Bogosav Živković ( sr-cyr, Богосав Живковић; 3 March 1920 – 28 October 2005) was a prominent Serbian sculptor and painter of

Naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

and

Outsider art Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates e ...

Biography

Bogosav Živković was born in

Leskovac Leskovac (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 202 ...

, near

Lazarevac Lazarevac ( sr-cyr, Лазаревац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. , the town has a total population of 25,526 inhabitants, while the municipal area has a total of 58,622 inhabitants. Its name stems from the name of medieval Ser ...

, in 1920. As a young man, he was trained in the craft of

leather working Leather crafting or simply leathercraft is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both. Techniques Dyeing The application of pigments carried by solvents or water in ...

, and was taught how to sew leather jackets decorated with floral and geometric borders. Due to poor health, he gave up working with leather in 1945 and moved to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, where he found a job as a door attendant. He created his first sculpture in 1957, and held his first independent exhibition in 1960. He was soon recognized globally as an important leader in naïve and marginal art. His work is often categorized as

Art Brut Art Brut are a Berlin-based English and German indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, ''It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Je ...

, and has been the central subject of exhibitions in major museums in Europe, as well as in North America and South America. He died in

in 2005.N. Krstić, ''Outsider Art in Serbia'', monograph, MNMA, Јагодина, 2014, pp. 74–81

Style and work

Much of Živković's work was inspired by a seminal dream. In his dream, he saw a large serpent moving swiftly across a meadow, leaving a slimy track behind. With its tail, the serpent caught a stranger dressed in a monk's cowl and robe. The intensity of the dream led Živković to carve his visions in wood in order to gain a sense of release from his nightmare. To express himself, Živković used the natural shape of the trunk with or without branches, then smaller and thinner parts of branches, even ivy roots. Natural protuberances and hollows, various gnarls, and the mere mass of the matter inspired the artist to create the most diverse forms. Ото Бихаљи-Мерин, ''Снови и трауме у дрвету'', Београд, 1962 His

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...

followed the natural configuration of the wood, thus liberating,

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...

ming and shaping

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

and

zoomorphic The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from the Greek ζωον (''zōon''), meaning "animal", and μορφη (''morphē''), meaning "shape" or "form". In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It c ...

figures, and less frequently animal or architectural shapes. He mostly carved in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, which he used to cover his

monumental columns Monumental may refer to: * In the manner of a monument Places * Monumental Island, Nunavut, Canada * Monumental Island, New Zealand * Monumental (Barcelona Metro), a station in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain * La Monumental, the Plaza Monumental de ...

Oto Bihalji-Merin Oto Bihalji-Merin ( sr-cyr, Ото Бихаљи Мерин; 3 January 1904 – 22 December 1993) was an acclaimed Yugoslav and Serbian writer, art historian, painter and art critic. Biography Bihalji-Merin was born to a Jewish family in Zemun, ...

, Michel Thevos, Roger Cardinal, and others wrote about his work.

Exhibitions and awards

A great number of his

monumental sculpture The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism, but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used for ...

s are in galleries and museums. Some, such as ''My Home'' and ''Dreams and Thought'', are in the

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: * Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department * Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service * Collection agency, agency to collect cash * Collectio ...

of the Museum of Naïve and Marginal Art (MNMA), in

Jagodina ) , image_shield = Jagodina-grb.png , image_flag = FLAG Jagodina.png , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = File:Municipalities of Serbia Jagodina.png , map_caption = Location of Jagodina w ...

.Љ. Којић, ''Богосав Живковић'', МНМУ, Јагодина, 2011 The ''Magic Garden'', in his native village, is a temple of his art with many sculptures – in stone and wood, reliefs of carved objects, coloured accessory edifices, etc. – which bears best witness to his work. Živković had a number of independent and group exhibitions worldwide. He has had solo exhibitions in Belgrade, Vienna, Paris, Warsaw, Stockholm, Munich and Amsterdam. Among his awards are Grand Prix at the Second Biennial of Yugoslav Naïve Art in 1983 and Award for Entire Artistic Work in 1991, MNMA, Jagodina, Serbia.

Gallery

Živković Bogosav, Moj otac na čezama i snovi.jpg, ''My father on Coach and Dreams'', 1973, wood, , MNMA Živković Bogosav, Moj dom.jpg, ''My Home'', wood, tall, MNMA Živković Bogosav, Okato cudovište.jpg, ''A big-eyed Monster'', wood, tall, MNMA Živković Bogosav, Snovi i misao.jpg, ''Dreams and Thought'', 1965, wood, tall, MNMA Živković Bogosav, Kapija.jpg, ''Gate'', wood (relief), , MNMA

References

Literature

* Ото Бихаљи-Мерин, ''Снови и трауме у дрвету'', Београд, 1962 * М. Бошковић; М. Маширевић, ''Самоуки ликовни уметници у Србији'', Торино, 1977 * Ото Бихаљи-Мерин; Небојша Бато Томашевић, ''Енциклопедија наивне уметности света'', Београд, 1984 * Н. Крстић, ''Наивна уметност Србије'', САНУ, МНМУ, Јагодина, 2003 * Н. Крстић, ''Наивна и маргинална уметност Србије'', МНМУ, Јагодина, 2007 * Љ. Којић, ''Богосав Живковић'', МНМУ, Јагодина, 2011 * N. Krstić, ''Outsiders'', catalogue, МНМУ, Јагодина, 2013 * N. Krstić, ''Outsider Art in Serbia'', monograph, MNMA, Јагодина, 2014, pp. 74–81 * Cardinal, Roger, ''Outsider Art'' (New York: Praeger, 1972) * DuBuffet, Jean, ''Art Brut'' (Geneva: Booking International, 1985) *

, ''Bogosav Zivkovic. The world of a primitive sculptor.'' (London: Thames & Hudson, 1962)

External links

MNMA
– Museum of Naïve and Marginal Art
marginalart.rs
(in Serbian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zivkovic, Bogosav 1920 births 2005 deaths Naïve art Outsider artists Serbian sculptors Male sculptors Yugoslav sculptors