Drago Tršar - Monument

Galerija Prešernovih nagrajencev Kranj

Na naslovnici / On the cover: Bik 1 / The Bull 1, 1954,
bron / bronze, 21 cm





Akademiku Dragu Tršarju ob jubileju

Danes smo si edini, da je najpomembnejša naloga ev- parku moderne plastike. Akademik Tršar je razstavl- 3
ropskih nacionalnih akademij znanstveno svetovanje jal v Rodinovem muzeju in Grand Palaisu v Parizu,
politiki. Akademije to svetovanje najučinkoviteje izve- na Bienalu v Benetkah, v Guggenheimovem muzeju
dejo tako, da organizirajo simpozije, posvete in okro- v New Yorku. Vseh številnih razstav na tem mestu ni
gle mize na različne aktualne teme in sklepe posvetov mogoče našteti.
potem posredujejo tako politikom kakor tudi javnos-
ti. Tako svetuje znanstveni del akademije. Kako pa Akademik Tršar pa je na izviren in prepričljiv način
svetuje njen umetniški del? Tudi umetniki lahko svetu- upodobil tudi portretne kipe številnih slovenskih os-
jejo preko simpozijev. Na Slovenski akademiji znano- ebnosti iz sveta znanosti in kulture. Takšen je tudi kip
sti in umetnosti je potekal odmeven posvet na temo nekdanjega predsednika in častnega člana akademije
humanizem in humanistika, ki ga je pripravil razred Franceta Bernika, ki stoji pred vhodom v predsedniški
za umetnosti. Imenitno knjigo s prispevki posveta so kabinet.
politiki sprejeli z velikim zanimanjem.
Ob okrogli obletnici akademiku Dragu Tršarju želim,
Umetniki pa imajo še drugo pot svetovanja politiki. da nam pripravi še več imenitnih razstav.
Pesniki svetujejo preko poezije, pisatelji preko ro-
manov, skladatelji preko glasbenih del, slikarji pre- Profesor emeritus Tadej Bajd
ko umetniških platen in kiparji preko skulptur. Prav Predsednik Slovenske akademije znanosti in
takšen način svetovanja čutim v delu akademika Dra- umetnosti
ga Tršarja. Tukaj imam v prvi vrsti v mislih njegove
slovite in povsem izvirne množične skulpture. Njegovi
Manifestanti predstavljajo brezčasno umetniško spo-
ročilo politiki in javnosti. Kakor so nekdaj spodbujali k
enakosti in bratstvu, tako jih lahko danes razumemo
kot spodbudo k pravičnejši Sloveniji in boljši Evropi.
Z manjšo skulpturo Manifestantov se ponaša tudi
Prešernova dvorana Slovenske akademije znanosti in
umetnosti.

Za znanost pravimo, da mora biti odlična in medn-
arodna. Če ni takšna, potem je nepotrebna. Mnenja
sem, da podobno velja tudi za umetnost. Mednarodna
prepoznavnost je jasno razvidna iz bogatega opusa
akademika Tršarja. Veliko nagrado za kiparstvo je že
leta 1955 prejel na mediteranskem bienalu v Aleksan-
driji. Z monumentalnimi množičnimi kiparskimi kom-
pozicijami je prodrl v svet. Njegovi Manifestanti so bili
leta 1959 odkupljeni v Bruslju za stalno postavitev v

Tršarjev človek v ustvarjalnem kiparskem biokozmosu

Slava duhu, ki nas veže v eno,
kar zares živimo, so figure.

R. M. Rilke, prev. K. Kovič, XII. sonet na Orfeja

4 Osnovno izhodišče za mnogolično, v osnovi figuralno ter jih spet drugod plastično modelira, težeč k polno-

podobo Tršarjevega ustvarjalnega razmaha je umet- plastičnim oblikam, ki dosežejo izpolnitev v nabrekli

nikovo intuitivno dojemanje človeka in človeštva. ali razklani krogli.

