Exhibitions "Talent and sensibility" and "Testimony of the decade" opened at the galleries of the Central Military Club

With the exhibitions of Media Centre Odbrana - "Talent and sensibility" and "Testimony ofthe decade", today a new exhibition season in the galleries of the Central Military Club was opened.

The Grand Gallery contains oil paintings, works on paper and sculptures from the Art Collection of the Central Military Club. Art lovers will have the opportunity until 5 February to enjoy the most important works of Yugoslav authors of the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, such as Petar Lubarda, Pedja Milosavljevic, Sava Sumanovic, Djordje Andrejevic Kun, Branko Miljus, Vlah Bukovac, and others.

The second exhibition, in the Small Gallery, is dedicated to the celebration of the 10th anniversary of "Odbrana" magazine that fosters the tradition of military magazines "Warrior", "Front", "People's Army" and "Army". Reprints of the best photographs published in the magazine will be displayed until 23 January.

The opening ceremony was addressed by State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Nenad Neric, Director of the Media Centre Odbran Colonel Stevica S Karapandzin, art historians Olivera Vukotic and Irina Tomic and Head of the Sector for the photographic activities of Media Centre Odbrana Goran Stankovic.

Secretary of State Neric emphasized that for seven decades under the roof of the Central Military Club exquisite works of art the most famous visual artists from the region have been preserved.

- We are able to see a part of this rich cultural heritage at the exhibition in the Grand Gallery. The other exhibition testifies to the efforts of  the Media Centre Odbrana to show, interpret and support the reform efforts we make to improve the defence system, the security of Serbia and its citizens, said the State Secretary.

Colonel Karapandzin pointed out that for years the practice has been to open the exhibition season with the works from the rich treasury of the Central Military Club Collection.

- Both exhibitions are very important because they represent the Media Centre Odbrana from different angles. "The talent and sensibility" is a mirror of exhibiting activity based on the preservation and presentation of artistic tradition of recognizing timeless values of the civilization. On the other hand, "Testimony of the decade" is an exhibition with which we make reference to journalist-informative and photographic activities of Media Centre Odbrana and also the ability to keep track of most important events, said Colonel Karapandzin.

The works for the exhibition in the Grand Gallery were chosen by art historians Olivera Vukotic and Irina Tomic. Vukotic said that the cultural institution deserves to be praised for what it has in the holdings, which is a real rarity, and Tomic praised the exhibition and noted that within the exhibition visitors can follow the development of the pre-war and post-war art in Yugoslavia.

According to Head of the Section, photography is becoming a more and more important part of everyday life. 

- What has not been photographed is as if it has never happened. Neither nearly 250 issues of Odbrana nor a number of exhibitions would be even remotely sufficient to summarize what we have recorded in the past 10 years. Our photo archive contains archive material since 1945, and it is very important and valuable. The photographs that you can see at this exhibition are the testimony of history for future generations. This is our modest contribution to remembrance, said Goran Stankovic.

The exhibition "Testimony of the decade" includes 37 photographs of eight authors and presents the evidence that all photographers of Media Centre Odbrana, even after many years of work undoubtedly love their work, enjoy it and do it as professionally as possible. Jovo Mamula, Goran Stankovic, Darimir Banda, Radovan Popovic, Zoran Milovanovic, Duska Stefanovic, Stefana Savic and Zvonko Perge recorded with their lenses the most interesting and most memorable moments from events that were important and that have been a part of their work the past ten years. They attended military exercises and military parades, witnessed the rescue of the victims of the floods and snowstorms, and visited members of the Armed Forces in missions in Lebanon and Cyprus...