Kirjahaku

Proteklih desetak godina citam na internetu i slusam od mladjih kolega razlicite informacije o arhitekturi osamde¬setih, posebno o onome sto je radila grupa MEC kojoj sam tada pripadao. Posle protoka nekoliko decenija, shvatio sam da danas postoje neki novi "istoricari arhi¬tekture" u Srbiji koji uzimaju pravo i smatraju se kompe¬tentnim da arbitriraju u istoriji nase arhitekture, pa cak i da menjaju njene tokove. Tako, na primer, postoji teorija da nije postojala samo jedna grupa MEC, vec dve, a mozda i tri. Neki arhitekti, verovat¬no racunajuci na zaborav nase sredine, sami sebe svrsta¬vaju u okrilje grupe MEC, predstavljajuci se za avangardu nase postmoderne. Mozda me ovakve iskrivljene teorije ne bi mnogo zanimale, medjutim, vremenom sam shvatio da kada su takve neistine vise puta konstantno ponovlje¬ne tokom duzeg vremenskog perioda, postepeno, niko¬me vise nije bitno da li su to istorijske cinjenice ili plod necije maste. Pogotovo, kada ovakve neistine poticu od ljudi za koje postoji pretpostavka da su autoritarni i "ne-prikosnoveni" istoricari. U tom slucaju, tesko je odbraniti istinu. Zbog toga sam 2015. godine konkurisao kod svih najznacajnijih srpskih institucija u kulturi za organizaciju izlozbe pod naslovom: Slobodan Maldini, "Grupa M.E.C. 1980-2015, kriticka retrospektiva". U medjuvremenu, 2016. godine sam odlucio da povo¬dom Salona arhitekture u Muzeju primenjene umetno¬sti u Beogradu priredim razgovor na temu "Slucaj grupe MEC." Na razgovor sam pozvao nase poznate istoricare umetnosti: Biljanu Tomic, Ljiljanu Blagojevic, Zorana Lazovica, Miska Suvakovica i dvojicu predstavnika gru¬pe MEC: Mustafu Musica i Stevana Zutica. U razgovoru su tada ucestvovali i bili prisutni mnogi nasi poznati arhitekti, medju kojima i: Predrag Ristic, Milos R. Perovic, Milan Lojanica, Bojan Kovacevic. Tom prilikom, svi smo iskazali svoje stavove o vremenu zacetaka postmoderne arhitekture u Srbiji, posebno o radu i doprinosu razvoju srpske arhitekture koji je nacinila grupa MEC. Medjutim, i nakon ovog razgovora neki medju prisutnima su ostali skeptici u svom stavu o radu i uticaju grupe MEC. 2017. godine Ministarstvo kulture je odobrilo budzet za organizovanje izlozbe grupe MEC u Muzeju savre¬mene umetnosti u Beogradu. Medjutim, buduci da sam ja, kao autor ove izlozbe ujedno i clan grupe MEC, a da izlozba u nazivu ima opis "kriticka retrospektiva", pretpostavljeno je da ja ne mogu da budem kritican u istorijskom predstavljanju dela grupe MEC. Zbog toga, sam za kustosa izlozbe predlozio Biljanu Tomic, istoricara umetnosti, dugogodisnjeg prijatelja, saradnika i kustosa na najnacajnijim izlozbama grupe. Nazalost, tim sam se odrekao svog vec pripremljenog teksta za stampanje u monografiji povodom izlozbe. Ali, radostan sam zbog cinjenice da je tekst o grupi MEC priredila Biljana Tomic. Prema zajednickom konceptu, izlozbu je trebalo da prati monografija grupe MEC. Za ovu monografiju tekstove su priredili: kustoskinja Biljana Tomic, slovenacki arhitekta Jurij Kobe, hrvatski arhitekta Nikola Polak, beogradski doajen arhitekture Milan Lojanica. Sadrzaj knjige cine pet automonografija clanova grupe MEC: Marjana Cehovina, Mustafe Musica, Dejana Ecimovica, Stevana Zutica i Slobodana Maldinija. Medjutim, nakon izrade sadrzaja, doslo je do promene koncepcije knjige. Monografija je pretvorena u zbornik tekstova kriticara, a automonografije ucesnika izlozbe su postale suvisne. Ove koncepcijske promene pratila su brojna neslaganja medju ucesnicima projekta - clanovima grupe MEC, kustoskinje i predstavnika Muzeja savremene umetnosti. Novonastala situacija dovela je do odlaganja projekta. U tim okolnostima, odlucio sam da samostalno objavim svoj automonografski deo koji sam prethodno namenio za objavljivanje u zajednickoj monografiji grupe MEC. Ova knjiga je rezultat te odluke.

