TEXTS

Mirjana Peitler Selakov

SERBIAN ART DURING 90`s
INTRODUCTION
After the Fall of Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Eastern Block and the socialism in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, a great interest of the Western Europe for these countries was aroused. Primarily, this interest was and is of economic nature. But, having in mind the recent migrations of people from east to west, as well as emergency of refugees from Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina in war, the population of Mid and Western Europe, whether they accept that or not, have faced the mentalities far more different than one of their own. Western Europe faced something quite new and different from the wave of Gastarbeiter – mostly fairly educated and low-profile working force from the poor South-Eastern Europe, working for small wages in Austria and Germany. During the 90ies, in these and other countries of the Western Europe arrived a great number of students and well-educated people from the world of socialism. It could be said that during the last decade of the 20th century the have experienced a kind of cultural shock they weren’t prepared for. Artists and cultural workers were the first to understand these changes, so the first attempts to adjust to each other were made in such surroundings. Also, the cannon of the West culture, established during the centuries as a dominant model to which all the other cultures merge, became questionable. Still, most of the western art historians continue to consider art of Eastern Europe as inseparable from the communist regime, which could be partly explained as a product of cold war propaganda of 60ies and 70ies.
Therefore, their interpretations and inquiries of that kind of art are often set exclusively in that context. Quiet curiously, the existence of ’’communist context’’, the … was the main reason and ’’excuse’’ for their non-engagement in the art of Eastern Europe. Likewise, the artists from the East had a narrow and difficult pass-through on the West, and the reason was language barrier, on one side, and on the other, the barrier of ideology taken as the main context. For instance, Russian art theoretician Boris Groys writes that his western colleagues even today look at the Eastern Europe only in terms of communism: ’’Presence of the past in the present time is usually explained and interpreted through the figure of trauma: therefore it can be said that the peculiarities of post-communist condition of Eastern Europe nations is represented as a form of trauma, that these people have, in some way, experienced’’. 1
Such explanations are, according to Groys, the simpliest ones, the most uninterested ones and, unfortunately, the ones we are most often offered to. Well, we are all in one way or another traumatized, living anyplace under contemporary conditions.

THE RETURN OF THE ARTISTS INTO THEY OWN ART AS THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY
Identities represent the attitude of individual toward different social groups. Identities are created in the process of comparation i.e. identification with or separation from a person, surroundings and world. Identification as well as separation, work through the process of classification and representation. Our identities are formed through influences of images we carry inside ourselves (images in mind) and that we find around us. These images are in fact boundaries within which we create certain meanings and by which we mark out the line between I and Other, I and Not-I. That is how we express identification with some groups and the differentiation to another. Identities are constructed by culture and tradition, and, now days, these are controlled and directed by mass media, which is, again, monitored by state and politics. The whole issue is about complex and very subtle mechanism of manipulation, proven to have a very efficient influence on creating a particular atmosphere in society caught in crisis and war-time. Such an atmosphere usually arouses fear among individuals, which, in search for lost security, reach for presented symbols and images that are so simplified that they awake the lowest passions such are hate, revenge, etc.
The only ’’oasis’’ of freedom and human rights that people - and among them artists, too - can find, in time when Serbia is sanctioned and restricted from outside and controlled from inside, is imaginary world. Uros Djuric, for example, appears to be a rock star in the series of his paintings, and his colleague Stevan Markus becomes Spiderman or Phantom. This method of retaining into individual, parallel worlds in which there is no place for the reality of everyday life is what Belgrade art historian Lidija Merenik calls ’’active escapionism’’. The main characteristic of ’’active escapionism’’ art is expressionism, dramatization but also a scent of humor represented in the scenes. It can be said that these works of art show the success of artists in setting free from collective myths, but also in creating a set of personal, individual mythologies.
The ’’freedom’’ of being in a world of one own, shows Tanja Ostojic in a performance ’’Private Space’’ from 1996. The artist chose her own body for the medium and the message of her artistic act. This performance includes both tradition of Belgrade avant-garde in the 70ies and the moments of radical escapionism. In another work from the 90ies, the action called ’’I’m looking for the husband with EU passport’’ (1997), Tanja Ostojic steps out from ’’limited’’ personal space into the virtual space of internet. In this abstract world of new possibilities, new possible identities, she presents herself in the most direct, most open possible way - with her naked body, without any jewelry and with ’’naked’’ head (in the picture the artist has her head shaved). The ’’naked truth’’ of the bare survival, is not just the truth of Tanja Ostojic, but the reality of the majority in Serbia in that time.
Differently from Djuric, a static figure in his paintings which sees no exit from every-day life but in ’’imitation of life’’, living in his own dreams, imagining himself as of a character from a novel or famous person; or from Tanja Ostojic in her own ’’Private Space’’, standing for the eternal and undefeatable strength of human spirit an spirit of art; differently from them, Milica Tomic, also a Belgrade artist, uses in her videos concrete events – murders, bombing – as a base of artistic reflection. One of her first work shown to the Western-Europe audience, ’’Ich bin Milica Tomic’’, the artist enlightens the difficult path that led to recognizing her own identity, giving herself the role of suffering character whose body bleeds and new wounds appear each time she speaks: ’’I am Milica Tomic’’, in different languages.
In another work ’’XY… Ungelöst’’, Milica Tomic puts herself and her acquaintances in the role of ’’other’’ and uses concrete political incident of murdering young Albanians in Kosovo, in March 1999 to open the complex question relation executioners – victims. It is important to stress out the period when this work of art was created: very early, in fact, right after the murder of young Albanians in Serbia that was, in that time, censored and repressed by Milosevic’s regime.

