflowers, white chrysanthemums, and his obsession with the brush and
the world. Vivid rustic elements (in the most noble sense ofthe term) also hide in Boljka's monuments, namely his Žale
monument, his Hmeljar, annd particularly in the Ljubljana »čele�kula«, which was erected in memory of the heroes of
World War One. Boljkas sensitive poetics is intimatelv linked with the poetic (horrible) Slovene world.
Ifone is to reflect on Boljka's art and once convinced that he has at least in general comprehended and fathomed its
fantastically diverse realm, he is suddenly confronted with utter surprises. One such surprise is his anitnal kingdom. At
times it seems that Boljkas menagerie represents the survivors ofa costnic catadysm: they say that only turtles, rhinoceroses,
scorpions, steinbocks, wild boars and perhaps bulls will survive. One has a feeling that Boljka tackled the depiction of
animal world because after total devastation animals were the only living beitigs lefl. In his bulls, rhinoceroses, wild horses,
wild boars, tigers, goats and giraffes, he discovered that energy which was capable of withstanding the total collapse. Boljka
is litemlly in love with this animal energy, depicting it trumphantly. Perhaps there is no artist in the world who plays such
philosophic and poetic games with the animal world.
The sculptural art and other artistic expressidns' ofJanez Boljka can be quite readily compared to the prose and dramatic
writings of Samuei Beckett. They both deal with similar if not the same characters, only (hat Bolfka's do not express
themselves through the spoken (anguage, while Beckett's are far from being articulate. These are dried up, death�ridden
people lo whom symbols are a form of recognition. And when even the symbois disappear, (here is only foreboding. Critics
describe the works of Beckett and Boljka either as surrealist, fantastic art, or the art of the absurd. Some people even go
as far as to compare Boljka with Hieronymo Bosch (which is quite an insightful observation), but neither Beckett nor
Boljka can be simply pigeonholed into the orderly scheme ofour dvilization. Finally, we can observe that both artists are
dose to the tragic sensation ofthe world, vividly representing this world and revealing its tragicalness. These two artists
have succeeded in representing, through art, the dehumanization which $pawm those honid, indescribable apparitions of
modern man. They are both the masters of»the nihilistic Odyssey«, both incomparable chroniders ofthe »decomposition«,
both the harbingers of the »doom ofhumanity«. Despite ihis, there is stirring poetic quality in the very heart of their
creativity, which is perhaps the fundamental driving force of their lives.
The statements made by the Swedish academidans about Satnud Beckett, at the Nobd prize awarding ceremony, also
apply to Janez Boljka: »Beckett has revealed the images ojhuman misery in thepresent time in novel dramatic andprose
forms.«In the same way, Boljka has unveiled the images ofthe Slovene misery in the new sculptural and paintingforms.
»His poetic talent rises as a Misererefor all humanity above the barren earth and his muffled voice promises liberiy to the
oppressed and the downtwdden.«
29
NAGRADE
PRIZES
SAMOSTOJNE RAZSTAVE
INDEPENDENT EXHIBITIONS
1958
Prešernova nagrada na ALU, Ljubljana
,„^2
nagrada za grafiko na razstavi Gozd in les
v Jikovni umetnosli, Slovenj Gradec
odkupna nagrada pri natečaju za spomenik revolucije,
Liubljana
1963
1. nagrada za grafiko na V. sredozemskem bienalu,
Aleksandrija
nagrada pri nalečaju za spomenik NOB na Zalah,
Ljubljarm
1966
. n v
1 1 j r • LI�
nagrada Presernovega sklada, Ljubljana
priznanje mednarodne žirije na razstavi Mir,
humanosl in prijateljstvo med narodi, Stovenj Gradec
1959
Jakopičev paviljon, Ljubljana
1962
Jakopičev paviljon, Ljubljana
Festivalna dvorana, Bled
j^
^ ^^
Ma,a
Studentski cenlar, Zagreb
Saion Moderne galerije, Zagreb
Gradska izložbena sala, Subolica
ji^
Lik()vni sak)[| ^
Umetnostna galerija, Maribor
^
Delavski dom Skopie
Prediamski srad Posiolm
lTtW
nagrada pn natečaja za spomenik Bonsu Kraigherju,
1970
nagrada pn natečaju za spomenik Ivanu Cankarju,
1971
nagrada pri natečaju za spomenik Slavku Šlandm,
Ce/;'e
.™,
nagrada pn dnigem natecaju za spomerak Ivanu Cankarju,
Ljubljma
™,
, ,�
medalja na I. mednarodn, razslav, grafike,
Pomero � Milano
nagrada na I. jugoslovanskem bienalu male plastike,
MMrsfai 5o&ofa
nagrada za plastiko na XIII. razstavi umetniške kolonije, Ečka
nagrada pri natečaju za spomenik
8. vojvodinski brigadi, Subotica
1975
odkupna nagrada na 5. razstavi jugoslovanske risbe. Zagreb
odkupna nagrada za grafiko na 7. Jesenskem salonu, Banjiitukii
odkupna nagrada za grafiko na 14. Likovnem susretu, Subotica
1979
odkupna nagrada za plasliko XIX. annak Poreč
1980
nagrada za kipaistvo na II. Dubrovniškem salonu, Dubrovnik
1980
Savinov likovni salon, Žalec
Kinokuniya Gallery, Tokio
1981
Inštitut Jožef Stefan, Ljubljana
Gallery Tableau 5, Sakaide, Sapporo, Japan
K±a,Novo mato
Galen a Rlka
J
Debenjaka, Kand
1982
Ljubljanski festival, Ljubljana
Kosovelova knjižnica, Sežana
Likovni salon, Celje
Razstavm salon, &/;e
Razstavni salon Komenda, Polzela
1983
Galerija Ars, Ljubljana
Galerija »Metuli«, Domžale
l%fi
^^ ^^
Lamutov likovni salon, Koslanjevica
l%7
Mala ^,Zrenjaiun
Likovni salon, Kočev/e
j^jj
A t r i j Q\^n^s hiše, Novo Gorica
1970
|judske revo|udje S|ovenijei
Ga|erija Trompelcrscll|os> Sllckigen
Galeriia Neuburaer Diasburs
Galeriia II Tribbio Vm
j
Ljuhl ana
1986
i Mladinske knjige, Slovenj Gradec
Jugoslav Press and ("ultural Center, Ne\v York
Galerie an der Sladtmaucr, Beljak
Narodno gledališče, Beograd
Scena, Zemun
1Q _.