Over the past decade in the new century, Slobodan Maldini has developed a large Internetnet work and an enviable production of written works - dictionaries, essays and novels, architectural designs and projects and engaged artistic intervention. As an independent author he works systematically presenting his achievements on personal internet blogs and web sites that are available to everybody for free. Through his creative scope, Maldini became productive phenomenon, a kind of sublimated electronic machine, where the speed of change of Internet features can be measured by the ideas that this artist brought into the open flow of electronic communication. His thoughtful and visionary projections can be compared only with Antonio Sant'Elia, architectural genius at the beginning of the 20th century and its architectural manifesto of Futurism which "affirms the freedom to say, plastic dynamism, music without quadrature and the art of noise ... declaratively against cowardice traditionalists ". This parallel is not accidental because there is remarkable similarity in their characters and designs, as well as in the selection of their philosophical and classical patterns. The only distinctionis that Sant'Elia belonged to the "Art Nouveau" and early modernism, while Maldini is one of the representatives of the "New Movement" of eighties and inaugurated postmodern phenomenon to new dynamic and transformable spatial structure at the beginning of the 21st century. Maldini's work includes projects of spatial architectural structurres and assemblies, together with monuments, temples, houses, urban areas, views and promenades, multidimensional creations of different profiles, that are moving, assembling and disassembling, changing in the level and angles, positioning in the state of floating, moving or fixing their basic points in the chosen spatial environment. This spacious, anti-gravity architecture, by its structure portable, "architecture to take away" is present in time, available and functional in every element, to all potential users, consumers and fans. In his work there are phases when he writes books, when designing architectural projects, and the most often he works on his artistic topical and critical intervention, visual interference of images in the field of culture, design, comics, "porn and punk neoarchitecture", branding, designing "hypo-micro habitats" ... as an active representation of of his attitude and warning the public. Therefore, maldini's work covers all "marginal" themes which the author considers very important to stress the social hypocrisy and inconsistency of social and cultural programs. Ever since 1982 when he created the project cycle "Utopia", it was clear that Maldini in his research stands among the pillars of historical figures who in their teaching have marked paradigmatic changes in the world since the time of neoplatonism of Thomas More, the Palladian classical models, to futuristic architecture of Sant 'Elia, structural architecture of Buckminster Fuller, "real" architecture of Bogdan Bogdanovic and certainly, transformable spaces of Slobodan Maldini or his "absurd" architecture. We are talking about utopias that are presented and transparent in every historical social cataclysm or progress, about the author's hope and a dream. Their meaning lies in the projection of the future. Maldini belongs to the category of non-builders, bold and irreconcilable architects ... that leave drawings but not realized buildings and oly few formal trails. His rare monuments that were built during mid 1980s in Kosovo (Klina, Istok, Kacanik), were demolished at the beginning of the 1990s. for political but not architectural reasons. This fact does not diminish the value and the importance of the innovations and the contributions of this architect, his sensitive spiritual space, perceptive power and his vision of the new dimension of architecture. Biljana Tomic

In this book are presented Maldini's graphic works created during 2000s. His first email works were made during the decade-long internet correspondence with the artist Dr.Agan. They were graphic art reactions to certain events that have attracted the attention of Maldini and the wider circle of artists who were involved in his internet communication. In his first series of works called "Parallels" Maldini analyzed some commonly known events in the world and at the local scene, which attracted public attention and especially the attention of a small circle of artists connected via the Internet. In 2009, Maldini has presented his graphic works made in the early 2000s at the exhibition "Micro interventions". The exhibited works were carying an individual, personal view of the author about the situation and conditions in the arts, especially in architecture. At the same time, they contained a strong reaction to certain events and phenomena in the world around us. In his graphic works Maldini presented series of small architectural interventions in the space, towns or imaginery places. In the year 2011 Maldini presented his new exhibition of his collection of works under the title "Architecture to take away". In this exhibition were presented his graphic studies of architectural space and people connected with it. The space of Maldini's design is the one "to take away", i. e. which can be stored inside a microchip usb memory card or stick placed in the palm of your hand. It can be experienced on a computer or on a paperback book. 2013 Maldini hosted internet exhibition of his computer graphic works "Ars marginalis" (Marginal Arts). The exhibition showed the art and architecture that emerged out of the social context, created by the author who is not socially recognized nor understood. The book includes the following sections: "Maldini engaged artist", "Maldini lost art", "Hard colors of life", "Maldini and parallel worlds", "Maldini Kunstspiele", "Maldini and anti-art", "Maldini greeting cards", "Banana branding", "Maldini typography art", "Maldini web art", "Maldini microinterventions", "Maldini trash graphic arts", "Maldini mail art". In each chapter is presented one special aspect of Maldini's graphic art. The artist is presented by his works in the fields of engaged art in political and social terms, also as an illustrator of certain events that have attracted worldwide attention, via his graphical installations, as a different view of reality. In this book Maldini presents his inner parallel worlds, plays with art as an abstract concept, giving to readers his vision of "anti-art". In the chapter "Maldini greeting cards" he plays on designing the cards of the world known cities in a sarcastic way. In a separate chapter Maldini presents his imaginary advertising campaign "Banana branding" in which he makes fun of advertising design today and its impacts on individuals and even states. Maldini is also typographer - graphic designer of letters - in the chapter "Maldini - typographic art". In the section "Maldini web art" are presented his works in graphic media on the Internet. His "micro interventions" that were made in space and time are presented in the chapter "Maldini microinterventions". A separate chapter presents Maldini's "trash graphic art" and mail art, which has been made during the years of correspondence with numerous artists via email. In the chapter "Voices of Design" are presented a wide range of themes inspired by contemporary cultural events. In 500 pages this book gives to the readers in a straightforward, clear and detailed manner significant retrospection of recent Maldini's artistic activities. His works presented in the book were created using modern medias and means of expression: computers, photography, graphic design, and on the top of using the Internet as a true global fields of artistic expression today.

