The Colorful Color of Architecture

€100–€600

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When I enrolled at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade in 1968, the first architect I ever heard about was Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus school.

Professor Branislav Brana Milenković, who taught us Fundamentals of Design, mentioned Gropius so often that we students used to joke that during the exam we would tell the professor what our “Uncle Gropius” had advised us.

What our imaginary “uncle” had actually written in his book The Scope of Total Architecture — translated in our country as Granice arhitekture (The Limits of Architecture) — and what I still clearly remember today, was an anecdote from his childhood. When asked which color he liked most, little Walter answered without hesitation: “Colorful.”

With that simple answer Gropius explained his idea of architecture: it should not be limited to construction alone. Architecture must unite painting, sculpture, crafts, technology — the entire world of creative expression.

This photograph from my series “A View of Belgrade” is almost completely immersed in shades of green. Yet what gives it its final accent are the red trousers of the woman standing on the balcony. That small red spot — complementary to green — completes the composition and makes the image whole.

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Kada sam 1968. godine upisao Arhitektonski fakultet u Beogradu, prvi arhitekta za koga sam čuo bio je Walter Gropius, tvorac škole Bauhaus.

Profesor Branislav Brana Milenković, koji nam je predavao Osnove projektovanja, toliko je često pominjao Gropiusovo ime da smo se mi studenti šalili kako ćemo na ispitu profesoru reći šta nam je naš „teča Gropius“ poručio.

A ono što je taj naš zamišljeni „teča“ zaista napisao u svojoj knjizi The Scope of Total Architecture — kod nas prevedenoj kao Granice arhitekture — i čega se i danas dobro sećam, bila je jedna anegdota iz njegovog detinjstva. Kada su ga pitali koju boju najviše voli, mali Valter je bez razmišljanja odgovorio: „Šarenu.“

Tom jednostavnom rečenicom Gropius je objašnjavao svoju ideju arhitekture: ona ne sme biti ograničena samo na graditeljstvo. Arhitektura mora da objedini slikarstvo, skulpturu, zanate, tehnologiju — čitav svet stvaralaštva.

Ova fotografija iz moje serije „Pogled na Beograd“ gotovo je potpuno uronjena u nijanse zelene boje. Ali ono što joj daje završni akcenat jesu crvene pantalone dame na balkonu. Ta mala crvena tačka — komplementarna zelenoj — zatvara kompoziciju i čini sliku potpunom.