Belgrade Cultural Association
Participants of the Conference
* Special thanks for Madam Linda Heng and Eurasia Center for the Invitation *
Yang Fan, PowerChina &
Milinko Jelovac, Belgrade Cultural Association
"Youth and Dream · Discussion on Joint Development"
January 9th, 2024, Chinese Cultural Center, Belgrade, Serbia
* Moderators:
Bao Jianguo, Business Director of CBT China
Book Trading GmbH, subsidiary company of China International
Communications Group (CICG) in Europe; Natasa Jakovljevic,
Host and Editor of Radio-Television of Serbia (RTS);
* Speech by Guests:
* Chinese Ambassador to Serbia (TBD)
Commented [A1]: https://www.trt.net.tr/chinese/guoji/
2023/09/28/sai-er-wei-ya-jiang-ju-xing-ti-qian-xuan-ju-
2043451 塞尔维亚电视台
* Stanko Blagojević, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture of
Serbia;
* Milan Cukic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of
Serbia (vice-ministerial level);
* Liu Dawei, Vice President of CICG (video);
* Ivana Antonijevic, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of
Tourism and Youth of Serbia;
* Wang Yanliang, Director of China Cultural Center in
Belgrade;
* Milinko Jelovac, Chairman of the Belgrade Cultural
Association;
* Bojan Lalić, Director of the Belt and Road Institute Belgrade
(video);
* Yang Fan, Deputy Chief Economist of PowerChina
International Group Limited and Deputy General Manager of
PowerChina's Eurasia Regional Headquarters;
* Ms. Popović, Professor at Faculty of Economics, University
of Belgrade;
* Natasha Simic, Serbian Sinologist.
Conference
China-Serbia Youth Friendship Dialogue
"Youth and Dream · Discussion on Joint Development"
Milinko Jelovac at the
China-Serbia Youth Friendship Dialogue
Audience
Speech of Mr. Milinko Jelovac at the
China-Serbia Youth Friendship Dialogue, January 9th, 2024
at the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, Serbia.
Title: Interactions in contemporary art of Serbia and China:
“Good evening, I am Milinko Jelovac, and I greet you in front of the Belgrade Cultural Association. In my presentation, I will emphasize the art and culture of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Serbia with the aim of giving guidance to everyone, especially the younger generations. I would like to point out the importance of a proper understanding of art and the preservation of cultural heritage.
When we talk about Chinese contemporary art, we must know that it directly arose from Chinese traditional art, without major influences from the outside, while retaining its uniqueness and its own style. The first paintings of Chinese art were recorded in the early Neolithic, 7000 years ago. Even then, they possessed the basic elements of painting: drawing and paint. Figurative painting, which was created in the period of the warring states, already then develops a mature figure, but unlike later Western European painting, it maintains its reliance on the traditional. A specific, illusionistic perspective is created, with which the artist combines feelings and the displayed space, thus connecting the imaginary and the real. Chinese painting is a unique and independent art system, based on tradition.
On the other hand, Serbian painting is also based on tradition. Although under Serbian painting we can observe the period since the art of the ancient Slavs on the soil of the Balkan peninsula, very little has been preserved to this day. The most significant achievement of Serbian art is certainly Serbian medieval art, the so-called Byzantine school of painting, which developed in three forms - fresco painting, iconography and painting on parchment, i.e. illumination in books and manuscripts. Serbian medieval frescoes can be seen in their original form in many medieval monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church. What is characteristic of Serbian medieval art is also a specific perspective, completely different from the perspective of Western art.
I will give a brief explanation. Western art since the Renaissance has used the so-called "Linear Perspective", where the characters in the painting, depending on the distance from the viewer, shrink and meet and disappear at one point. In contrast to it, in Serbian medieval art, the so-called "inverted perspective" of the painting is used, in which objects and figures do not decrease in proportion to the distance, nor do the comparative lines come closer, but, on the contrary, the comparative lines move apart, and the size of the object, instead of decreasing, it increases according to the depth of space. The perspective is subordinate to the composition and the rules of the image, and the main emphasis is on the described event. The space is connected by a wall and flows together with the viewer.
As we can see, both Serbian and Chinese art have their original roots. Preserving one's original roots in art is often crucial in the modern world. We are witnessing that in the twenty-first century, the cultural heritage of other nations is often destroyed in war, and also appropriated in peace. Two examples are enough for you:
* Ancient Palmyra, located in Syria, in the Middle East, was badly damaged twice in the war, although it had no military significance.
* Another example is March 17th, 2004 in Kosovo and Metohija, a province of the Republic of Serbia that is under the protection of the United Nations. A mob of ethnic Albanians destroyed several Serbian medieval monasteries and churches, ancient writings and objects in a few days, and today they are trying to present the Serbian medieval heritage, which they destroyed then, as their own.
As we can see from these two examples, the enemies of one nation are also the enemies of its culture. They know very well that by destroying someone's culture, they are also destroying that nation.
We are fighting against it and, in my opinion, this conference is a form of struggle for the preservation of cultural heritage.
For the past twenty years, the Belgrade Cultural Association has been working on the promotion of Serbian art and culture, as well as on meetings and exchanges of artists from various countries, through the organization of conferences, international exhibitions and seminars.
Last year's biggest such event was the Belgrade Biennale 2023, where 40 artists from 21 countries from 5 continents took part. The exhibition was held in 5 Belgrade galleries more than 300 works of art were presented.
In a big competition, the "Artist of the Year" award went to the Chinese artist, Mr. JIN YU. His works of art are a typical example of contemporary art, which is based on traditional Chinese art.
The Belgrade audience was delighted with his artistic paintings, and the media, including Radio Television of Serbia, paid a lot of attention to this artist, as well as to the entire event.
It is our wish that such and similar events be organized as often as possible, with the aim of better getting to know the artists and art of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Serbia.
Thank you for your attention and I wish everyone success in their future work.”
Milinko Jelovac, Chairman of the Board of Belgrade Cultural Association