How to Revolutionize Art I. Collective Practice and Political Organization of Artists in the Interwar Period in Yugoslavia
First broadcast: Mon 02.03.2020, 11.06 Uhr MEZ
Rerun: Wed 18.03.2020, 21.00 Uhr MEZ
A Broadcast in collaboration with: KURS (Mirjana Radovanović and Miloš Miletić), Vida Knežević
In the context of their artistic investigation into the partisan culture in Yugoslavia titled Lessons in Defense, the KURS collective will host two guests who are researching about progressive artistic groups from Zagreb and Belgrade form 1930’s that influenced the partisan culture during World War II. After an introduction by KURS (Miloš Miletić and Mirjana Radovanović), Vida KNEŽEVIĆ (art historian) and Vesna VUKOVIĆ (curator) will talk about the illegal group Život (Life) respectively and the Zemlja Artists‘ Association.
The subject of the presentation is an examination of the theory and practice of the critical Left in Yugoslav culture. This examination will evolve by deliberating the complex relations of critical art practices during the interwar period as well as the political practices of the collective body of revolutionary social movements. The case study focuses on the illegal group Život (1934 – 1940) which emerged in times of state repression and censorship as a heterogeneous art group with pluralistic stands on the question of aesthetics, and organized around the idea of art as social practice that advocates a class struggle using artistic and political means. The group’s everyday artistic and political practice can give us a historic example of how we could think of today’s relations of artistic content and form, the notion of collective art, and the question of political organizing of artists.
In this broadcast you will hear the presentation of KURS (Miloš Miletić and Mirjana Radovanović) and Vida KNEŽEVIĆ.
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Mirjana RADOVANOVIĆ and Miloš MILETIĆ jointly practice visual art and research as KURS. In their work they explore how artistic practice can contribute to — and become an integral part of — various social movements. They often use archival material as a starting point, in combination with revolutionary poetry and prose and the visual language of progressive movements from the past. Most often they produce murals, illustrations and various printed materials including newspapers, posters, graphics. They are guided by the idea that the content they produce should be didactic and accessible to the wider public.
Projects that KURS realized in recent years are, among others: the research Lessons on Defense conducted in 2016 and 2017 on cultural activity within the People’s Liberation Movement; the mural Solidarity—to the International Brigades in Belgrade, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the International Brigades; the mural Struggle, Knowledge, Equality in Belgrade, on the occasion of the Students’ Day; the mural 20th October on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade; the mural Factory to the Workers at the Itas-Prvomajska factory in Ivanec, Croatia as part of the 13th Urban Festival; a residency in Chile at the AIR Casa Poli; the participation in the Persona Non Grata program in Ankara, organized by the AsiKeçi Collective; and the mural What Do We Know About Solidarity during the Qalandiya Biennial 2018 in Palestine.
As part of the Fellowship Program for Art and Theory 2019-20 at Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen in Innsbruck, KURS published the book Lessons on Defense: Cultural Activities of the People’s Liberation Movement (2020).
Vida KNEŽEVIĆ ist Kunsthistorikerin, Kuratorin, Kulturarbeiterin und Mitglied des Kontekst Kollektivs. Ihre Arbeit verfolgt einen Prozess der Verbindung kritischer Theorie und Praxis, von Kunst und Kultur mit breiteren sozialen wie politischen Auswirkungen. Vida arbeitete zwischen 2006 und 2010 an der Kontekst-Galerie. Von 2008 bis 2010 unterrichtete sie an der Advanced Vocational Studies School of Fine and Applied Arts in Belgrad. Seit 2014 ist sie Mitherausgeberin des Medienportals Masina.rs, das sich mit Aspekten der Produktion gesellschaftlicher Kritik befasst. Kürzlich schloss sie ihre Doktorarbeit über Theorie und Praxis der kritischen Linken in der jugoslawischen Kultur der Zwischenkriegszeit ab.