Serbian Art Scene in Juliet Art Magazine, 2019

https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/serbian-art-scene/

Serbian Art Scene

Serbian Art Scene

• 22 JULY 2019

• FOCUS

Attheendofthe1980s,intheworld,therewasagrowingrealizationoftheideaofglobalizationwhich beginningwassymbolicallymarkedbythefalloftheBerlinWallin1989.However,inSerbianregion,the situationwasquitetheopposite:whilefactualandimaginarywallsweretumblingdowninEurope,inour formerYugoslavstatetheywereabouttoberaisedrapidly,soinsteadofglobalization,wefacedasudden localization. The ranges of movement, both physical and mental, constrain almost to the complete isolationofsociety,theghettoizationofcultureandthemarginalizationofart.

Inresponsetothewarandthecrisisofallprevious(moral,cultural,human)values,somepostmodern artists begin actions based on the idea of protest and critique of reality while others “distance themselves”, i.e.continuewiththeirwork,sotheirartworksfromthisperioddonotreflecttheobvious justificationinthecontextoftheunfortunatetimesandtherestrictedspaceinwhichtheyemerged.Inmy

https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/serbian-art-scene/

opinion,suchactions,asaformofdeflectionfromreality,werepartoftherevolt,butnotthroughclearly definedactivitiesthatreflectedtheattitudeofbeing“against”,butthroughpassivecreationofpersonal microcosm in an attempt to preserve the integrity and autonomy of art for some better times. It is significanttonotethatbothformsofprotestretainthetendencytowardhighartcriteriaasitsdominant characteristic.

Thechangeofpoliticalpowerin2000broughtanewuplifttotheartscenebutitalsointroducedneoliberal capitalism that treats art as an industry and artwork primarily as a commodity which value is exclusivelydeterminedbythemarket;therefore,artisalsoexpectedtofinditsnewplacewithinthesocalled“creativeindustries”.

Today,inSerbianwell-knownpolarizedsociety,therearestilltwocourses:onederivedfromthe1980s heritage(openness,Europeanandworldorientation),andthesecondbasedontheheritageofthe1990s (traditionalism,nationalism,kitschasamainstream).Tooestablishedtobeanalternative,toonumerous to be a subculture, the postmodern artists in today’s simulacrum of normality remain faithful to themselvesandpositionthemselvesinrelationtothenew,engagedart.

Now,someexamplesfromtheexhibition“80s&90sToday–TheRhythmDivine”,GalerijaSLU,Niš.

Perica Donkov’s Deaf Room ofmonumentalformatisanextremelyemotional,statementartwork.Inthe deafroomtherearenosounds:thepersonandtheprocessofsustaininghis/herlifearetheonlysounds

heartbeats,breathing,“sound”ofthoughtsabsorbedbythewallsoftheroom.Thedeafroomrepresents theareaofabsoluteisolationofanindividual.Thevisualrhythmdepictsslowness,immutability,andthe conceptual rhythm depicts reflections, contemplations and, most of all, emotions. The work is characterized by a minimalist, conceptual approach to art and complete abstraction – a reduced, pessimisticcolouring(grey,black),horizontallinesandsurfaces–suggestafenceoraborder. Dark, almost monochrome photos with rare light and colour accents make Nina Todorović’s installation Defensive Structures Underground. While retaining their documentary character, the photographs foremost expresses the emotional aspect of intimate confrontation with the fear of “the others”.Thedarkatmosphereofalienationispresentinundergroundspacesarticulatedbyarchitectural elements(supportingconcrete pillarsandwirefenceslikecages)thattheartistaccurately,analytically frames.Thewiredfencemotifispresentinalmosteveryphotograph:evenwhenthereisanemptyspace inthecentreofthecomposition,theyaresomewherearound,loomfromthesides,orwefeelthatthey

https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/serbian-art-scene/

arehiddeninthedark.Thesearenotjust“our”cages,butalsothecagesof“others”,placednexttoeach other.Theworkradiatesthesilence–thereisnocommunication,everymanisanislandhere.

Marija Dragojlović’sfrieze Water presentsfiveauthorialphotosonwhichtheartistintervenedincolour, imprintingapersonalnote,apartofhermemoriesandemotionsintoherphotowork.Therepresentation oftheseawhichrippleshittingthewhitestonesoftheVenetiancanalawakensinusthesenseofintimacy, the atmosphere of memory, the evocation of the personal experiences of the sea, the rhythm of overwhelmingthoughtsandemotions.

Srđan Apostolović’swork Dual Activ,createdbycombiningandcollatingtwoprayerkilims,represents acombinationofready-madeandconceptuallogic.Therhythmofkilims’designpatterns,therhythmof theartisticinterventionoffragmentation,uncoveringandcoverage,therhythmofcolourscreateaplayful, elegantconceptualpuzzleofanunexpectedcustomisation.

Vladimir and Milica Perić’s installation titled Salt of the Earth is a conceptual upgrade of their work Kleine Garten (Small Garden). Havingcollagedthesamedetail,oneforeveryofthirty-sevendifferent author photographs showing fences of an Austrian village and the vegetation behind and in front of them, 37kaleidoscopicpatterns–“smallgardens”ofanhexagonalformarecreatedtobegivenanewlife byPerićartistictandem.Thevisualrhythmdefinestheradialexpansionofthepatternswithfencesand greeneryinthehexagoncentres,andtheconceptualcontinuationofgrowthandnewlifeoccurringinthe jarswiththeearthbeneaththem.Artificialsmallgardenscreateanallusionof“plastic”lifeintheposthumanisticera,whilethenaturalprocessesoftheformationofmouldsandbacteriainandonearthinthe jarsbringusbacktotheverybeginningsoflifeonearth.Mini-installations(smallgardensonajarfilled with soil) behave as separate units – each for themselves but together they make a unique body of differentplants.

https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/serbian-art-scene/

https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/serbian-art-scene/

Todorović, Defensive Structures Underground (001,004,009,011,012,014,015,023i024,)2009-13, Lambdaprint,(9x)100×56cm,courtesyoftheauthorandART-ZOOM

https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/serbian-art-scene/

https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/serbian-art-scene/

GraduatedArthistoryattheUniversityofBelgrade,FacultyofPhilosophy.Formercuratoranda memberofinLucidaGalleryartcouncil.Oneofthefoundersanddirectoroftheassociationforthe developmentandpromotionofcontemporaryvisualartsART-ZOOM.LivesinBelgrade,Serbia.