Medusa

€100–€600

EN

          Today I photographed this building under construction, and only later, while looking at the image on my monitor, I was reminded of Caravaggio’s Medusa. Of course, there is neither Medusa nor any snakes here. What we see is simply a combination of architecture, light, and shadows.

          And yet, these terraces seem to transform into a multitude of undulating lines reminiscent of the snakes emerging from Medusa’s severed head. At the very bottom of the frame, a construction worker in a red uniform walks by. His shadow, cast onto the bright surface below, firmly connects him to the building with which he probably spends his days, from morning until evening.

          Caravaggio had the ability to turn an ordinary scene into drama through the use of light and darkness. This photograph has neither his colors nor his story, yet it irresistibly reminds me of the same feeling of satisfaction I sometimes experience when, behind something entirely real, another image or another association suddenly reveals itself.

          Perhaps that is why I find this photograph interesting. Not because it depicts Medusa, but because it leaves room for me to see something that, at first glance, is not there at all.

          That is why I decided to include it in the shortlist for the photo monograph A View of Belgrade, a project intended to present Serbia’s capital from a different perspective.

SR

          Danas sam fotografisao ovu zgradu u izgradnji, a tek kasnije, gledajući snimak na monitoru, setio sam se Karavađove „Meduze“. Naravno, ovde nema ni Meduze ni zmija. Tu je samo spoj arhitekture, svetlosti i senki.

          Pa ipak, ove terase kao da se pretvaraju u mnoštvo talasastih linija koje podsećaju na zmije što izviru iz Meduzine odsečene glave. Između njih, na samom dnu kadra, prolazi jedan građevinski radnik u crvenom kombinezonu. Njegova senka, bačena na svetlu podlogu, čvrsto ga povezuje sa zgradom s kojom verovatno druguje od jutra do večeri.

          Karavađo je umeo da običan prizor pretvori u dramu pomoću svetlosti i tame. Ova fotografija nema njegove boje ni njegovu priču, ali me neodoljivo podseća na isto ono zadovoljstvo koje ponekad osetim kada se iza nečega sasvim stvarnog iznenada pojavi neka druga slika, neka druga asocijacija.

          Možda mi je zato ova fotografija zanimljiva. Ne zato što prikazuje Meduzu, već zato što ostavlja mogućnost da u njoj vidim nešto što na prvi pogled uopšte nije prisutno.

          Zato sam odlučio da je uvrstim u uži izbor za monografiju „Pogled na Beograd“, koja bi trebalo da prikaže naš glavni grad iz jednog drugačijeg ugla.