Kipar je človeka po začetku 50. let 20. stoletja po na- Pri tem ga vsakič usmerja kiparska ideja, ki mu jo nav-
glem odmiku od začetnega realizma zajel v njegov- dihuje bodisi spomeniško bodisi intimnejše vsebinsko
em konstrukcijskem bistvu, z zgoščeno stilizirano izhodišče, pri čemer črpa iz moderne konstrukcijske
formo, tako v trenutnem mimičnem vzgibu zajeto civilizacije in vse bolj tudi iz neizčrpne dinamike nar-
postavo sodobne punčke, bojevniško postavo iz praz- ave, ki jo povzema v njenem organskem bistvu, izha-
godovinskih časov, spoprijem arhaičnih rokoborcev ali jajoč iz njene zelo raznolike anatomije. Taka umet-
v ekvilibristično skupino sestavljeno človeško arhitek- nikova izhodišča temeljijo v odnosu do konfiguracije
turo, življenjsko energičnost pa je utelesil tudi v podo- narave, človeškega telesa in obraza, vsaj ponekod pa
bi krčevito napetega bika, in taka njegova dela sodi- jih je mogoče v osnovi razlagati tudi z njegovo primar-
jo med prelomne in tudi vplivne inkunabule našega no pripadnostjo notranjskemu kraškemu svetu. Ta je
modernega povojnega kiparstva. Pojem človeštva pa umetnika pozneje usmeril tudi k oblikovanju prevotl-
je nemudoma zatem zajel v idejo množice in njenega jenih form in kapniških skulptur. Z bronastim podze-
dinamičnega življenja, v katerem je posameznik po- meljskim portalom si je zamislil donedavni vstop v os-
topljen v skupinsko občutenje ali se iz skupine dvigne rčje svojega ateljeja; kapnikom, ki so s svojo že samo
do izstopajoče opaznosti, kadar ga energija množic po sebi kiparsko formo »najlepše plastike na svetu«,
dvigne na površje in spet posrka vase. Dinamika tega kot jih je leta 1955 ob obisku v Postojnski jami označil
kolektivnega dogajanja je zajeta že v samo likov- kipar Henry Moore, pa je posvetil poseben cikel in jih
no obravnavo kiparske gmote, ki jo umetnik ustvar- dopolnil tudi z njihovo »porodnico«, plastično poudar-
jalno dojema kot celoto in hkrati grafično ritmizirano jeno nabreklo vodno kapljo. Ob teh voluminoznih in re-
razčlenja ter ustvarjalno podreja osnovni ideji; zato je liefnih ter na površinah tudi grafično dopolnjenih kipar-
to njegovo kiparstvo ob vsej aluzivnosti, temelječi na skih prijemih Tršarjevo delo intenzivira in počlovečuje
vse bolj geometriziranih figurah, v osnovni formi bolj tudi živa ekspresivnost, priostrena izrazna intenziteta,
ali manj abstraktno. Ob tem pa je isti avtor, kot bi iskal ki jo v svoji sunkovitosti izkazujejo že njegovi zgodnji
v odnosu do človeka med obema poloma notranje lesorezi in se je učinkovito izrazila zlasti v izjemnih
ravnotežje, naš gotovo najprodornejši portretist. ponotranjenih in pogosto predvsem trpko razjedenih
portretih, medtem ko naraščajoči erotizem njegove
Svoje figuralne površine in njihova razmerja gradi, ustvarjalnosti razkriva mediteransko radoživo in tudi
modelira, priostruje in grafično razčlenjuje, tako da jih razposajeno razigrano stran umetnikove osebnosti,
geometrično globinsko razlamlja; slikovito, ponekod ki jo vse bolj navdihujeta tudi žgoče sonce, mesnato
že prav globinsko razbrazdane kipe pa mu vse bolj mediteransko rastlinje in valujoče morje.
oživlja udarna moč vanjo prodirajoče svetlobe. S svet-
lobo oživele gmote ritmično niza, stopnjuje ali vanje Drago Tršar je kot osrednji modernizator slovenskega
vrisuje geometrična črtovja, kipe pa ponekod tudi kiparstva motivni obseg svoje ustvarjalne zvrsti prvi
izvotljuje, njihovo nosilno formo upogiba ali spodvija pri nas razširil zlasti na sodobni urbanizirani ambient.

Izoblikoval je konstrukcijska blokovska bivališča, s fig- 5
urami obljudene horizonte, poti ter prometna križišča
in tako povezal svet človeka ter tehnike, gradenj in Veliki in mali / Big and Small, 1976, bron / bronze,
nasploh moderne civilizacije, kot ga je svobodno uzrl 14 cm, (fotograf / photographer: Martin Kristan)
iz najrazličnejših smeri in perspektiv; s tovrstnimi re-
liefnimi kompozicijami pa je dopolnil tudi arhitekturno
fasado ljubljanske Filozofske fakultete. Človeka je pri
tem dojel kot nepogrešljivo, a neindividualizirano tek-
tonsko sestavino in ga kot konstitutivni element take-
ga civilizacijskega tkiva, a tudi družinske skupnosti in
ljubezenskih dialogov, formuliral izrazito v medsebo-
jnih razmerjih. Zato se gmote njegovih skupin oziroma
kipi množic dogajajo in usklajajo kot nenehen proces,
ki ga kiparju z nosilnimi obrisi in ritmično prozodijo za-
okroža v silhuetni okvir stabilna, a kvišku stremeča
ter notranje razburkana enovita ali pogosto dvokrilna
forma, kakršna posebej dominira na njegovih javnih
spomenikih, tako kot na ljubljanskem Trgu republike
ali v Kamniku in drugod. Njegovo eruptivno delo oživl-
jajo pridihi dramatičnosti in kolektivnega zanosa, »so-
ciološkega« razglabljanja in eksistencialne napetosti;
z osnovnimi izčiščenimi formami pa je v materijo sk-
upaj s človekom izrazito intuitivno uklenil tudi miselne
oziroma filozofske pojme, kot sta prostor in čas, in in-
ventivno, tudi z nekonvencionalnimi sredstvi, kakršna
je na primer okrog krožne nosilne forme ovita masiv-
na vrv, materializiral tudi pojme in ideje.

Ob takih kolektivnih monumentalnih skupinah je umet-
nik izoblikoval tudi izjemno vrsto le po formatu manjših
del, tja do okrasnih obeskov in miniaturnih skulptur,
ki človeška razmerja sproščajo tudi v večjo igrivost.
Njihovo živahnost stopnjuje še z vključevanjem barve,
torej z izrazito slikarskimi elementi, hkrati pa se je
razmahnil v vedno bolj slikovito in fantazijsko oživljan-
je oblik. Te v njegovem vse bolj raznovrstnem opusu
lahko dobivajo tudi sakralno podobo, posebno s po-
zlatitvijo, tako kot pravljični relikviariji ali monštrance,

6 predajal se je oživljanju segmentov iz narave, posebno

brstečim cvetličnim in drevesastim pojavom, vtiskoval

v materijo drage kamne, kot bi segal v nedrja rudnin,

v svoje veselje pa se je poigral tudi z izvirnimi ša-

hovskimi figurami, s katerimi se spopada sam s sabo.