WHO ARE ’’WE’’
To sustain a state and a society is a complicated and difficult task. One of the strategies to accomplish it is the work on identification realized by creating flags, national holidays, and national anthems. In one word, this strategy is based on producing symbols. State apparatus consists of complex strategies and systems which create and support this method of identification. The process of identification through, for example, flag, emblem or national anthem, forms the sense of belonging among society, creates the sense of unity and collective identity, and the term for such an unity is ’’WE’’.
The question of belong to a certain group, certain collective, the question of personal and collective identity are not just the central questions in academic discussions during the 90ies, but also one of the most intriguing themes Belgrade artists reflect on in their works.
Mihael Milunovic, Belgrade artist, in search for the answer on these questions, wanders through past, through history – not only the history of his own nation, but through the history of whole Europe. Since, every nation’s history needs to be observed in the context of general history, history of the world. The influence and co-relations histories have on each other, leaves its mark on nations, too, influencing their customs and traditions, which can be illustrated by the comment of Mihael Milunovic on his life between Belgrade and Paris: ’’In Belgrade I am a Paris artist, and in Paris I am a Belgrade artist’’.
In general, ones who live in Western culture and Western society, and originate from Non-Western countries, often find themselves between different cultures and traditions of these two regions. So do Milunovic, Tanja Ostojic, Milica Tomic and many other Serbian artists – they live between Balkans mentality and Western mentality and concept of living, and their belonging to ’’here’’ and ’’there’’ provides them with the unique perspectives from ’’inside’’ and ’’out’’.
On one occasion Mihael Milunovic said: ’’Civilization is nothing but scenery spreading along the railway Paris – Wiena.’’ This ’’scenery’’ and ’’menagerie’’ in it is possibly the best description of the themes Mihael Milunovic is occupied with as an artist. The objects that he creates seem like taken from that scenery: relics, maps, flags, emblems… these are the objects that re-presents government and power of a state or a nation, social or economic system.
90ies have brought great changes in the countries of Eastern Europe. System of state government – socialism - fell apart and new mini-countries were established. On the other hand, national states of Western Europe are gathered and joined in European Union so the basis of so called ’’New Europe’’ is created. These changes lead to reviving of old memories and nostalgia for good old times, and, on the other hand, the written history of the twentieth century is already re-examined and questionable. Did everything really happen as we read it in books? History and historiography are re-examined, new books are written, new memoirs and new biographies.
Museums have a special role in maintaining and conserving what is past. There we find well-kept memoirs of a time that no one is questioning. It rarely happens that the inventories of a museum, as well as the sources of history researches, are being re-examined so as to prove their importance and real value. For example, for the past few years in Austria, many pieces of art from famous artists (Schiele, Klimt) were sent back to the originate owners after the restitution.

