Zar i on --- ?: Oz Almogov šaroliki indeks judeorum: hronika jedne kulturne opsesije

Abstract

Almog Oz je sačinio zbirku od oko 1500 portreta (30 x 30 cm, ulje na platnu), koja još uvek raste. Ovom prilikom (i u ovom štampanom katalogu) izložena su 283 portreta. Možda bi bilo pravilnije da se umesto reči „izložba“ kaže da je to instalacija jer nju, uz portrete, sačinjavaju i kratke biografije svih prikazanih ličnosti. Almog je svoje “junake” slikao više sledeći ideju da ih što vernije predstavi, nego da zadovolji umetničke uzuse. Zato se o umetničkom karakteru njegovog dela najčešće govori kao o sporednoj stvari. Svoj opus sâm autor naziva subculture art, kome cilj nije umetničko ostvarenje, već spoznaja foto-automatom percipirane karakteristične slike. Ovo nam kaže likovni kritičar Šlomit Štajnberger. Tu se, dakle, mogu sresti biblijski i mitološki likovi, junaci legendi, vojnici, holivudske zvezde, naučnici, sveci, ludaci, gangsteri, ubice, političari, humanisti... Slikarski opus Almoga zalazi duboko u istoriju jevrejskog naroda, u sve slojeve njegovog društva i sve oblasti života u kojima su se iskazali ovi njegovi sunarodnici. I koji su ostavili nekakav trag u javnosti, bilo kao dobre (najviše njih kao takve) ili loše osobe. Ukratko, to su poznati ljudi, građani sveta, dakle svačiji. Njih niti je moguće niti je potrebno odrediti samo pripadnošću jednoj veri, naciji ili državi. A ipak, svi su bili ili su još uvek Jevreji.

Almog Oz has built a collection of about 1500 portraits (30 x 30 cm, oil on canvas), which is still growing. On this occasion (and in this printed catalogue) 283 portraits were exhibited. Perhaps it would be more correct to say instead of the word "exhibition" that it is an exhibition because, along with portraits, it also consists of short biographies of all the personalities shown. Almog painted his "heroes" following the idea of representing them as faithfully as possible, and not to satisfy artistic pleasures. That's why the artistic character of his work is often discussed as a secondary matter. "... The author himself calls his opus subculture art, the goal of which is not artistic achievement, but the recognition of characteristic images perceived by a photo-automat..." This is what art critic Shlomit Steinberger tells us. Here, therefore, you can meet biblical and mythological characters, heroes of legends, soldiers, Hollywood stars, scientists, saints, madmen, gangsters, murderers, politicians, humanists... Almog's painting goes deep into the history of the Jewish people, into all its layers of society and all areas of life in which these compatriots expressed themselves. And who left some kind of mark on the public, either as good people (most of them as such) or as bad people. In short, these are famous people, citizens of the world, so everyone. It is neither possible nor necessary to define them only by belonging to one religion, nation or state. And yet, all of them were or still are Jews.