According to the understanding of neo-humanists, aesthetic experience helps a person to develop moral principles within themselves. Schiller believed that aesthetics ensures the ideal development of a person. Therefore, art educates us, whether we want it to or not. Art emits a value system, ideology, or perspective even when the artist has no intention of educating anyone. Art portrays the world through the artist's eyes and thus, even unintentionally, shapes our soul, taste, choices, faith, and influences us in a very special way: if it manages to awaken feelings in us, it simply engraves them deep into our soul, deeper than any communication. It is unnecessary to delude ourselves—the artist's communication will leave an impression on us even when created out of mere boredom.
I am not certain whether the artists who founded the Tiska Academy of Watercolor back in 1995 were bored. But I know that on the architect Milorad Miša Berbakov's boat (anchored on the left bank of the Tisza River at the 66th kilometer), they set their goal. In an attempt to escape the harsh reality of an unfortunate time and to convey positive energy of creation through shapes and colors on paper, inspired by the river, skilled watercolorists Miša Berbakov, Zdravko Mandić, Đorđe Simić, Grujica Lazarević, and Milorad Mića Maravić founded the Tiska Academy of Watercolor on the aforementioned boat.
The idea was supported by Zagorka Jegdić, then director of the Workers' Home "Jovan Veselinov Žarko" (now the House of Culture of the Municipality of Novi Bečej), and thus began a story lasting twenty years. During the colony, the organizer provides participants with conditions for work and uninterrupted creation, with the work taking place in an atmosphere of complete freedom of artistic expression. Artists choose their artistic expression based on developing their own artistic and creative approach without predetermined themes. The only common goal is to affirm pure (original) watercolor as an artistic technique, which involves paper (as a base), pigment (colors as material), and water (as a medium). The final result of this work is an artwork behind which the author stands in their full individuality.
In 1996, Vlastimir Vlasta Nikolić joined the founders, and until 2004, every August in Novi Bečej, they created artworks, providing the people of Novi Bečej with an extraordinary aesthetic experience. From 2004, other watercolor enthusiasts gradually joined the founders: Ranko Beljinac, Milivoj Mića Bogosavljević, Dragoslav Husar, Silva Vujović, Rajko Karišić, Branislav Marković, Tibor Nađ, Momčilo Antonović, Radiša Lucić, Aleksandar Saša Bogdanović, Šandor Šlajf, Janos Mesaroš, Lili Bunjik Ereš, Maja Verzotti, Milivoj Štulović, Viktor Škrabanj, Eleonora Toll, Branislav Stojančev Paša, Dimitrije Kolarević, Rajna Krulj, Divna Stefanović Tilić, Momir Armuš, Dominika Morariu, Daniela Morariu, Vladimir Vlajić, Janko Laco, Ljiljana Stojanović, Ljiljana Stoja Rudić, Dunja Jung, Vilmoš Harmoš, Edit Zerebelji Tenji, Vladimir Stepanov, Ivan Grozdanovski, Vanja Popović, Jelena Tijanić Savić, Bojan Savić, and Jožef Tot.
Since 2010, the TAA has gained an international character: Đorđe Petrović (Croatia), Peter Eleven (Germany), Viktor Zubko (Ukraine), Zoltan Grof (Hungary), Edit Jožvai Kislerinc (Hungary), Juliana Ileš Major (Hungary), and Ana Vidmar (Slovenia). Since 2015, art students have been gaining their first serious experiences in the specific technique of watercolor at this colony.
As Lao Tzu said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," the Tiska Academy of Watercolor, having taken its first step on a boat by the Tisza River, has grown into an institution that always finds new goals. A goal does not only mean utility. A goal can be entertainment, a means to forget, or a path to a new experience. The goal of the artist is always the same: to convey their message to us. It is up to us to decipher that message.
Meanwhile, Miša Berbakov's boat has sailed into the river of memories. Grujica Lazarević, Zdravko Mandić, and Ranko Beljinac have joined him. But in the town on the left bank of the Tisza, the Tiska Academy of Watercolor continues to open its doors: every August to artists and throughout the year to connoisseurs of art, who can enjoy the exhibited works (one watercolor from each participant) in the TAA Gallery. These works are part of the rich cultural heritage of Novi Bečej, created during twenty years of the Academy's work (252 watercolors). They remain for future generations as a reminder that we do not inherit the past, but the future from the children who first played with brushes and colors on watercolor paper at this colony, and perhaps, thanks to this, engraved in their young souls the need for a humane, aesthetic way of expressing their emotions. Or they will simply keep that brush in their hearts and one day paint their watercolor at this colony, thereby paying homage to the founders and participants and becoming part of the team of creators of the rich cultural heritage.
