Yearbook of the Independent Performing Arts Scene in Serbia - TkH

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Performance art in Serbia currently represents a conglomerate of differentstrategies and tactics deployed in aligning with varying discourses in theage of neo-liberal capitalism, post-socialism, national and alternative histories,mass-media produced information, patriarchal fascistoid nationalism,progressive clericalization of the society, anti-communism, environmentalcrisis, profound theoriophobia, simultaneous lack and overflow of communication,social normalization in the cultural field, and intricate and diversifiedconditions of cultural production, consumption and exchange.Artistic scene of the second half of the 2000s features protagonists whodevelop various procedures of representation, expression, construction, simulationor performativity 7 in dealing with this specific art form. Approaches andworking methods adopted currently range from neo-conceptual practiceslike body art, processual art, theoretical performance and various formsof art activism, to relatively new forms like Internet performance orcyberformance.In spite of its relatively long tradition of following Western trends whilesimultaneously developing original and specific working methods, and appearanceas a relatively common practice among the visual artists, performanceart in the local context features conspicuous absence from thesystem of artistic, art-historical, and theoretical education, respectively.Consequently, research in the current practices of performance art inSerbia and its contextualizations appear as exceptions 8 . For that reason, thesecond part of this essay is dedicated to a preliminary attempt at outliningthe intricate realm of current 9 performance art practices in Serbia. One ofthe possible ways of meeting this demand is mapping of different artisticmethods and approaches. What follows might be considered as Raster’scontribution to the practice of archiving performance art, a step closer toits possible contextualization and theoretization in terms of the phenomenaalready recognized within art history and theory, along with specificities oftheir deployment in the particular works. It is important to note that theirworking methods and approaches often combine. Consequently, every classificationshould be deemed conditional, as one of the possible prospects inobserving their idiosyncrasies.Performance art in Serbia, in the period 2007-08, had been strongly referringto neo-conceptual practices, displaying its firm affiliations with the heritageof conceptual and post-conceptual art and their respective strategies7 Ibid, p. 689.8 Significant contributions to the history and theory of performance art inSerbia came from Jerko Denegri, Milena Dragićević Šešić, Miško Šuvaković, AnaVujanović etc.9 Including mainly works from 2008 and, partly, 2007.r a s [23]t e r
and tactics of behavior and work with the body. Symbolic ritual performancesfeature artists in highly conceptualized, behavioral actions communicatingparticular ideas or clues. E.g. Final Shot – Final Cut 10 (2007), video performanceby Živko Grozdanić – Gera and Slavko Bogdanović, concerned withthe problems of national-bourgeois Serbian ideology symbolically disclosedhere in the literary opus of Dobrica Ćosić. Ćosić is notoriously known asadvocate of an organicist approach to the Serbian nation, manifested inthe concept “All Serbs in one country”. To the symbolic-ritual shooting ofĆosić’s book Koreni (Roots) the artists projected a symbolical breach withthis form of tradition.Neo-conceptual practices additionally include para-ritual, therapy- and existentialperformances, maintaining the tradition of the 1970’s body art. Theseare based on corporeal behavioral actions on the part of the artist employingcertain concepts with a view to cathartic response from the audiences.This is featured with a (conditionally speaking) group of artists assembledaround the VIP Gallery of Belgrade’s SKC (Student Cultural Center) 11 ,e.g: Gabrijel Savić Ra, Marko Nektan, Nela Antonović, Lidija Antonović,Predrag Radovančević, Jovana Dimitrijević etc, or IMAF (InternationalMultimedia Art Festival) in Odžaci, e.g: Nenad Bogdanović, Branislav B.Čugulj, Marko Bogdanović, Aleksandar Jovanović etc, including the artistDragan Ilić. For instance, the artist and founder of Mimart theatre, NelaAntonović, in her performance conceived as part of the three-day eventDrveće govori (Trees Talking), swallowed sawdust later to throw it up, as ahomage to annihilated trees and in protest against the systematic destructionof nature. The Serbian-American artist Dragan Ilić, in his performanceThe people I don’t like 12 (2008), in turn worked with frustrations and traumasrelated to certain personalities from the public, mostly political domain.During the performance he uttered names, like: Slobodan Milošević,Margaret Thatcher, George Bush, Bill Clinton, etc, symbolically assumingthe individuals’ identities, then performing an act of self-sacrifice and invitingthe audiences to respond to each invocation by throwing sharp pencilsfrom a pile on the floor. Return to the tradition of body art, howeverwith a difference, featured in the work Rhytm 20 13 by Kristian Al-Droubiand Boris Kadin 14 . This performance reiterated the Rhytm 10, 1970s ref-10 http://birobeograd.info/simptomi_singularizacije_katalog.pdf11 Curator of the gallery is Gabrijel Savić Ra.12 http://www.czkd.org.yu/programi.php?id=2&lang=sr13 http://infant.eunet.yu/infant08/english/prateci_program/ritam.htm14 The performance was conceived by Kristian Al-Droubi (Serbia) and BorisKadin (Croatia). It premiered at the 7 th edition of the festival Dani hrvatskog performancea(Days of Croatian Performance) in Varaždin. The Osijek-based artistAndrej Mirčev replaced Kadin in Novi Sad.
Page 2 and 3: Belgrade, january 2009.
Page 4 and 5: Yearbook of the Independent Perform
Page 6: project directory[44/45][46/47][48/
Page 9 and 10: changed when compared to the situat
Page 11 and 12: powerful institutional resources, a
Page 13 and 14: supporting fresh and emerging criti
Page 15 and 16: In alternative terms one could addr
Page 17 and 18: ary “forest artists” neverthele
Page 19 and 20: The impact of the Bitef Festival, a
Page 21 and 22: about is total absence of public th
Page 23: What was common to Yugoslav retro-a
Page 27 and 28: Kolekcija 18 (2008), when he attemp
Page 29 and 30: tion and heteronormativization in t
Page 31 and 32: gies in live performances. Example
Page 33 and 34: × ana vujanovićNot Quite-Not Righ
Page 35 and 36: art, body art and happenings of the
Page 37 and 38: at the level of critical re-thinkin
Page 39 and 40: aspect: “Fostering Creativity”,
Page 41 and 42: now!” activity, and nearly anonym
Page 43 and 44: × × × × × × × × × × × ×
Page 45 and 46: In/Visible Cityphotography: Đorđe
Page 47 and 48: BLANKSPACE (Međuprostor)photograph
Page 49 and 50: CURVE FOR GAUSSphotography: www.haj
Page 51 and 52: knotphotography: Lidija Antonovićm
Page 53 and 54: photography: The Worstmudra theatre
Page 55 and 56: photography: Villa and Zapata in Pr
Page 57 and 58: AUDITION FOR PARADISEphotography: I
Page 59 and 60: ONE PIECE OF ADVICE - ONE BEERphoto
Page 61 and 62: TOUCHING - BREATHING - WALKINGphoto
Page 63 and 64: photography: Stanislav MilojkovićS
Page 65 and 66: photography: Srđan VeljovićtkhWAL
Page 67: I CAN NOT LEAVE, BECAUSE...photogra

Yearbook of the Independent Performing Arts Scene in Serbia - TkH

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