V t. i. erotičnem ciklu mu oživljajo v plastično bujnost

ali vegetativne organske forme, ki jih niza v slikovitih

ciklih, celo najbolj intimni človeški anatomski segmen-

ti, duhovito preoblikovani v kiparsko zaokroženost in

celovitost, v kateri kljub močni erotični aluzivnosti nad

morebitno lascivnostjo inventivno dominira izrazito

estetski pogled, ki slavi življenjsko energijo in, kot bi

kljuboval minevanju, umetniku vse na novo razcveta

in oživlja. Z razigranimi vitalističnimi elementi, zlasti z

izvirno poslikano keramiko, je vznemirljivo poživil in-

teriere svoje slikovito razčlenjene poletne postojanke

na kiparsko izklesani terasi nad morskim zalivom v

Fiesi, s podobami umetnikovih Vener, rojenih iz ab-

straktnih barvno intenzivnih nanosov in prelivov, pa se

je na novo razživel tudi v slikarstvu. V posebnem ciklu

je oživil na primer ljubko igrivost miši in iz raznolikih

sestavin uprizoril vedno nove kompozicije, ki jih lahko

povezuje celo v pravljične zgodbe, sicer pa kipce v

raznolikih serijah razvršča v steklene sarkofage ali jih

nalaga v zakladnice »arheoloških« grobnic ter vmes

kot za ročno vajo ali ponazoritev svoje nezmotljive

preciznosti, podobno, kot je Giotto prostoročno bre-

Janjica / Janjica, 1953, bron / bronze, 58 cm, (fo- zhibno narisal popoln krog, gnete in razpostavlja v

tograf / photographer: Martin Kristan) zaboje popolne izvotljene krogle in nas tako s svojo

invencijo in naraščajočo lahkotnostjo nenehno pre-

seneča.

Umetnik se je v svojem opusu z neizčrpno ustvarjal-
nostjo prepustil popolni svobodi in sčasoma zanikal
sleherne z možnostmi materije narekovane zame-
jitve, kar so v svetovnem kiparstvu pred njim nekdaj
poskušali že mojstri nemirnega atektonskega baroka.
Obvladovanje materiala in drznost zamisli sta mu celo

omogočili, da se je lotil tudi materializiranja imaterial- jenosti v neomejenost. 7
nega, gibljivega in fluidnega, saj je v čvrstost brona
ujel tudi oceanske valove, plamenenje ognja in zračne Umetnik si s svojo energijo kot ustvarjalec zlahka
megličasto vilinske privide ter razblinjene slutnje. Zlas- podreja vse mogoče oblike in si vse pojave preobli-
ti z risbo na japonskem papirju, oživljenem že s svojo kuje po edini postavi svojega duha. V njegovih kipih
pikčasto utripajočo strukturo, ki jo je funkcionalno vkl- je zajeto življenje, ki mu ga simbolizira v svojih preo-
jučil v prosojno nosilno tkivo, je prek skladov človeških brazbah figura ali izrecneje organska, še posebej v
množic segel tudi v brezbrežni kozmos z zlatimi sonci, bujno rastlinje prerojena forma; ustvarjalni eros pa se
lunami in planeti. Tudi rimske ceste in sončne žarke, mu preliva iz telesne v duhovno strast in tudi obratno.
tako kot rastlinske liste v cvetličnih lončkih in s kopalci Temeljna umetnikova téma je življenje v mnogoterih
ali brodolomci naseljene morske valove, pa je stkal metamorfozah, ki ga kipar razširja z zemlje tudi v mor-
iz živih človeških verig, iz oglatih postav, ki se v svoji je in na nebo, in prav v soočanju in povezovanju takih
sklenjenosti raztezajo v brezbrežnost, kot bi se, rilke- kontrastov je Tršar med našimi kiparskimi ustvarjalci
jevska »tisočletna veriga, matere in očetje«, rojevali iz najbolj vsemogočen, predrzen in izjemen.
roda v rod in naseljevali vso preteklost in prihodnost.
Zgodovinski zanos je Tršar z zagonom svoje os-
Ob tem pa ostaja umetnik ves čas tudi arhaično tek- novne forme vseskozi upodabljal predvsem v skladu
tonski, saj so njegovi rastoči liki kot antropomorfni s svojim temeljnim notranjim nemirom in življenjskim
stebri ali z vrisanimi figuralnimi vzorci dopolnjene ar- vitalizmom, a prav toliko s spoznanjem o človekovi
hitekture. V tem duhu še v novejšem času spoštljivo nemoči in gnetljivosti v toku množic. Zato je videti, kot
oživlja tudi mitično izročilo starega Egipta z njegovimi da si njegove figure v svoji reliefni brezprostorskosti
božanstvi ali nebo podpirajočo trpežnost antičnih kari- s pesnikom Rilkejem govorijo: »Za resnični prostor
atid, ki jim vceplja docela tršarjevski pečat, in obuja svoj ne vemo, / le odnos usmerja naša dela.« V javnih
v tanki rastoči človeški postavi izročilo Etruščanov, iz spomenikih, posvečenih dogajanju med 2. svetovno
kakršnega je poganjal tudi Giacometti. Taki kipi radi vojno, ni med materializiranjem z vzneseno množico
posebno prvinsko zaživijo v zavetju narave, tudi med ponazorjenih dinamičnih zgodovinskih vzgibov kot
orientalskim trstičevjem na umetnikovih vrtovih; v tem ustvarjalec nikoli izrecno enopomensko manifestiral
znamenju je izoblikovan njegov paličasto pretanje- kake konkretne družbene ideologije, ne glede na nji-
ni Kristus v prenovljeni ljubljanski trnovski cerkvi, na hov namen oziroma uradna oziroma prvotna poimeno-
katerega so posedli beli golobi; enako pretanjene, vanja. Od vsega začetka so namreč nadvse daleč
a čutno vzbrstele postave pa se mu lahko zleknejo od socialističnega realizma, brez ideoloških oznak
kot razpotegnjeni čolni tudi v silhuete počivajočih ko- in usmerjeni le v dinamiko razmerij in zgodovinske-
palk; in nasploh ni v Tršarjevem delu nikakršnih meja ga vrenja, ki človeka, bodisi kot protestnika, manifes-
ne v pogledu nazaj ne naprej. Nikoli pa umetnik že tanta ali navdušenega slavilca, vključuje v družbeno
doseženega v preteklosti ne obnavlja, ampak s svo- dogajanje, v katerem je lahko človek žrtev, tudi ko je
jo invencijo vse le na novo oživlja, kot bi se želel iz videti zmagovalec, vsekakor pa nemočno ali utopično
človeške trenutnosti, v katero se v življenjskem hipu po nemogočem stremeče bitje, ukleščeno v primeže
dogajamo, prestaviti v mitično brezčasnost in iz ome- in tokove človeka presegajoče zgodovine. Ob tem je

