Anja is a very peculiar bird.
Just look at her and you will see that we don't find many of these.
She is 8 meters tall; yes, it is an outstanding height for a grey heron, but that is not the only feature that makes her different. Anja is made of chrome and reflects the colours she is surrounded by.
Although she has been looking over the river Danube since 2010, many people still don't understand her. I've heard people walk past her and claim they don't know what this piece of art represents. The artist Nikola Simijanović had an idea which became reality with the help of the local locksmiths. Even my father-in-law participated in the process of making Anja. But when she was placed in this spot it became a topic of discussion. You know, it happens in small communities and towns.
Anyway, Anja (originally written in Serbian as Ања) stands here, still, enduring the cold of winters and stifling heat of summers. Every single day there are people that pass by her side as this is the beginning of the promenade. When we visit this town, we also walk here before we get to the city centre.
On the other side of the pavement, there is a little board explaining that the blueness of the sky contributes to the unique experience of this open-air sculpture. Yes, we should see the importance of the background to understand the art. For example, we don't see the sculpture in the same way when the sky is clear, adorned with a few white fluffy clouds as when there are grey and threatening clouds that bring a heavy, dramatic storm. If we would touch the sculpture we would also notice the difference. When the sun comes out it heats up her whole chrome body and at very high temperatures it tends to soften.
How important is it to see the whole picture, both in life and in art, right? When we leave behind the promenade and the river we can continue a pleasant walk in the city centre. There are many pieces of contemporary art to be found. This sculpture, for example. I would dare to say that the light and the shadows play a huge role in experiencing any artistic creation.
Could we see art in a piece of metal? Does it depend on it position, colour, light, and shadow it gives? If we combine it with a mural, does it change its message?
Who lives in block XI, apartment no. 5? Let's say an artist, which could mean any person with the ability to see, create, to place in his mind the pieces that nature and humans offer and make a puzzle of them. Create, change, feel, adapt, adjust, think, transmit. Look through a small circle window sometimes.
Or through the bars of a window. Well, in this concrete case, the artist can see outside the bars too. Notice the change in the background too, the soil and green grass that accompanies our walk now.
A group of metal sheets, actually people, who walk with us today for Hive. I heard them talking:
Hurry, let's jump on this elevated saucer, a UFO, and fly high into the sky so the dogs can't catch us. They are running in the background, don't you see them?
No worries. They changed their mind and are just happily running around, in freedom, in this green area. Moreover, we don't need to give them a special meaning. It is enough to recognize the consonance of natural and artistic forms that do not interfere with each other. They just complement each other making this public green space a unique whole.
There are those who would just stay in one place and observe, contemplating the natural elements around their rusty bodies. Forming part of a contemporary art installation.
Death as a part of art?
...
It's better we continue our Wednesday Walk and get closer to the last block of the sculptures. 😁
In the depths of the park, we can notice a few colourful shapes. Maybe these works are experienced in full expression only if we know how to look carefully. Also, their meaning and our experience of them are constantly changing.
Depending on the weather conditions, as well as our mood, the flow of people in the park, walkers or those who may rest next to these sculptures, we can see different things.
Maybe this can represent praying hands. A hug? A broken letter? Balance? Contrast? Anything, but here my walk should continue and if I get here the next time I can observe them again.
