RESTLESS CREATIVE YEARNING: Vladimir Lamut – Portraits of actors from Kostanjevica

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest artistic poets to have celebrated the region of Dolenjska, Vladimir Lamut. His opus has already been examined thoroughly, mainly by Dr Milček Komelj. To this end, the Božidar Jakac Art Museum will honour the memory of this great artist with an exhibition at Lamut’s Art Salon (named after him for his contribution to Kostanjevica), displaying some of his less famous drawings and croquis, which he produced alongside one of the many cultural phenomena of Kostanjevica na Krki last century, i.e. the amateur theatre as part of the Lojze Košak cultural society.

The phenomenon of amateur theatre in Kostanjevica is remarkable. Much has already been said about it, but an in-depth study is definitely high on the list of priorities in the future. The first references date back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Kostanjevica hosted some of the prominent actors, including Anton Verovšek, Anton Cerar – Danilo, Avgusta Cerar – Danilova, Hinko Nučič and others. During the interbellum period, two theatre groups were active in the town, i.e. the educational theatre and the Sokol theatre, and both also staged several Slovene classics. The Wild Hunter (Divji lovec) by Finžgar was staged as early as in 1922, once again in 1937 and then after the war in 1968 featuring Maksim Gaspari’s famous scene. Jože Gorjup, an artist native to Kostanjevica, also left an indelible impression on theatre in the town in the 1920s. In 1925, he directed and played Herman in Veronika of Desenice (Veronika Deseniška) by Oton Župančič, who also attended the premiere. Later and in the spirit of that time, a number of Ivan Cankar’s plays were staged under the directorial baton of Jože Gorjup (the play Farmhands (Hlapci) was staged in 1928 with Zoran Didek as scenographer). In 1930, the then-chaplain of Kostanjevica, Janez Hladnik, directed Mikl’s Zala (Miklova Zala). Lado Smrekar directed the same play, which was adapted by Fran Žižek, and it became by far the most successful and sought-after performance after WW2, when the theatre in Kostanjevica experienced a revival and found its permanent location in the newly-constructed House of Culture (Dom kulture).

The exhibition shows a selection of 75 drawings from four performances of the Lojze Košak cultural society: Counts of Celje, Cloistral Mercenary, and The Pernjaks (Pernjakovi), all of them performed in 1956, A World without Hatred (Svet brez sovraštva) from 1958, the famous Sovre’s translation of Plato’s The Last Days of Socrates, which was performed in Kostanjevica by the Experimental Theatre Ljubljana in 1957, and Dundo Maroje, which was performed by Celje People’s Theatre a year later. We also selected a couple of genre drawings related to Kostanjevica and its theatre, several portraits of protagonists, as well as a self-portrait. All of them are permeated with Lamut’s realism and a hint of his personal expression.

It is safe to say that drawing is one of the main means of expression in Vladimir Lamut’s artistic opus, which also includes many graphics, particularly lithographs. The majority of his drawings are croquis, which attests to their documentary character, but croquis also hint at author’s restless temperament and passionate artistic enthusiasm. The portraits on exhibit comprise both vigorous, sketch-like drafts and elaborate gouache portraits. The selection of technique and its implementation was key to the final appearance.

Vladimir Lamut felt quite comfortable in theatre. He perceived it as an actual parallel world where he could escape with the protagonists from Kostanjevica. He must have worked in scene and poster design while studying in Zagreb, as some of his professors were very active in those fields (particularly Babić). Initial theatre dynamics and rapid production of new performances under Lado Smrekar completely satisfied Lamut’s incredible passion and visible craving for artistic expression (showing strong similarities with Cézanne and Van Gogh). This is what Štefan Eržen called “Lamutism” at the exhibition in 1953. To us, it is an invaluable piece of the mosaic of the Lojze Košak cultural society and its theatrical production as well as Vladimir Lamut’s artistic opus, which calls for more detailed studies of individual phases.

Goran Milovanović