8 smiselno opozoriti, da je bil na drugem ustvarjalnem

področju, v svetovni književnosti, s pojavom množice

podobno obseden tudi pisatelj nobelovec Elias Canet-

ti. Ob opazovanju življenja ga je množica prav tako

vselej vznemirjala kot pojav, ki posrka individualnost,

v času razcveta Tršarjevega kiparstva pa je pisatelj

o tem izdal tudi posebno teoretsko knjigo. Množico

je dojemal kot največjo uganko našega sveta in kot

znamenje 20. stoletja, potek človeške zgodovine pa

si je razlagal s konfliktom med množičnim in osebnim

nagonom. Hkrati pa je bil tudi sam pisateljski portretist

konkretnih ustvarjalcev, podobno kot Tršar kiparski.

Gledalci / Viewers, 1960, bron / bronze, 60 cm, (fo-

tograf / photographer: Martin Kristan) Tako kot v eksplozivni dinamiki množic izraža Tršar

kot rojen portretist tudi človekovo individualno notran-

jo napetost že s samo razlomljeno kiparsko površi-

no, torej z oživelim, v svetlobnih kontrastih dramati-

ziranim ali mehkeje razživetim inkarnatom, in ne le z

vanj uklenjeno prepoznavnostjo fiziognomskih potez.

