A View from Inside: On (Im)Possible Synthesis of Kockica

written by Sanja Horvatinčić

 

My favourite sculpture, actually my favourite work is a relief made of stainless steel, 12 by 6.5 meters, located in the hall of the (building of the) Social-Political Organizations of Croatia in Zagreb. I always like to remember my work on this relief. In association with the designer of the building and hall, a spatial valeur was created, incorporated into the fabric of construction, that is, not subsequently hung on the wall of the finished space, but an ambience synthesized together according to function and visual artistic expression.

During the last ten years significant steps towards (re)valorisation and rehabilitation of Ivan Vitić's architectural oeuvre have been made: in 2005, the thematic issue of the Arhitektura (Architecture) magazine was dedicated to him, with an overview of his creative work and the analyses of his key contributions to post-war modernism, and from 2013 – due to the efforts of experts and enthusiasts gathered around the independent association for contemporary art Slobodne veze (Loose Associations) – some of the segments of this heritage have been further researched and successfully popularized in the wider public. Although the scale and horizons of this oeuvre have thus been outlined in the context of modern architecture in Croatia, and certain edifices protected as cultural assets, most Vitić's realizations and projects, as well as the wider context of his professional and intellectual work, have not yet been researched and adequately valued. A significant factor in the creative work of Ivan Vitić – who was also engaged in other artistic media – was his complex social network, that is, his immersion in the cultural and artistic milieu in which he matured and with whom he collaborated.  A significant factor in the creative work of Ivan Vitić – who was also engaged in other artistic media – was his complex social network, that is, his immersion in the cultural and artistic milieu in which he matured and with whom he collaborated.  A significant factor in the creative work of Ivan Vitić – who was also engaged in other artistic media – was his complex social network, that is, his immersion in the cultural and artistic milieu in which he matured and with whom he collaborated.