Dionysus, God and Man, reborn thanks to Father Zeus after a violent death, the one most familiar to us through Wine. Jesus Christ, God and Man, reborn thanks to the Father after a violent death, who turned water into wine, the wine that became His blood. The Holy Grail, myth or reality, the eternal search for bliss and happiness, the Chalice of the Blood of Christ… And the woman! Woman as a living being of love, mystical and fatal from Zeus to Christ, from prehistory to the present day.
How are they connected through the word and picture of one of the greatest names of the art and literary scene, Dimitrije Popović?
Last week, with this inseparable blend of wine, art, history, myth and religious questioning, we spoke with the Artist in the Kota Winery, a winery located on the Zagorje hills, whose owner, Engineer, Tihomir Kota for years has been creating, examining, exploring and nourishing our senses with premium sparkling and still wines.
In conversation with Popović, who create for more than half a century and who through his works, whether literary, or artistic, with the sacral and secular themes, dedicated years of contemplation and elaboration to these topics, enjoyed by selected guests, friends of art and wine.
Popović’s works provoke reflection, stimulate the mind and imagination, provoke discussion, with a touch of the surreal and the supernatural, from the student days and work with the greats of the world scene of surreal art. Even today, he still creates and writes with the same youthful zeal and curiosity, and deals with the ever-current issues of the meaning of existence and the role of death, permeating through works symbolism, religion and current social conceptions. Eroticism and blood are just as present as holiness, regardless of whether the subject matter of the work is sacred or secular and whether it is expressed in an image or a word.
Because they come from each other. Just as the word encourages the image, so the image creates the word…
The concept of the event and the several-hour conversation itself, was led by Andrea Perkov, a lover of art and wine, a friend of artist and winemaker, and led the audience into antiquity, discovered the myths of Gods and Men, both those that fascinate the artist throughout the creative period, women… Mary of Magdala, Salome, Judith. Each of them had an inseparable connection with wine, each left an indelible mark in history.
We have heard the thoughts of some philosophers, from Nietzsche to Hamvash, who dedicated their thoughts and works to wine, enjoyed sparkling wines of equally interesting names, smells and colors, tastes and bubbles at stunding sunset.
Kota Winery, in Zlatar in Zagorje, cultivates chardonnay and sauvignon blanc in vineyards and is called a “boutique” winery due to the volume of production, but also a very individualized approach to the client.
Tihomir Kota, a mechanical engineer by profession, continuously and devotedly maintains his primary vision, both through wine itself and through various events in the winery itself such as this.
“Wine is liquid love, the gemstone is crystallized love, woman is a living being of love. If I add flowers and music to this, then love flickers in colors, sings and lives. I can eat and drink it”, wrote Bella Hamvash in The Philosophy of Wine, and those present at the event experienced it just like that and it was the living, blinking and flowing love that brought Popović, Kota and Perkov together to create and give us this unique experience.