Page 45 - Studio International - May 1965

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medieval; the firmness and power of line create three­
dimensional, sculptural forms which remind one of
figures on a tomb. There are hints of Nordic masters in
the classical severity, of Grunewald in the mixture of
passion and distaste. the sensuous lyricism in depicting
agonised flesh. Yet the placing of the bodies. the
explosive use of density-so that a sleeve or hair looks
like a windswept stormcloud, and the obsessive
investigation of intestinal detail, all combine in
Freudian, Bosch-like imagery.
In the paintings the violence is even more marked.
Here one is involved in ceaseless turmoil, a merciless
hurricane which lifts and twists the pitiful forms. Flesh
is blown and bruised, pulped into shapeless shreds.
Unseen demons punish the old and the young with
indiscriminate ferocity.
The subject of Velickovic's oeuvre might be 'Man the
Victim'. Meeting this slim, slight young man, with his
reserved good manners and quiet speech, it is almost
impossible to relate him to his obsessive, disturbing art.
When questioned on the possible origins of these
disembowelled forms and turbulent scenes, he referred
to memories of war and German occupation, although
he was only a child at the time. He recalled not only his
father's maltreatment at the hands of the Nazis, but the
horrors of civil conflict after the war. And he also spoke
of the misery of accidents. seeing children hurt or
maimed-a subject recurrent in his paintings.
One Yugoslav critic describes Velickovic's work as
'A Hymn of Despair', a paradoxical phrase which fits
the duality of his vision. These paintings are
exhortations. cries of alarm and despair, informed by a
deep compassion for the destiny of mankind. They are
neither critical nor satirical, as in Goya or Daumier;
Velickovic is altogether more naive and childlike. As
another Yugoslav writer puts it, his paintings are 'like
a tale of horror retailed by an innocent child'. He
cannot obliterate these images from his memory,
cannot smile away terror in childish games. At the
same time reality and fantasy have become merged so
that we are assailed with cruel nightmares of startling
dramatic power. And within these fantasies lies a stark
truth which moves one not to anger but to tears.
Perhaps to the artist these paintings are a kind of
exorcism; the medieval atmosphere and the peasant­
like obsession with demons, all part of an effort to
cleanse himself by the ancient magic of re-creation. But
whatever the complex motives they are transmitted
with transparent humanity.
The execution is as remarkable as the conception.
With the loving care of an old craftsman, the meticulous
revelation of a Grunewald or Durer, each detail is
examined and noted. Nothing is accidental. The
grotesque figures and scenes are depicted in clear.
positive language. The manner is forthright and tough,
but also tender; violent yet calm; apocalyptic yet
intimate and personal. These may be apparitions but
they are also real people and children-not the neurotic
study of monsters as in the Black Paintings of Goya,
but troubled, hurt, despairing human beings.
Velickovic usually works on a huge scale. His colours
are pale and faint-black and white, blues and greys,
with an occasional controlled outburst of red and
yellow. Imagery, conception and performance all meet
in an assured command, yet they never obliterate the
childlike simplicity of vision, the tender horror of
cruelty, the naive incomprehension of the degradation
of the human spirit. ■
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