Še posebej prepričljivo je utelesil notranjo podobo

mislecev, vidcev in ekstatikov, kakršni so bili ognje-

viti Dušan Pirjevec, ekstatični Taras Kermauner ali

mitični Edvard Kocbek ter posebej duhovni svobodi

predani umetniški prijatelji iz okrožja Nove revije. Kot

sliko je v skupen okvir vkomponiral skupinski portret

Slovenskega okteta, pripravil pa je tudi že posebno

razstavo portretov slovenskih akademikov in v up-

odobitvah starejših oziroma že pokojnih ustvarjalcev,

med njimi Trubarja, Prešerna, Cankarja ali slikarskih

impresionistov, inventivno prebudil tudi njihovo psihič-

no podobo, status in veličino, pri čemer se je zlahka

slogovno prilagodil celo njihovemu času ali ustvarjal-

nemu prijemu. Po potrebi pa se je mojstrsko približal

značaju dotedanjih javnih portretnih ciklov, ki jih je s

svojim realizmom ne le ustrezno dopolnil, marveč po

izrazni prepričljivosti in življenjski živosti tudi presegel,

tako kot portretne kipe pred ljubljansko univerzo z na-

jnovejšim poprsjem Božidarja Jakca. Zlasti pri ženskih

figurah pa je njihovo lepoto, skrivnostnost ali modno jskega dogajanja kot zanj edini resnično odrešilni živl- 9
ekstravaganco lahko zavestno očarljivo oživil v duhu jenjski biokozmos, vselej čuječno živahno delavnico
klasičnega, egiptovsko ali kako drugače obarvanega in spokojno ustvarjalno zavetje.
izročila.
Milček Komelj
V najizrazitejših portretnih glavah je Tršar poudaril
duhovni razpon zlasti ustvarjalnega posameznika, ki
v medsebojni povezanosti ali preroškem individual-
nem poslanstvu človeštvu šele daje življenjski ogenj
in mu določa smer in polet. Človeška energija se pod
umetnikovimi nemirnimi rokami v upodobljenem živl-
jenju množic in vsakršnih predmetov in bitij razsipa
v vse strani kot plamen; plamen svoje ustvarjalnosti
pa je umetnik spojil ne le z ognjem človeške bolečine
in ekstaze, marveč tudi z dihanjem kozmične narave.
Z močjo neizčrpne invencije je v neštetih preobraz-
bah nakopičil nepregledno množico oživelih umetnin
v pravcati biokozmos, spremenjen v bujno in živo rast,
ki sunkovito nastaja v Tršarjevem ateljeju kot prava
snovna emanacija njegovega strastno neukrotljivega
duha ter eruptivno energičnega temperamenta. V tem
je videti umetnik celo pravi človeški posnetek božan-
skega Stvarnika, saj ga je notranji imperativ iz nujne
potrebe po snovanju prisilil k delu, ki mu tudi spričo
90-letnice dosedanjega življenja ni videti ne usihanja
ne konca. Vendar mojster pri tem ni samo stvaritelj en-
kratnih prototipov, ki bi se lahko porajali sami iz sebe,
ampak svojega človeka pomnožuje v neskončnost
lastnoročno, pa četudi je videti, kot bi se njegov ožive-
li svet nenehno razplajal sam. Z že na prvi pogled
prepoznavnimi tršarjevskimi figurami umetnik nasel-
juje globine, površine, višine in razdalje zemeljskih
skladov, podzemlja, vodovja, ozračja in osončja ter v
svojih slikovitih gmotah s hlastno sunkovitimi poteza-
mi venomer na novo oživlja neuničljive človeške per-
spektive. Množično sožitje vseh teh bitij in pojavov pa
spreminja njegov resnični in deloma že v knjige zajeti
imaginarni atelje v živo prizorišče nenehnega življen-

To Drago Tršar

10 Nowadays, it is generally agreed that the most import- Manifestants were bought in 1959 in Brussels to be
included in a permanent exhibition in the park of mod-
ant task of European national academies is to scien- ern plastic. Tršar exhibited his work at the Rodin Mu-
tifically give counsel to politics. The most efficient way seum, the Grand Palais in Paris, the Venice Biennial
for academies to do so is to organize symposiums, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. There are
consultations and round table discussions on various too many exhibitions to list them all.
topical issues and then forward the conclusions to
both politicians and the public. That is how the sci- Furthermore, Tršar was also very original and con-
entific part of the academy gives counsel. And how vincing in his portrayal of numerous Slovenians from
does its artistic part do it? Artists can also give coun- the world of science and culture, such as for instance
sel through symposiums. A noticeable consultation, the statue of the former president and an honorary
organized by the department for Arts, took place at member of the Academy Franc Bernik, standing at the
the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts on the entrance into the presidential cabinet.
topic Humanism and Humanities. It was with great in-
terest that politicians accepted the outstanding book It is my sincere wish that Drago Tršar, celebrating his
containing the contributions from the consultation. milestone anniversary, will put on many more magnif-
icent exhibitions in the future.
Yet artist can take a different path to give counsel to
politics. Poets give counsel through poetry, writers Professor Emeritus Tadej Bajd
through novels, composers through musical compo- President of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and
sitions and sculptors through sculptures. This is the Arts
very way of giving counsel that I sense in the work
of the academic Drago Tršar. I am foremost referring
to his famous and truly original crowd sculptures. His
Manifestants represent a timeless artistic message to
politics and the public. As they once promoted equal-
ity and brotherhood, they are nowadays understood
as an encouragement for a more just Slovenia and a
better Europe. A smaller version of Manifestans can
also be found in the Prešeren Hall at the Slovenian
Academy of Sciences and Arts.

We say about science that it has to be excellent and
international. Otherwise, it is unnecessary. I believe
that similar is true for art as well. International rec-
ognition is clearly evident from Tršar’s rich opus. He
received the Grand prize of the Mediterranean Bienni-
al in Alexandria as early as 1955. Monumental crowd
sculptural compositions were his breakthrough. His

Tršar’s Man in Creative Sculptural Biokozmos

Oh greet that Spirit who can unify us!
For we live truly in metaphors.