Kathmandu, Valley of Gods is more than a collection of inspirational photographs, and Maldini is more than an insightful photographer. Through the photographs he catches the moments in eternal beauty of Nepalese spiritual life and traditional architecture. Also, he shows fragments of everyday life of Kathmandu valley inhabitants. Through the photographs the book brings experience of living in Nepal, offering helpful images of its best visiting spots. On 276 pages the book contains 153 color art photographs that take you iside Kathmandu's beautiful environment. The book make you feel like you are right there, on the streets of ancient towns. On photos architecture and people are telling the story of old, forgotten life and town ambients that can not be encountered elsewhere in the world. The book covers images and descriptions of all 7 UNESCO world heritage sites, main historical towns in the Kathmandu Valley together with the most famous Nepalese historical monuments. The cultural heritage of the Kathmandu Valley is illustrated by groups of hisoric town centers, monuments and buildings which display the full range of historic and artistic achievements for which the Kathmandu Valley is world famous. Located in the foothills of Himalayas, the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property contains Durbar squares of urban centres with their palaces, temples and public spaces of the three cities of Kathmandu (Hanuman Dhoka), Patan and Bhaktapur, and the religious ensembles of Swayambhunath, Boudhanath, Pashupatinath and Changu Narayan. The religious ensemble of Swayambhunath includes the oldest Buddhist monument in the Valley, the largest stupa in Nepal; Pashupatinath has extensive Hindu temple precinct, and Changu Narayan comprises traditional Newari settlement and a Hindu temple complex. For world travellers, lovers of good photography, enthusiasts and connoisseurs in history and tradition of Nepal, the book is must have. Readers will enjoy photographs that bring historic and everyday scenes from Kathmandu streets, town squares and temples.

This book is almost surreal collage of world famous multimedia and cultural artifacts, events, billboards, architectural facilities, historical facts, newspaper articles, essays and photos. It is about visions in architecture, passion and morality, punk and punkish in art and architecture. This book itself is specific work of art and architecture made in the vocabulary of unconventional and shocking artistic expression. A compilation of ideas, judgments, artistic attitudes, photos, visual recordings and texts that describe individual cases of architecture and art in the light of their passionate visual characters. Passion architecture is a term coined by the author explaining architecture in parallel to the ideologies of some social and political movements of the period after World War II, which are characterized by vision, passion, but also by xenophobia and homophobia. This is exceptionally significant and interesting book that evokes memories of the recent past in the fields of art and penetrates into the deepest emotions, aesthetic and moral understandings of contemporary art and architecture. The book that leaves no one indifferent. This is exceptionally significant and interesting book that evokes memories of the recent past in the field of art and penetrates into the deepest emotions, aesthetic and moral understandings of contemporary architecture. A book that leaves no one indifferent. The first edition of the book was created in 2009 as a result of Maldini's research on the topic of punk art and architecture. The next year it was published on the Internet. Tens of thousands of readers have read the book on the Internet. It was published the same year when Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn and Wolf D. Prix published works of their students at the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna after the course which was held under the name "Architecture is pornography". The book was written at a time when exacerbated the conflict among the critics and Rem Koolhaas,"the architect of pornographic architecture" of administrative building CCTV in Beijing. At that years revived the ideas of designers and architects Carlo Mollino and John Lautner that incorporates the pornographic character. At the same time, the book includes ideas of punk rock movement that dates from the period 1969-1976, which representatives in Europe were punk rock groups Sex Pistols and The Clash.