20th Annual Exhibition of Students of the School of Applied Arts and Design — Pula

It is always a chal­len­ge to cap­tu­re a frag­ment of time with words—words inten­ded not only to cla­rify the pre­sent moment for today’s reader but to reta­in that same reso­nan­ce for a reader in anot­her age. In much the same way, our stu­dents’ wor­ks record the spe­ci­fic inter­sec­ti­ons of spa­ce and time in which they were cre­ated, seeking to be seen and evaluated.

Education is a pro­cess of move­ment and chan­ge, guided by a firm struc­tu­re that pro­vi­des nece­ssary sta­bi­lity. Yet, the passa­ge of time is felt dif­fe­ren­tly by the edu­ca­tor and the stu­dent. Before us are chil­dren who matu­re into young adul­ts over four years of scho­oling. We ripen toget­her; thro­ugh this pro­cess of gat­he­ring knowled­ge and expe­ri­en­ce, we refi­ne and resha­pe the essen­ce of the School of Applied Arts and Design — Pula year after year. Over time, we are joined by new teac­hers who­se yout­h­ful ener­gy com­ple­tes the who­le. Through this syner­gy, we evol­ve our con­cep­ts and appro­ac­hes, upgra­ding the edu­ca­ti­onal pro­cess to ensu­re it rema­ins vital.

In recent years, we have wit­ne­ssed the uni­ma­gi­na­ble possi­bi­li­ti­es of tec­h­no­logy in sha­ping visu­al con­tent. I dare say that I am not afra­id, nor do I beli­eve that “it is all over,” for knowled­ge and reflec­ti­on rema­in essen­ti­al to cre­ati­on. As teac­hers, stu­dents, desig­ners, and artis­ts, we must accept that ama­te­urism has always exis­ted, regard­less of the tec­h­no­logy of the era. Our task and our goal are to pass on the fun­da­men­tal pos­tu­la­tes of visu­al thin­king to our stu­dents, equ­ip­ping them with the tools to mas­ter the­ir knowled­ge with confidence—proving that the expert sol­ves the task whe­re the ama­te­ur falters.

Davor Kliman