NEWSLETTER #15, June 2020.
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PRIZREN CHURCHES
IN DIGITAL ARCHIVE
- Politika OnLine -
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The following text is a Google translation from the original text in the Serbian language. We apologize for the rough translation. If you prefer, please read our Serbian version of the newsletter.
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Thanks to enthusiasts from the Blago Fund association, more than 2,000 recordings from four medieval Orthodox churches in Prizren will be made available to the world public with a single click of the "mouse.".
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Church of Bogorodica Ljeviska: Nemanjić Family, rulers and archbishops
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Members of the non-profit organization Blago Fund, who have been photographing and filming Serbian churches and monasteries for more than two decades, creating a digital archive accessible by clicking "mouse" to the whole world, have made a new step towards the visibility of cultural heritage in Kosmet. With the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information, in cooperation with the Committee for the Study of Kosovo and Metohija of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, they captured the Orthodox shrines in Prizren with cameras and cameras. Thanks to that, more than 2,000 recordings will soon be in the database of this association.
The filming took place during the ten days of June, as part of the project "Digitalization and digital presentation of Serbian church monuments in Prizren," and in the lens of these enthusiasts were four places of worship that were vandalized in the March 2004 pogrom by KFOR members. Apart from the Church of the Mother of God Ljeviska, which is also on the UNESCO list of planetary cultural goods, but also on the list of endangered world heritage, the Church of the Holy Savior, the Church of St. Nicholas (Tutic's Church) and the Church of St. George (Runovic's Church) was recorded.
Eight people participated in the endeavor: Nenad Vukićević, the founder of the association, Ljubomir Medenica, academician prof. Dr. Dragan Vojvodić, art historian and president of the Committee for the Study of Kosovo and Metohija at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, assistant professor Vladimir Perić from the Department of Photography at the Faculty of Applied Arts, Zoran Jovanović, Vladimir Aćimović, IT expert, and art historians Ivana Ignjatović and Gordana Kelić, our interlocutor. The Diocese of Raska and Prizren provided them with logistical and organizational assistance, and Bishop Teodosije gave his blessing for this endeavor.
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Church of Bogorodica Ljeviska
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"Since there is no modern photo documentation on these important monuments of cultural heritage, especially not the one that would be available to the general public, we decided to do it in accordance with the mission of Blago Fund. This is the first time that these four Orthodox churches in Prizren have been documented in such a comprehensive way", says Gordana Kelić.
This method involved photographing and photographing the complete interior and exterior of the four shrines from the ground and from the air, including details and ornaments on the facade, such as architectural plastic, but also inside temples, such as frescoes. Where they could not reach "on foot," they used a drone and climbed the scaffolding to a height of 12 meters.
"At the same time, a protective fence was not used on the last platform of the scaffolding, so that it would not enter the frame. We also placed a telescopic bar on the scaffolding in order to reach inside the small, narrow church domes", explains Gordana Kelić.
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Church of Holy Savior
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The fact that the members of Blago Fund spent about 12 hours every day in filming the medieval Prizren shrines testifies to how much work the whole job required.
"We got up around six, so that we could be on the field from seven. The breaks were 'off our feet.' When we returned to the dormitory of the Monastery of the Holy Archangels after a full day's work, where we were accommodated as guests of Archimandrite Michael and also made some material, we arranged the recordings, determined possible omissions and made plans for the next day, as much as our state of mind and perception allowed. Since it was June, the weather was changeable: early in the morning and in the evening it was cold, sometimes it rained, but when the heatwave came during the day, it didn't matter, especially for those who are on the scaffolding or in one of the smaller ones. Temples, where due to light conditions, the doors of the church must be closed, without a whiff of wind. However, our satisfaction with what we are doing outweighed the weather conditions", Gordana Kelić points out.
Due to the volume of work, the team was usually divided on the field: part of the team went to the Church of the Mother of God of Ljeviska, and the other to the other three shrines.
"The Church of the Mother of God of Ljeviska was the most demanding for filming due to its monumentality and complex architectural structure. This temple is a complex monument of cultural heritage due to its height and difficult accessibility of certain units in narrow side naves, towers, and side domes of small diameter, in which the frescoes were taken with a telescopic rod ", explains Gordana Kelić.
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St George church (Runovica church)
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During their stay in Prizren, she adds, they had only pleasant experiences with the local population and members of the security forces guarding some of the temples. "Wherever we moved, everyone was positive, there was not the slightest incident," notes Gordana Kelic.
In addition to the digitized archive that will be available on the Internet, the intention of the Association "Serbian Treasure" is to make a three-dimensional display of four churches from the material, which will enable a virtual walk through these shrines, with the possibility for "visitors" to click on frescoes and parts of temples.
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Frescos of Bogorodica Ljeviska
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Heritage custodians
Blago Fund was founded in 1998 in the USA, and the idea came from Nenad Vukićević, a specialist in computer engineering, and his wife Jelena, who is a doctor. Thanks to donations from the Serbian diaspora in America, in addition to investing in technological resources, this organization has been creating a digital archive for more than two decades, and since 2009 it has been operating as an association of citizens in Serbia. So far, enthusiasts from the "Serbian Treasure" have recorded, archived, and presented on their website more than twenty Serbian churches and monasteries, seven of which are on the UNESCO list. As a result, the digital archive of these heritage keepers has become an indispensable resource in teaching and researching Eastern Christian art around the world.
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This valuable undertaking is partially funded by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.
We are especially pleased and thankful to the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Their cooperation and individual participation in the project are irreplaceable and show the height we can reach by working together on projects important for the preservation and promotion of the rich cultural and spiritual heritage of the nation.
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