Professor Jonas Minkevičius believes that after leaving the exhibition of his works, people will understand that architecture is not a postcard in the palm of your hand, but a historically important art.
Seconds drawing
On the second floor of Galaunias House-Museum, the world revolves, carried for many years in the binder of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) professor, architect and architect Jonas Minkevičius. During various trips, while his friends and colleagues were recording the landscape with a camera, the luminary would pull markers of different colors from his pocket and transfer the images he saw to a piece of paper.
“No matter where I traveled, I carried several colored markers and pieces of paper with me. Others took pictures, and I had a kind of task – to record everything by hand. In this way, you can not only immortalize, but also interpret”, – after greeting the guests of Galaunias House-Museum, J. Minkevičius invited them to take a bite.
Summary: The exhibition exhibits more than half a dozen drawings that tell the story of different stages of the professor’s life. (photo by Edgar Cickevičius)
The exhibition “Through the streets of the world” exhibits more than half a dozen graphic and watercolor works that commemorate the landscapes the professor saw and the architectural objects he visited. It is India’s Elephant Island Underground Temple, Mumbai Coastal Hotel, Germany with St. Lorenz Church and Nuremberg Castle, the Greek island of Corfu and the Monastery of Paleokastritsa, Gagrai in Abkhazia, the architectural ensemble of the Acropolis of Athens…
Others took pictures, and I had a kind of task – to record everything by hand.
Watercolor Lithuania
Although he visited some countries during his studies, the memory is alive as if everything happened yesterday. Turning to the picture behind him, J. Minkevičius remembered Consuegra in Spain, when he saw the windmills with which Don Quixote of La Mancha fought through the window while driving a bus. This time the professor did not try to beat the wings. Pulling out a black marker, he drew the image seen through the window of the bus in 7 seconds.
On the map, the Spanish province of Toledo is approximately 2,000 km away. km, and Croatia with part of Diocletian’s Palace is just a few steps away on the second floor of Galaunias House. The professor spent a little more than a minute drawing it.
“This is the Norwegian landscape. Characteristic boat shelters with special turf roofs”, leaving these aside, the architect and architecturologist took a slow step closer to the more heart-warming watercolor rain roofs.
Here – St. Palušės. St. Joseph and Pavovera Kazimierz churches, Degučiai and Pakruoj water mills, Preila boat fan. The people of Kaunas should also recognize the city views in the exhibition – St. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Dangun, the house of Marshal Alexander Masalskis.
A reflection of society
In Galaunias House-Museum, you can get to know J. Minkevičius not only through his drawings, but also through different publications. The author and co-author of the books wrote almost a dozen of them during his lifetime, and you can find some publications in your home. For example, “Kaunas architecture”, “History of Lithuanian architecture” or “Dictionary of art”.
Calling: architecture for J. Minkevičić is more than a passion, it is his whole life. (photo by Edgar Cickevičius)
This year, celebrating his 95th anniversary, perhaps the most famous and most important researcher of Lithuanian folk architecture, the pioneer of the foundations of the synthesis of modern interior and monumental decorative art in the world of architecture, hoped that his accumulated and exhibited collection would give the visitors the benefits that every architect dreams of.
“I want the exposure to be effective. I want it to make people want to get to know architecture and help them understand that this art is not only complex, but also historically very significant. Architecture reflects the ideas of the state, people, and the level of the economy. It’s not just a pretty picture. Architecture is a materialized thought that tries to enter into the harmony of the world as a form of good, a spreader of good, the professor did not hide that his heart hurts when he sees architecture marked by traces of war and death. – For architects, nothing is more painful than looking at destroyed cities, as it happens in Ukraine, and feeling that his work is destroyed. I wish that architecture would never be an object of destruction.”
Photo by Edgar Cickevičius.
Tags: professors works include streets world
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