R. M. Rilke, translated by Robert Temple, Sonnets to Orpheus, Sonnet XII

The primary starting point for the many faced, in prin- light that penetrates them. Bulks, brought to life by 11
ciple figural image of Tršar’s creative growth is the art- light, are rhythmically strung together, escalated or
ist’s intuitive perception of man and humanity. inscribed with geometrical lines, while sculptures are
at times hollowed out and their supporting form bent
After the early 1950s, the sculptor quickly distanced or tucked under, or even plastically modelled when
himself from the initial realism and captured man in the artist strives for fully plastic forms that are accom-
his constructional essence with a densely stylized plished as an inflated or cleaved sphere.
form, such as the figure of a contemporary girl, cap-
tured in the momentary impulse of mimicry, a fighting His work is always guided by a sculptural idea inspired
figure from prehistoric times, a fight between two ar- by either a monumental or more intimate content
chaic wrestlers, or a human architecture, pieced to- starting point, rooted in the modern constructional
gether into an equilibristic group. He also embodied civilization and to an increasing extent in the endless
life energy in the shape of a tremendously strained dynamic of nature, summarized in its organic essence
bull—such artworks of his are some of the landmark on the basis of its very heterogeneous anatomy. Such
and very influential works of modern post war Slove- starting points are based on the attitude towards na-
nian sculpture. As for the notion of humanity, it was ture’s configuration, human body and face, and can
immediately afterwards captured in the idea of the in at least some places be explained by their being
crowd and its dynamic life in which an individual is part of the Karst. Later on, this region lead the artist to
submerged into the collective feeling or rises from the create cavernous forms and dripstone sculptures. The
group to an out standing visibility, when the crowd’s artist also conceived a bronze underground portal to
energy lifts him to the surface and sucks him back enter the very core of his studio, and dedicated a spe-
into itself. The dynamic of this collective occurrence cial cycle to dripstones—which are, as Henry Moore
is already part of how sculptural bulk is visually treat- put it in 1955 when he visited the Postojna cave, the
ed: the artist artistically perceives it as a whole and most beautiful plastics in the world by their sculptural
simultaneously graphically and rhythmically breaks it form—and even completed them with their “progeni-
down and creatively subordinates it to the main idea. tor”, a prominent inflated plastic drop of water. Along-
This is why his sculpting is, with all its allusiveness, side these voluminous sculptural techniques that are
based on increasingly geometricized figures, in its ba- related to reliefs and graphically perfected on the sur-
sic form more or less abstract. And this same author, face, Tršar’s work is also intensified and humanized
as if searching for an inner balance between the two by the lively expressiveness, sharpened intensity of
extremes in the relationship to man, is certainly our expression that is manifest even in the surges of his
most penetrating portraitist. early woodcarvings and was effectively expressed
particularly in the extraordinary internalized and of-
He builds, models, sharpens and graphically breaks ten bitterly corroded portraits. On the other hand, the
down his figural surfaces and their ratios and there- growing eroticism of his creativeness uncovers the
by geometrically breaks them apart in depth pictur- Mediterranean joyousness and boisterous playful-
esque, at times even deeply scarred sculptures are ness of his personality, increasingly inspired by the
increasingly invigorated by the powerful impact of the scorching sun, fleshy Mediterranean flora and undu-

12 lating sea. rative pendants and miniature sculptures that release
the tension of human relationships and provide a
As the central figure in the modernization of Slovenian playful note. He accentuated this liveliness by adding
sculpture, Drago Tršar was the first Slovenian artist colour, i.e. by distinct elements of painting, and at the
to expand the range of motives in his artistic field to same time began to increasingly revive ever more
contemporary urbanized ambient. He designed con- picturesque and imaginary shapes. In his increasing-
structional housing dwellings as well as horizons, ly diverse opus, these can even take a sacral form,
paths and crossroads populated by figures, thereby especially by gold plating, as in the case of fabulous
connecting the world of man and technique, buildings reliquariums or monstrances. He also indulged in re-
and modern civilization in general, as he freely saw it viving segments from nature, in particular burgeoning
from various directions and perspectives—such relief floral and arboreal phenomena, made imprints of gem-
compositions were even incorporated into the facade stones, as if reaching into the bosom of minerals, and
of the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. In this context, man to his own enjoyment designed imaginative chess fig-
is understood as an indispensable yet non individu- ures, which he uses when challenging himself. In the
alized tectonic ingredient and is distinctly formulated so called erotic cycle, even the most intimate human
in interpersonal relations as a constitutive element anatomical segment, cleverly reshaped into sculptural
of not only such civilizational fabric, but also family roundedness and comprehensiveness, where despite
community and love dialogues. That is why bulks of strong erotic allusiveness to possible lasciviousness
his groups or rather sculptures of crowds take place he inventively dominates the distinctly aesthetical
and coordinate themselves as an incessant process, point of view, which celebrates life energy and, as if
rounded out into a silhouette frame by a stable single defying the passage of time, resuscitates and re flour-
or often double form with its supporting silhouettes ishes everything, are brought to life in plastic volup-
and rhythmical prosody, aspiring upwards yet inter- tuousness or vegetative organic forms. Using playful
nally turbulent such as is particularly dominant on vitalistic elements, in particular ingeniously painted
his public monuments, for example on the Republic ceramics, he revitalized in an exciting way the interior
Square in Ljubljana or in Kamnik or elsewhere. His of his scenically subdivided summer outpost on the
eruptive work is resuscitated by touches of drama and sculpturally chiselled terrace over the Fiesa bay, while
collective drive, “sociological” discussions and exis- figures of Venus, born from abstract colour intensive
tential tension; he used basic refined forms to chain, layers and blends, helped him to flourish in painting
in a distinctly intuitive way, into the bulk both man and as well. In a special cycle, for instance, he revived the
mental or rather philosophical concepts, such as time adorable playfulness of a mouse and used different
and space, and inventively materialized notions and ingredients to continuously portray new compositions,
ideas, even by unconventional means, such as a mas- which can even be linked together into a fairy tale. In
sive rope wrapped around a circular supporting from. general, he classifies small statues of diverse series
into glass sarcophaguses or deposits them into vaults
Apart from such collective monumental groups, the of “archaeological” tombs, while in the mean time, as
artist also created a magnificent series of works that if to perform an exercise or display his infallible preci-
are smaller only by format, encompassing even deco- sion, somewhat similar to Giotto, who drew a flawless

