Sreten Asanović, Nomina, Plima, Ulcinj, 2011
By: Ivana Ančić
English version will be available soon.
Long Live Freedom!, group Magnet, Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina, from November 18th till December 15th, 2011
By Tihana Bertek
An artist who does not deal in revolution in this day and age, should do nothing. – Nune Popović
Can art, in the form of civil disobedience, be the catalyst of social and political change? Activities of the Magnet group from Belgrade (1996-1998) are proof that it can. As a more radical example of activism in art in these parts, Magnet is a controversial phenomenon in recent Serbian history and art for a number of reasons, even today. The group’s core were Nune Popović, Jelena Marjanov and Ivan Pravdić, with participation from Siniša Tucić, Nikola Popović, Marija Lončar, Mina Vuletić and others. During two years, they put on eight performances in order to oppose the totalitarian regime of Slobodan Milošević, artistically and non-violently. ‘People have to realise that all art naturally strives to be applied in reality’, Popović says, while Pravdić explains how we need to build ‘a space of artistic freedom which directly endangers the Serbian state, a nest of deadness, sloth, illness, war.’ These guerilla-style performances happened on the street, they were immediate and unambiguous, with consciously applied nuances of dramatic rhetoric, using public spaces as a stage for rebellion.
The use of the mass media as advertising space for their own work is one of Magnet’s key tactics. Their press releases were adapted accordingly: they provided basic information about the time, place and the participants, followed by a short and provocative announcement of the events which were reported on by the local independent media and foreign correspondents, so the information reached not only the general public, but also travelled internationally. Theatricality, constant threat of police intervention, open criticism of the regime and advocating a new society, made Magnet’s performances particularly appealing. Each action focused on one or more power centres, e.g. President Milošević, Serbian Radio Television, Serbian National Bank, Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, etc. According to the art historian Jovan Despotović, the work of Magnet was part of the climate which anticipated the largest student and civil protest (November 1996 – February 1997), which was reaction to the attempt at falsifying local elections, whereas part of their strategy can later be found in Resistance (1998-2003), a mass movement to dethrone Milošević.
During the ‘Long Live Freedom!’ retrospective, the public, for the first time, had an opportunity to see the complete picture regarding the group’s work, represented by prints, photographs, videos, news reports, reproductions and other documents, and followed by a detailed website and monography. Eight performances were presented, divided into two cycles: the 1996 Pentology and the 1997 Trilogy. The first action, called phalluSerbia, is a parade lead by a giant red phallus – symbol of Serbia’s creative power – pushed by Popović on a trolley, with Milošević’s photograph pinned on it – Milošević was supposed to receive the phallus, but the police intervened a stopped the performance. Two weeks later, in front of The Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, there was The Last Secret Supper, a performance under the slogan ‘The rescue van is here. We are driving it’, directed at ‘cultural mediocrities’ and their allegiance to Milošević. In front of the Belgrade Television building, during the prime-time news programme, there was Exposé, that is to say, smashing of television sets in order to call out the propaganda and the function of media within the regime. The remaining pieces of televisions were used two years later for Serbian Nightmare, where Popović tried to point out the destruction of common sense as a consequence of uncritical consummation of TV programmes. The next performance, Exorcism, consisted of flagellation and throwing ‘Magnet holy water’, directed against authors who supported Milošević’s politics. The cycle was concluded with Bullion, an ironic aid to the National Bank of Yugoslavia, carrying ‘golden’ bars (gold painted bricks with Magnet’s logo) through town and handing them over to the treasury director with a written confirmation of delivery for 15 000$. The following cycle was triggered by the disintegration of the opposing coalition Together, and it started with Requiem for Serbia. Popović wanted to present Milošević with a slaughtered pig, with a letter stating how he slaughtered Serbia and everything in it, but the police intervened again, and Popović was charged with a minor offense. A few days later, there was 88 Eggs for the Opposition Government, where members of Magnet threw eggs at the Belgrade Assembly and ‘Ripper’s accomplices’. At the last action, You are slaughtered. Our condolences, there was a ten-minute silence for Serbian citizens who had to face the fact that they were slaughtered – just like the country itself.
The retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina was initiated by Jovan Jakšić and organised by Popović himself. When asked why the exhibition was organised in Novi Sad, and not Belgrade, Popović vaguely replies ‘this was the first chance to do it’ and that ‘Novi Sad had the strength to do what Belgrade did not.’ The show is concise, informative and professional, but nothing more than that – which in this case is not even necessary. Each performance is clearly represented, with good insight into the activities and the policy of the group. For those who wish to know more, the monography offers plenty of additional material, photographs, commentaries of their peers and several reviews (which are all affirmative, it has to be said). It is important to mention that most of the book is actually an unfinished monography that Popović put together in 1999, with his introduction and foreword. Taking into account that Popović also authored the show, the whole thing takes on a subjective and inevitably (self-)mythologising dimension. Precisely because the members of the Magnet were criticised so often about media manipulation, superficial spectacle and self-victimisation, this event could encourage further critical reviewing, contextualisation and (re)evaluation of their work. As a significant, but problematic phenomenon not only for Serbia, but also the region, Magnet still proves that art should not run away from politics; on the contrary, the area of artistic practice should be expanded and used as a tool to fight against the structures of power. As Ivan Pravdić says ‘because that rebellion, no matter how much nerves, sleep, happiness, material goods it took, is necessary so that any of us can call themselves human. The art here is only a medium.’