rv.
. . . .....
^fSi
ffi°"
Domus Slovenica, Dunaj
1989
Likovni salon v Domžalah
1990
ms
1989
m6
, |
Likovn sa on Rotovž
,
Mafibor
.
^
|
|
� ^ Mii(lfl(J
Ga |eria de la forme d arte
KS Boris Kidrie. Ljubljana
Lck, Ljubljana
FumagaUi Gal ena rf arte modern
1977
Galerija Feniks, Ljiibljana
Ja AHL. ^bljana
Galeri
,
Berf gmo
Galerie K, Kofo
Auslandsinstilul, Dorlmund
Sladisparkasse, Schwerte
Kleines Kunstkabinct, Stuttgart
Galerija Dolenjskega muzeja, Novo meslo
Galerija Posavskega niiizcja, Brežice
Gaierija v mestni hiši, Kranj
1978
Festivalna dvorana, Bled
Elan, Begunje
Mala galerija. Ljubljana
Galerie K, Koin
Konikimiya Gallery. Tokio
Galleria d'arte Valentini, Milana
Pilonova galerija, Ajdovščiiut
'
Slovenijafes, Ljublpna
Nama, Ljitbtjana
Galcriia Commerce. Liubliana
Galeri a
Salon Meblo, Nom Gorica
Presernova nagrada, L/«%M
Glasbenik
1967, bron
višina 55 cm
P
Inštitut za gozdno m lcsno gospodarstvo. L/uo/;
Galerija Smelt, L/ub$an0
.„„_
1972
1979
W
ir " v H
i ' /.r
S galenjf,' i.^£T
Suvremena galerija, Zrenjanin
Galerija narodnog muzeja, Kikinda
Art Galler
>'. ^fl«°
liisiro Slavin. Ribnica
Galerija Ars, Ljubljana
"69
Likovni salon. Celie
Goreniski muzei Krani
|erija_ 'u^am
Mala
Muzej
\X hl
^J* Jnt^, J^^ ^ ^
Mala
Sladtsparkasse. MulheimlRuhr
Aula Slovenica, Celovec
Likovni salon, Ravne na Koroškem
Galerija Labirinl, Ljubtfana
Ljublianska banka, Kranj
Galerija AR ms^
Grožnjatl
zlata medalja »Rechcrche de qualile", Mainz
velika castna nagrada na b,enalu male plastike.
Murska SabOU
C 1
Vodja projekta in urednik: Lado Smrekar
Head ofthe project and editor: direktor Galerije Božidar Jakac,
Kostanjevica na Krki
Fotografije:
Photography:
Janez Kališnik
Oblikovanje:
Design:
Miljenko Licul, Studio Znak
Tehnični urednik: Dane Petek, Studio Znak
Technical editor:
Prevod: Prevajalska agencija MARGO
Translated by:
Fotoliti: Grafika, Ilirska Bistrica
Photolithography:
Tisk: Grafična deiavnica Čuk, Postojna
Print:
Založila:
Published by:
Galerija Božidar Jakac,
Kostanjevica na Krki
Razstavni elementi: Mizarstvo J. Bačnik in A. Prodan,
Exhibition Conslruction: Slovensko Gračišče, Hrvoji
B'0'LTK'A
R
ojen 21. junija 1931 v Subotici. Študiral je na
akademiji za likovno umetnost v Ljubljani, kjer je
končal tudi specialki za kiparstvo in grafiko.
Sodeloval je na številnih mednarodnih razstavah
jugoslovanskega kiparstva in grafike doma in v tujini.
Njegova dcla so v zasebnih zbirkah, muzejih in
galerijah doma in po svetu.
B'0'L'JTA
"as born on June 21s! 1931 in Šubotica. He studied at
the Academy of Fine Arst in Ljubljana, where he also
specialized in sculpture and graphic arts.
His works have been displayed at several sculpture and
graphic arts exhibitions in our country and abroad.
Some of his works are kept in private collections,
museums and galleries in Vugoslavia and abroad.
naslov//iome adress
Soška 30, 61000 Ljubljana, Jugoslavija
atdier
Cesta 111115, Rožna dolina, 61000 Ljubljana, Jugoslavija