perfect circle by hand, kneads perfect hollowed out slim growing human figure. Such statues are often 13
spheres and puts them away into boxes, never failing particularly and pristinely brought to life in nature’s
to amaze us with his inventiveness and growing eas- refuge, even under oriental reeds of the artist’s gar-
iness. dens. The refined rod shaped Christ, on which white
pigeons rest, in the renovated Trnovo Church in Lju-
With inexhaustible creativity, the artist let himself be bljana is modelled in this same sign; equally refined,
swept away by complete freedom in his works and in yet sensually budding figures can also lay down as
time repudiated even the slightest boundaries dictat- outstretched boats even into silhouettes of swimming
ed by the possibilities of the bulk, as several masters suits taking a rest; and in general, Tršar’s work is not
of the tumultuous atectonic baroque had attempted limited in its gaze forward nor backward. However, he
before him. Due to his ability to control material and never renews what he had already achieved in the
daring ideas, he could even sought to materialize past, but with his invention only resuscitates every-
the immaterial, non stationary and fluid—among the thing anew, as if he wanted to move from human mo-
things he captured in solid bronze are ocean waves, mentariness, into which we take place in the moment
a flaming fire, aerial misty elfin mirages and dissipat- of life, into mythical timelessness and from limited-
ed premonitions. In particular with a drawing on Jap- ness into limitlessness.
anese paper, revived already in its dotted pulsating
structure, which he functionally included in a transpar- With the energy of a creator, the artist easily subor-
ent supporting fabric, he reached over pools of human dinates all imaginable shapes and reshapes all phe-
crowds and into the boundless cosmos with its gold- nomena solely after his own spirit. Life, symbolized in
en suns, moons and planets. Milky Ways, solar rays, its own transformations by a figure or rather organic
plant leaves in flower pots and sea waves inhabited by form, reborn in a particularly lush flora, is captured in
swimmers or castaways were weaved together from his statues; and the creative eros blends from corpo-
live human chains, square figures that in their contigu- real into spiritual passion and vice versa. The artist’s
ousness extend into boundlessness, as if the Rilkean main subject is life in its manifold metamorphoses,
thousand years chain, mothers and fathers were born one that the sculptor expands from the earth into the
from one generation to the next and inhabited all past sea and the sky, and it is this ability of Tršar’s to con-
and future. front and link such contrast that has made him the
most all powerful, daring and extraordinary of all our
Meanwhile, the artist also remains archaically tecton- sculptors.
ic, as his growing shapes are similar to anthropomor-
phic columns or architectures inscribed with figural Tršar always depicted historic zeal with the élan of his
patterns. It is in this same spirit that in more recent basic form particularly in accordance to his own fun-
time he has been respectfully reviving the mythical damental internal restlessness and life vitalism, and
heritage of Ancient Egypt and its deities or the dura- to the same degree with the realization of how help-
bility of ancient Caryatids that carry the sky, instilling less and malleable are humans in the flux of crowds.
them with his own trademark, and reviving the Etrus- That is why it seems as if his figures were speaking to
can heritage, which Giacometti also drew from, in a the poet Rilke in their relief spacelessness: “We do not

14 know of our true space / attitude alone guides our ac-
tions.” In public monuments, dedicated to the events
Par v času in prostoru / A Couple in Time and of the Second World War, he, as an artist, never ex-
Space, 1964, bron / bronze, 140 cm, (fotograf / pho- plicitly and unambiguously manifested any concrete
tographer: Martin Kristan) social ideology—regardless of its intention or the of-
ficial or original name—when materializing dynamic
historic tendencies illustrated by a rapturous crowd.
For they are since the very beginning at a great dis-
tance from the Socialist regime, have no ideological
tags and are focused exclusively on the dynamic of
relations and the historic turmoil that integrates man,
either as a protester or a fervent advocate, into social
events, where a man can be a victim even when he
seems to be the winner, and is most certainly a being
that helplessly and utopically strives for the impossi-
ble, trapped in the vices and currents of a history that
surpasses man. It is reasonable to point out that in an-
other field of Arts, i.e. literature, the Nobel Prize win-
ner Elias Canetti was in a similar way obsessed with
the phenomenon of the crowd. When he observed life,
he was always as much fascinated by the crowd as
by the phenomenon that absorbs individuality, and he
even published a theoretical book on this subject at
the time when Tršar’s work was thriving. Canetti saw
the crowd as the greatest mystery of our world and
as a mark of the 20th century, and he explained the
course of human history through the conflict between
crowd instinct and personal instinct. He was also a
literary portraitist of concrete creators, similar to Tršar
in his own respective field.

As in the explosive dynamic of crowds, Tršar, a born
portraitist, also expresses the human individual inner
tension with the broken sculptural surface itself, that
is, with a revived incarnate, dramatized with contrasts
of light or more softly enlivened, and not only with the
recognisability of physiognomic traits enchained in it.
He embodied in a particularly convincing way the in-