YUGO MUSEUM – MRDJAN BAJIC
As well as museums celebrate what is past, some contemporary artists point to the ’’scarves’’ and ’’stains’’ of that history. It is all together helpful in acknowledgement of the role of the past and in understanding the present, in understanding the, so called, ’’moment of history’’. But emphasizing the pages of history that are not so popular isn’t always well - accepted by the public. Political and state apparatus, claiming their legitimacy on postulated truths, are especially unprepared for facing with ’’other’’ truths. Generally speaking, it is in human nature to escape from the bad memories, but personal and collective amnesia is very dangerous and it leads to the worst possible consequences. One of these consequences is the repetition of the horrible. This is the reason why the important objective of an artist is to work on the ’’memory’’.
Mrdjan Bajic, Belgrade artist, in his project ’’Yugo Museum – Mrdjan Bajic’’ from the beginning of the 90ies, represents himself as a common citizen, a man in a role of a museum. He begins with his birth, his family, childhood, youth, as a reservoir of memories from his private life, which are used as the tracks that lead to some other history – recent history of the country he was born in and where he lives today. This is not about a classical museum institutionalized through the building, through some object. Bajic’s museum is untouchable object from ’’another’’ world. The inventory of the museum consists of personal memories of the artist – photographs and objects are placed opposite to the collective memories – historical pictures, documents of that time. He places photographs of important events from the history by the photographs of current events in his home-country. Mixture of memories, nostalgia and reality, history and present-time, politics and life, life and art is what Bajic’s museum is all about.
This short summary of a very small part of Serbian art production from the last decade of the twentieth century arouses inevitable question considering the themes and the moment in history we were talking about – can artist, caught in such an extreme political situation - and to which extent – reflect the processes and events that surround them? Must he reflect those events? Is that the question of freedom of choice or is it an obligation?
When speaking of ’’obligation’’ of an artist, I am taking into account the role of an artist in crucial moments of history. In such moments, artist cannot be free from obligations. Discussion about the role of an artist and the role of art in society would be too long and way beyond the purpose of this book. But speaking of engagement – art in the time of crisis needs not to be marked as engaged art, it needs not to be political art, but the artist – they must be engaged, they must clearly and publicly express their political standpoint regarding the current events.
Mrdjan Bajic clearly expresses his standpoint in another work, too – in series of posters and postcards ’’I did this’’ from 2000. There we see photographs of destroyed bridges and buildings and other objects destroyed by NATO bombs all over Serbia. The billboards were placed at the one of the most crowded squares – Slavia – and this inevitably aroused protest of citizens. What is confusing here is who in fact stands behind the claim: I’’ did this’’?

ENGAGEMENT OF ARTIST AND OF ART IN PUBLIC SPACE
Above mentioned project of Mrdjan Bajic is one of the first works o art made for public, city space. This kind of work is quite rare in countries of post-socialism comparing to the western countries.
From the mid-eighties of the past century, in capitalistic countries of Western and Middle Europe, organization of public space is increasingly changing, which is directly connected with the economic changes in these societies. The development of new technologies, especially in the area of transfer of information, causes the increased use of PCs and internet as the means of communication. At the same time, pedestrian zones are placed downtown, and molls are moves to the suburbs. The urban space is changing: it loses the importance in process of communication, but becomes a main place for re-presentation of leading international companies. Flashing advertisements, billboards, posters become the main decoration of public spaces. The political slogans are replaced by the slogans of major companies, and the language of politics is replaced by the language of global capitalism. Public spaces are becoming private, and the passage through these spaces is controlled by their owners.
In Eastern Europe this change of definition and role of public space emerges after 2000, parallel with the emergence of market economy. That’s why the intervention of art in public space is not so common by that time. Struggle over the public space was not dominant in the countries of socialistic regime since there was no struggle over the market.
In Serbia during the 90ies, after the change of the political system, public space is being polarized and politicized. On one side, it becomes a space for public struggle of new political leaders and parties, and on the other, a place for organized actions, demonstrations of unsatisfied citizens in the time of social and economic crisis.
Artists are not only engaged in these actions, but they organize the actions on their own – art actions.
One of the first artists of the Belgrade scene who was engaged in ’’action art’’ in public, in terms of involving citizens passing by in artistic actions were for sure Djordje Balzamovic, Vesna Pavlovic and Dragan Potic. These three artists established in 1989 collective called ’’SKART’’, mostly engaged with interventions and actions in urban space. For example, series of actions ’’Sorrow’’ or ’’Coupon for…’’. At the time of the greatest social crisis and turbulence, when Serbia was bombed, artist from Novi Sad, Nikola Dzafo, assembles a group of artists called ’’LED Art’’. The name o a group is at the same time the name of the firs action they have undertake. The action of freezing the art was held in Belgrade in the night of 21st March 1997 and represents demonstrative withdraw of art and the idea was to save the creative spirit for some better, more human times. The work of group is no longer based on individual pieces of art, but collective action of awakening people through organized actions and performances in public spaces all over Serbia.
Assembling of artists and cultural workers, public protests, art actions as well as large production of art pieces, publishing activities and exhibition activities – mostly in private apartments and private spaces – is phenomenon that will most certainly be remembered as a milestone of Serbian art. Therefore, it is very important that Serbian artists and cultural workers ’’intervene’’ into international art movements and into Western art markets so as to stimulate the development of contemporary Serbian art scene. To avoid the importance of Western art canon would be foolish and pointless, and so would be the attempt to fit in that canon no matter what.
Just think about some Korean or Chinese art historian: are the categories of Modern, Post-Modern and Second Modern really important to them?
Maybe I is the most important to realize that (art) historians need to take into consideration historiography and history of their countries. So, the answer to my question: How long can it be legitimate for the West to write down the history of a region not familiar to them? May be: As long as those who need to write it stands still. I hope this book is a small step on that way

