Digital Story from Brod
Enterprising and resourceful Ranko Stjepanovic did an
unusual undertaking of picture presenting the township of Brod
His lens covered the whole community of Bosanski Brod with
web – from the stark west to the east, from the north which is outlined by the
river Sava to the edge settlements of the
south. Although the community area is one smaller territory, and especially our
Brod area, it is simply strange how we, its inhabitants, have blurry and
incomplete, maybe even completely distorted picture of the actual condition.
Word is strong, thoughtfully and emotionally, but photograph is inexorable. As
a fact, as a document, photograph is powerful; it is a reliable and incorruptible
witness about man in the area, and in time. While still isolated, it has its
depth and fullness, but when it is assigned to narrower or wider thematic
photo-series, then it is an interesting little story, or the whole digital
collection of little novellas.
Ranko’s photo-series are wonderful synchronic cut – frozen
moment of events about one region – told by color and light and saved from
oblivion. Just when all those details are fit into and leveled into a whole,
look, we are learning something new; we are discovering what we could not even
imagine about ourselves.
While observing these pictures which fall like ripe leaves
over monitor, we fly above happy red roofs, squares, parks, monuments, peeking
into chimneys, we admire the beautiful terraces and facades, bend over the
river Sava’s mirror, circulate above the Refinery chimneys, watching buildings
under construction, children in game, young people in fervor, the older in
their worries and obligations. Yes, that is our multiform life framed in
landscape and social milieu. This photographer’s record makes a document of
general life picture in the community of Bosanski Brod – in A.D. 2006.
The author did not make an effort according to some
well-known criteria, nor the cold logic of cause to arrange and explain his
collection; he found it more appropriate to leave it little disheveled and not
combed for its use and aspiration.
However, the new and the old are pretty much intertwined
accordingly, and what is contractive and constructive with those dumb witnesses
of destruction which scars have not healed yet. A painful cramp of the people
to step out of darkness into light is seen. Every time like this when happiness
and sadness often go arm in arm is strange – a little bit grotesque, but much
authentic. Thus, it is what is the most precious from this story, which is the
humanistic message – we must go forth.
The picture of nature and people is taken from many angles,
plans and flashbulbs – so as the same is never the same again. That is the
charm. The power of details, zoom, just look. A boy holds a puppy, one cat lies
resting, another walks aimlessly. He won’t be the boy with a puppy forever! Two
jet airplanes crossed their jets together in the sky. The clouds made some
picture to be forgotten and never could be repeated again. Tomorrow, those
beautiful flowers on the balconies will wither; some hole in asphalt will never
be photographed again. Some advertisement about selling will be taken by the
first rain. The picture is useful as a service. While I was writing this text,
I found in the corner of one photo the telephone number of local dentist that
needed so much – I phoned according to the scripture from the bottom of the
photo – the dentist will fill my painful tooth tomorrow…
In eternal movement, natures and people will change their
clothes and temper, but therefore some new curious persons, like Ranko today,
will take pictures of new flowers, village cemeteries, bridges, rivers,
villages, streets, children, people, monuments and who knows what miracles of their
endless deed.
Teodor Trifunovic
