In life, as well as in painting, one needs to have a clear goal. Today, the Academy is “closed” within a certain circle of people who do not see what is happening in real life. I myself was harassed because I loved classical painting, as they considered it outdated. The focus was on modern and abstract art, and anyone who worked in that manner was put on a pedestal and had their ego boosted for four years. However, when such a young graduate enters real life and the art market, they receive a major reality check – says academic painter Spomenko Đekić.

Đekić, who was a guest on the program “Gdje se fura (ne)kultura” (“What’s In (Un)Culture”), emphasized that he has always believed that drawing and classical painting must be the foundation of a good painter.

“That is why I based my first exhibitions, that is, my first works in Bijeljina, on hyperrealism. I made chalk drawings on paper using a classical technique because I wanted to prove that drawing is the foundation of everything, just as Professor Jovo Lalić taught me at the ‘Paleta’ Art Workshop in Zvornik. When people came to the exhibitions to see my work, they could not tell whether they were looking at a drawing or a photograph. That was my act of rebellion, because even today I believe that a drawing must be perfect so that the painting, in its later stages, can also be good,” Đekić stated.

Before turning to painting, Đekić, as a primary-school student in Zvornik, was fond of rap music and street graffiti, which he painted together with his friends. In fifth grade, he enrolled in the “Paleta” Art Workshop.

“I enrolled together with a classmate, and that was the first environment that truly accepted me for who I was. I behaved terribly, painted badly, did not make an effort, and for a while I did not even attend. But my mother influenced me not to give up. Then, while working on one painting in eighth grade, I suddenly ‘found my touch.’ I chose one of the most difficult examples, sat down, and with a thin brush painted a picture that the teacher could not believe was mine. I soon became the best student in the workshop,” Đekić recalls.

There had been a plan for Spomenko to take over the management of “Paleta” in Zvornik after completing his studies, but life took him to Bijeljina. In this city, he opened the “Sfumato” Art Workshop, which today has more than one hundred students, ranging from five-year-olds to older people who enjoy painting.

“Different generations come to the studio, from children to pensioners, sometimes even grandmothers with their grandchildren. But the most important thing is that they are people who genuinely love painting. Nobody forces them to do it,” Đekić added.

Speaking about the lack of culture, the guest of “Standard Classic Radio” said that it is visible everywhere around us, as soon as one takes a walk down the street.

“All you have to do is look around and you will notice kitsch, trashy popular culture, and, above all, bad taste. Even the ancient Greek philosophers wrote that there was a lack of culture in their time, but today we are definitely sinking further. Nevertheless, culture has always been in the minority and has had to fight against a larger and stronger enemy. We must continue that fight,” Đekić said.

To hear more about his upbringing, his apprenticeship at the art workshop in Zvornik, his time at the Academy of Fine Arts in Banja Luka, and many other topics, listen to the program “Gdje se fura (ne)kultura,” which can be found in the Standard Classic Radio archive at the following link.

https://standardclassic.ba/gdje-se-fura-nekultura

Let us return culture to the place in society that belongs to it!

Your Standard Classic Radio!