ner image of thinkers, prophets and ecstatics, such as into a flourishing live growth, forming in surges in 15
the fiery Dušan Pirjevec, the ecstatic Taras Kermaun- Tršar’s studio as a true material emanation of his pas-
er, the mythical Edvard Kocbek, and friends from the sionately unsubmissive spirit and eruptively energetic
periphery of Nova revija, who were especially dedi- temperament. In this context, the artist is an image of
cated to spiritual freedom. He incorporated a group the Creator himself, the inner imperative forcing him
portrait of the Slovene Octet as a picture into a com- to quit the need to plan and start working, which he
mon frame, and he also set up a special exhibition is not likely to downscale or stop given what he has
of portraits of Slovenian academics, accompanied by accomplished in the 90 years he has been alive. In
representations made by older or deceased creators, doing all of this, the artist is not only the creator of
including Trubar, Prešeren, Cankar and Slovenian unique prototypes that could generate themselves,
expressionists, where he inventively awakened their but singlehandedly multiplies its own man into infinity,
psychic image, status and greatness, adapting with even if the world he brought to life seems to inces-
great ease to their time or creative technique. When santly engender itself. He inhabits depths, surfaces,
necessary, he masterfully drew near the character heights, and distances of mounds of earth, the un-
of the then public portrait cycles, which he not only derworld, rivers, atmospheres and solar systems with
appropriately complemented with realism, but even his easily identifiable figures and never ceases, in his
surpassed in terms of expressional persuasiveness painting bulks, to revive anew the indestructible hu-
and vivacity of life, as he did the portraits in front of man perspectives with gaspingly staggering sudden
the Ljubljana University with the latest bust of Božidar strokes. The coexistence of the crowd of all beings
Jakac. Tršar was also able to consciously and charm- and phenomena changes his real imaginary studio,
ingly bring to life the beauty, mystique or fashion ex- partly elaborated on in writing, into a live scenery of
travaganza of female figures, especially, in the spirit of incessant real life events as his only truly redemptive
the classical, Egyptian or some other tradition. biocosmos of life, an incessantly vigilant playful work-
shop and a peaceful refuge of creativity.
In the most expressive portraits, Tršar accentuated
the spiritual scope of a particularly creative individual, Milček Komelj
who in the interpersonal connectedness or prophetic
individual mission is only beginning to provide the fire
of life to humanity, determining its direction and tra-
jectory. Under his restless hands, human energy as is
depicted in the life of crowds and all objects and crea-
tures is scattered in all directions as if it were a flame;
on the other hand, the artist blended his own flame
of creativity not only with the fire of human pain and
ecstasy, but also with the breathing of cosmic nature.
With the power of inexhaustible nature, he accumulat-
ed an endless crowd of revived artworks in countless
transformations into a true biocosmos, which turned

16 Avtoportret / Self-portrait, 1987, risba / drawing,

100 x 60 cm

17

18 Bik 1 / The Bull 1, 1954, bron / bronze, 21 cm

19

Tri Gracije / Three Graces, 1987-88, bron / bronze,
173 x 34 x 30 cm, 173 x 28 x 25 cm, 173 x 38 x 34 cm

20

Figure na nebu / Figures in the Sky, 2001, bron / 21
bronze, 178 cm

22 Sadež / Fruit, 1999, bron / bronze, 169 cm

Brez naslova / Untitled, 2005, bron / bronze, 155 cm 23

24 Praznične figure 1 / Festive Figures 1, 2002, bron /

bronze, 159 cm

Praznične figure 2 / Festive Figures 2, 2002, bron / 25
bronze, 159 cm

26 Valove ima v laseh / The Waves in Her Hair, 1988,

bron / bronze, 213 x 42 x 48 cm

Plamen / Flame, 1988, bron / bronze, 174 cm 27

28 Ženska / Woman, 1990, bron / bronze, 144 x 29 x 25

cm

Rast II / Growth II, 1970, patiniran mavec / patinated 29
plaster, 200 x 30 x 23 cm

Ivan Cankar / Ivan Cankar, 1971, tonirana risba na
japonskem papirju / tinted drawing on Japanese pa-
per, 49 x 31 cm

30

Ivan Cankar / Ivan Cankar, 1971, glazirana glina / 31
glazed clay, 77 x 41 x 38 cm

32 Rudi Šeligo / Rudi Šeligo, 2003, žgana glina / baked

clay, 30 x 16 x 18 cm

Marjan Pogačnik / Marjan Pogačnik, 1964, žgana 33
glina / baked clay, 26 x 57 x 18 cm

34

Razkritje / Revelation, 2002, bron / bronze, 42 x 51 35
x 25 cm

36 Ležeča ženska figura / Lying Woman’s Figure,

1993, bron / bronze, 73 x 16 x 13 cm

Ljubimca na valovih 1 / Lovers on Waves 1, 1993, 37
bron / bronze, 101 x 17 x 12 cm

38 Ženski akt / Nude Female Figure, 1981, bron /

bronze, 89 x 32 x 36 cm

V ekstazi / In Ectasy, 1981, bron / bronze, 74 x 63 x 39
33 cm

40 Ženski sedeči akt / Woman’s Sitting Figure, 1980,

glazirana glina / glazed clay, 18 x 21 x 21 cm

Mesto / City, 1974, bron / bronze, 41 x 38 x 14 cm 41

42 Bik 2 / The Bull 2, 1959, bron / bronze, 57 x 26 x 25 cm

Zasuti / Buried, 1980, bron / bronze, 28 x 26 x 26 cm 43

44 Morje / Sea, 1986, relief iz voska / wax, 26 x 168 x 9 cm

Midve / Two of Us, 2000, akril na platno / acrylic on
canvas, 160 x 130 cm

45

Štirje letni časi / Four Seasons, 1994, olje na platno
/ oil on canvas, 130 x 130 cm

46

Figura v sončnem zahodu / Figure at the Sunset,
1993, olje na platno / oil on canvas, 110 x 60 cm

47

48 Ženski akt / Female Nude, 2002, risba / drawing, 96

x 61 cm