Sreten Asanović, Nomina, Plima, Ulcinj, 2011
By: Ivana Ančić
English version will be available soon.
OSMI I SEDMI PUTNIK, Aleksandar Bjelogrlić, Citadela, Agora, Zrenjanin, 201
By: Dalibor Plečić
English version will be available soon.
Stjepan Gulin, Paz’te sad, paz’te sad (Meandarmedia, Zagreb, 2011.)
Authors: Ivana Ančić
Igor Marojević, Kroz glavu (Dosije, Beograd, 2012.)
Author: Dalibor Plečić
Damir Miloš, Pisa. Povratak (Meandarmedia, Zagreb, 2011.)
Author: Morena Livaković
POLITIČKE I DRUŠTVENE KONSTRUKCIJE IDENTITETA U VIDEO-PERFORMANSIMA NA BEOGRADSKOJ SCENI 1970-ih
Esej Vladimira Bjeličića
Esej u celini možete pročitati na portalu SEEcult.org
Esej Tihane Bertek
Od promatrača do sudionika
GALERIJA KAPELICA I POST-JUGOSLAVENSKI BODY ART (1995–2010)
Esej – Bojan Krištofić
Esej o radovima Šejle Kamerić, Maje Bajević i Nebojše Šerića Shobe
Piše: Slađana Golijanin
ESEJ – Razvaline socijalizma kao inspiracija za muzejske eksponate Mrđana Bajića i skulpturalne dosetke Ivana Fijolića
By: Milena Milojević
Piše: Nino Kovačić
Gostujuća izvedba šibenskog HNK, Pir malograđana, prema tekstu mladog Bertolda Brechta (napisan 1919.) izvedena je po sljedećoj formuli: na Danima satire u satiričkom kazalištu Kerempuh gledamo satiričan komad. Prema reakcijama publike, bila je uspješna, ali teško se oteti dojmu da je smijeh bio formulaično zagarantiran, jer bi takav instruirani moment humora trebao zauzdati spontani smijeh. Je li se možda radilo o “malograđanskom” humoru?
Glumice i to, KNAP, Zagreb, premijera 12.5.2012.
Piše: Nino Kovačić
Glumice i to, nova predstava u zagrebačkom KNAP-u, neobičan su kazališni ‘slučaj’. Naime, predstavu su, dramaturški i režijski osmislile te, naravno, glumački ostvarile četiri mlade glumice. U trenutačnoj opće-društvenoj, pa tako i kazališnoj situaciji, kojom prijete olovni pojmovi poput recesije, prekarijata i outsourcinga (nedavno su najavljena i otpuštanja “hladnopogonskih” glumaca), one su, kako piše u najavi “nezaposlene i pune entuzijazma, odlučile su preuzeti stvar u svoje ruke i napraviti hit!”. Očito sklone postdramskom pristupu izvedbi koji se, između ostalog, bazira na ekipnoj work-in-progress metodi, izvedbenoj anti-iluziji i autoreferencijalnosti, glumice/autorice su se “trgnule” i napravile parodiju o tome kako rade predstavu, po ironičnom ključu: kad ne ide pravljenje predstave treba napraviti predstavu o tome kako se ne može raditi predstava.
“Nije život biciklo”, Biljana Srbljanović, režija: Anselm Veber, Produkcija: Šaušpilhaus Bohum, Nemačka; Sterijino pozorje 2012, selekcija Nacionalne drame i pozorišta
By: Tamara Baračkov
English version will be available soon.
„Grebanje, ili kako se ubila moja baka“, Tanja Šljivar, režija: Selma Spahić, Bosansko narodno pozorište Zenica/Bitef teatar-Hartefakt (Beograd), premijera: 7. septembar 2012. (Zenica), 11. oktobar 2012. (Beograd)
By: Tamara Baračkov
English version will be available soon.
„Sluga dvaju gospodara“, Karlo Goldoni, režija: Boris Liješević, Grad teatar Budva/Srpsko narodno pozorište Novi Sad/Narodno pozorište „Toša Jovanović“ Zrenjanin, premijera: 27. jul 2012.
By: Tamara Baračkov
English version will be available soon.