sfaĩra 1985-1895

In the Croatian context sfaĩra 1985-1895 (1971/1984) is a revolutionary experimental film piece. It was dedicated to the memory of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Just as in Clarke and Kubrick's work we encounter a monolith, the subject of endless imperceptibility and astonishment of the mortals, to the author of the film the famous Kožarić's sphere became an ironic surrogate of the mystical monolith. The spherical shape proved to be another obsessive motif of Galeta's authorial universe. People pass by the sphere, shot from different angles with a hidden camera in a transformed manifestation of overlaying and overlapping of recordings and multiple expositions. The sphere is seen as a geometrical shape that floats without a solid base. Although mounted on a stand, it runs away from it, unrestrained, defying gravity. Additionally intervening on the film already made, Galeta used the already mentioned peculiar technique of a film palimpsest in order to preserve, i.e. restore the old film, but also create a new work with a completely distinct meaning. The palimpsest – originally an artistic technique of scratching off the previous material in order to apply a new layer of colours and characters, contents and meanings – thus became one of the most important characteristics of Galeta's creative procedure. The dedication to Plato and Pythagoras points to his metaphysical awareness and wish to place the work in a deeper, philosophical context. (Marijan Krivak)