| How a truck drivers’ sexy calendar desecrated the name of Josip Račić |
 Stephan Lupino I found out about the Stephen Lupino’s exhibition at the Modern gallery “Josip Račić” from a colleague at work. The pretty neutral title, “Wonderful creatures”, did not reveal much about the thematic framework nor the content of the exhibition. Lupino is not among the artists I hold in high esteem, nor do I believe that his photographic work could hold any pleasant surprises for me: his photoshop-edited female nudes (defined by their commercial value, that of getting published in the Playboy magazine) are very cheap and corny, and they cannot, even by a long shot, be described as surprising, fresh, nor artistic. The thing that made me look more closely at the invitation was my colleague’s reaction to it… It is important to mention that this colleague is what we might call an oversexed bachelor who enjoys telling blonde jokes, keeps a photo of a naked girl with large breasts on his desktop, and his utterly unattractive appearance and balancing on the edge of obesity present no obstacle for him to maintain his high standards when it comes to women’s beauty (those high standards primarily imply the cup size).
(I believe, my dear readers, that you have no trouble visualizing this guy, the nurturer of sexism – most work places, from the food industries to the universities, are contaminated by examples of his kind.)
I was curious to find out to what extent the line was crossed, so I went to see the exhibition which was on display in Margaretska street, in the gallery named after the founder of the Croatian modernist art movement. (due to his turbulent life, which ended under mysterious circumstances, Josip Račić has remained the greatest enigma of the Croatian modern: in the year of 1908, at the age of 23, he was found shot in a hotel room in Paris. The man who, along with artists such as Herman, Becić, and Kraljević represents the renown “Die Kroatische Schule” has left behind series of watercolor paintings of Parisian bridges, avenues and parks; these days the most highly esteemed of his works are those by means of which he intended to bring some light into the dark areas of human spirituality.)
Actually, while we’re speaking of animals – those wonderful creatures – maybe the real horse in this story is the sweet talking Zidić, who was skillfully saddled by Lupino, turning thus the Modern Gallery into a barn. - “Without insisting on pointing out the differences between his models, he refers to both the young, naked girls and women as well as the beautiful, noble horses (close to them and in their company) as the beautiful creatures. This might be reason enough for some to accuse him of machismo and demeaning of the women by reducing them to the animal essence”, writes Zidić. He also points out in his prologue “the comfort ability which is offered to the observer”. I can imagine him having an erection while writing down his thoughts on “the interferential impact of the beauty of a woman, animal and landscape” which “must produce a special kind of synergetic effect – and in a way it really does”. Little devil, this guy.
Shrugging of the shoulders is not the best answer we can give.
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To make the long
story short, this (and that kind) of guy was truly appalled
while reading the short concept description of Lupino’s exhibition
– realizing that the title “Wonderful Creatures” refers to a
series of photographs of naked women – and horses. This colleague
of mine, a far-from-emancipated patriarchal guy, declared in a very
serious tone that he could not possibly believe that Lupino was
allowed to “cross the line” with such a crude irony.
If there is one
among his sentences that actually makes sense, it’s the one in
which he states (although in a positive light) that Lupino is used to
abide by only two dictates – the one of the demand, and the one of
his erotomanic ego. The follower of (only) those two dictates should
be satisfied with the kind of exposure to the mediocre crowd that he
obtains through his commercial line of work. Instead, he has infected
“Josip Račić” with his bold sexism.