A LITTLE PROLOGUE FOR THE CROATIAN TIE
The tie is the most prominent Croatian symbol. It could be, should be and increasingly is within the Croatian borders, the trademark, the identifying sign of Croatia. Today this inevitable adornment of male attire, especially suits, is a clear sign and example of male elegance worldwide.
The word "cravat" derives from Croat, Harvat, Karvat and finally "kravata", from the name "Hrvat" (Croat) (The English word "tie" actually signifies one method of tying a "cravat"). The word has been preserved in the German language (Krawatte), and Slavic and Romance languages (Italian cravata, French cravate, Spanish corbata, Catalan corbata, Portuguese gravata). Only in English has this item been given the name "tie". In historical terms the tie appeared in the 17th century in the form of a type of scarf, which Croatian soldiers wore around their necks, under their uniforms, when fighting in the Thirty Years' War for Austria, for the Habsburg (Catholic) Empire, of which the Croatian lands were a part. As a decoration around the neck, Croatian soldiers wore this kerchief in the following centuries too: when they were in the units of the Empress Maria Theresa (18th century) and when they defended Austria fighting against the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte (first decade of the 19th century) or when they were under the orders of the Austrian Marshall Radetzki fighting for Lombardy (the second half of the 19th century). Glory in battle and the military respect they gained, spread the name of Croatia throughout Europe. Gradually this small, but important detail of Croatian military fashion became popular, since only Croatian soldiers wore their scarves in this specific form. In time the shape of the scarf was modified, and in the 20th century the tie gained its current form and became the most widespread item of men's clothing throughout the world. All this should be a good reason for through marketing and design, the name of Croatia to be identified with the origins of the tie. Since the independence of the Republic of Croatia, the company Croata kravata began to design specific ties with the motif of the interwoven design as an artistic ornament from the time of the earliest old Croatian art. However, something interesting happened. When I visited Ireland for the first time two or three years ago, in boutiques in Dublin I saw identical ties with the interwoven design just like those in Croatia. I turned them over and saw how on each one it said: Croata Made in Croatia. The Irish are selling them in souvenir shops to tourists as their own authentic product!! This is because the interwoven design was regularly found in reliefs and miniatures in illuminated manuscripts from the early Middle Ages. It is also found as a Celtic (Irish) standard artistic ornament. The Irish are proud of the fact that their monasteries in the 7th to the 10th centuries were centres of a high level of literacy, art and culture, and they influenced the whole of Europe. If the Irish can sell ties with this interwoven design as their own authentic cultural product, why can't Croats too, who "invented" the tie, and the interwoven design as an authentic motif of the oldest Croatian culture? The institution Academia Cravatica took the initiative for artists to present their creations on the subject of the tie. The response was fervent and full of enthusiasm. The very shape of the tie is a clean, simple and distinct form. Some gave their suggestions for designs and solutions (B. Donassy, B. Ljubicic, D. Ratkajec Pedišic), with a variety of artistic motifs enriching the item. Others reacted to the motif with paintings, presenting the motif in their recognizable style as artists (F. Mickovic, V. i J. Mickovic, A. Rotar, D. Nuic - Vuckovic, M. Bušic - I. Hubej, V. Kos-Paliska, K. Paliska, F. Juricic, H. Ivancic, I. Gustini) from the expressionist to the completely abstract and aformal poetic but with a clear vision and high level of artistic culture. The great Croatian artist and graphic designer M. Šutej creates graphics on large woman's silk scarves, reminiscent of his famous piece Bombarding the Optical Nerve from 1963, with was a watershed in Croatian op-art. The late doyen of the Croatian comic strip, R. D. Devlic and his far younger colleague I. Gregov, produced true comic strip works of heroism on the subject of the tie. Devlic kept to the historical context and the context of the many centuries of existence of tie as an eminent Croatian fashion accessory. I Gregov however, found his inspiration in the folk tale, written down by Nazor, of Veli Jože the giant as a Croatian hero. R. Budor, I. Matkovic and A. Kokotovic cultivate a refined minimalism where in black and white or geometrical surfaces, using collage, they apply motifs of ties. For M. Drežnjak too the tie is associated with collage, but with a completely different rhythm. Others again show the tie as a relief, sculpture or a conceptual object. D. Vlakancic "ties" the knot of the tie from a huge piece of white cloth. M. Šunjic paints various bottles in strong colours and paints a tie with them, T. Behloul shapes a grey male torso on a red background and in the constellation of a diptych, a red torso on a grey background. Around the neck there is of course, a tie. J. Tišljar, as the master of sculpture, creates from glass an airy monolithic form with two tie-like green and blue curves, establishing a balance and a gentle, sculptural rhythm. V. Bišic, E. Vodopivec Borkovsky, Lj. Rajkovic and D. Rapaic, in their creativity, show their imagination and a conceptual move away from a mere reference. Bišic, Rajkovic and Vodopivec Borkovsky create large scale objects: Bišic - from boards bound to pieces of rope, reminiscent of a tie; Rajkovic "garnishes" vertical paper in the form of a tie in the manner of an "action painting", and Borkovsky uses two black lines to shape ties within a square shaped wire construction. D. Rapaic applies small pictures of a boy and a young man to three linked metal boxes. The young man has a tie, as does his enlarged counterpart. Nostalgia? Growing up? Whatever it is, it is a very interesting work. The tandem M. Bušic - A. Milovanovic created an entire chessboard with all the figures. The figures are geometric forms, intended and formed to be old Croatian soldiers. They have helmets on their heads and ties around their necks. This is a rare and original chess set of exceptional quality. And last, but not least, there is a group of artists who worked with red ties, but in a pompous manner, intended for outdoor, public places. The team of M. Bušic, M. Crnobrnja and S. Zemunovic tied a red tie around the neck of Fernkorn's statue of Viceroy Jelacic on the square of the same name in Zagreb. The same team set up a long red tie in the Zagreb passage known as "Octogon". The tie installation ends in the Croata Salon. And finally the team of M. Bušic, M. Marinovic, E. Strenja undertook the truly massive public happening, actually a fascinating feat, wrapping and tying a gigantic red tie around the Arena in Pula, at the end of 2003. This event reverberated powerfully in the media both in Croatia and throughout the world. Each individual piece of work and event relating to the tie brought many exciting artistic variations. The subject served the artists as a polygon for comprehensive involvement of their creative freedom and lack of restraint. Stylistically precise and clear, imaginatively potent and perceptively reasoned, the artists gave their contributions and offerings to the possibilities of considering a single object, which from the level of a simple form grows into a national trademark. Aware of all the connotations which the concept of the tie contains, the artists still above all used their insight into the abundance of possibilities of the shape of the tie, for their own interpretations, whether as a shape, or to experiment with various techniques and materials.
Wednesday, April 13th, 2005
Re: Ethnic Map of Yugoslavia
I wasn't linking the maps with the CIA data I just posted. I'm just wondering if new maps are available according to that data (the one from 2001).