1 Groys, Boris, Zurück aus der Zukunft: Kunst aus Ost und West, Karlsruhe, 2005, str. 421

Sasa Janjic

NO ILLUSIONS!
Legacy of the Past
The beginning of the new millennium has brought nothing new or revolutionary into the Serbian Art world. Besides aggravating circumstances, wars, sanctions, economic and political crises during the nineties, Serbian Art Scene has managed to survive and surmount every difficulty caused by transition and changes that followed after the year 2000. Political and economic opening of the Country towards European and Euro Atlantic integrations was accompanied also by variable success in the art field. Emulating towards integrative processes and a necessity to enter the global art system, were basically accomplished through individual practices and single attempts of the artist who found domestic surrounding simply too small.
Rare exhibitions about the Serbian Art Scene organized in the last few years in several European cities have moved us from the dead lock and brought us back to life. The plus is that we have established quite a few prominent international manifestations like October Salon in Belgrade and Nadezda Petrovic Memorial in Cacak, that are year in, year out gathering growing number of high quality artists. We are no longer a black hole on the European art map, but before us is a long road of scene positioning.
Regarding institutional level (museums, galleries, and cultural centers) little has been done or changed in spite of declarative pleading for condition improvement in functioning of the national scene. Some institutions and association unions refusal to accept reality, omitted transformation of the old socialistic systems, dieing out of some cultural and artistic events and spaces have brought Serbian Contemporary Art Scene to the point where it needs to confirm its foundation outside own surrounding. Institutions that should embody actuators of the new cultural and artistic events are often dead places, temples of culture that are rarely entered in with veneration and illusion of importance. Instead of becoming alive, interactive places where new energy could be generated, instead of instigating discussions and new ideas, they just eke out a bare existence in the society margins, suffocating in memories of glorious past and long lost grandeur. It is unnecessary to waste words on how could those spaces and public money they spend be used in more acceptable manner to contribute activating of lifeless scene. These institutions with unwieldy bureaucracy apparatus, obsolete comprehension and surpassed ideas, spend almost entire budgets on salaries and own needs while they are investing almost nothing into production. On the other hand, the country either doesn’t want to or has no interest whatsoever to handle the state of affairs in culture and such institutions. Frenziedly investing into these mastodons the state maintains the status quo and creates false impression of idyll and work. The political changes that took place on October 5, 2000, unfortunately have not reached culture and art. It is simply unbelievable that political and financial elite have not recognized the potential of contemporary art, thus the investments that derive from this sector are more then symbolic.
The system used to constant and unconditional support of the country does little to transform itself and invent new methods and ways of functioning. Institutional artist back-up is almost nonexistent. Before all art practice today implies secured financial background which, unfortunately, is the precondition for any serious work. Majority of serious projects and art programs in Serbia find support in so-called third sector – nongovernmental sector that basically, depending on the field they are engaged in, take over the function of the public culture institutions. Since the nongovernmental sector depends in its totality on donations, various grants and funds gained through tenders and for concrete projects, it really has limited means to move the scene from the dead lock in terms of production.
Luckily, the new initiatives that have emerged from young people and all others who have experienced and seen the ways things work in developed societies, helped bridge the gap that ensued in this state and disintegration of culture institution system during the nineties. The openings of new places like Remont in 1999-2000, kuda.org in 2000, Art Clinic in 2003, Ozon in 2004, Kontext Gallery in 2005, Magacin in 2007, but also the initiatives like Kiosk, Dezorg, ProArtOrg and many others have marked the beginning of the new millennium. During this period we have, unfortunately, also been the witnesses of extinction of the Center for Contemporary Art in Belgrade and Biennale of Youth in Vrsac that have played a major part in second half of the previous decade and the beginning of the new millennium.
If we analyze the existing state of affairs in Serbia we can see that besides Belgrade and Novi Sad, big economic and culture centers, only few other cities have continued practice in organizing contemporary art events. The reasons for this situation are numerous, but it seams like the least of them have to do with art. The quality certainly exists, because many active participants of the Serbian art scene are coming from the cities across Serbia, where the lack of support for young and educated people simply forces them to move from small environments to bigger cities.
Decentralization is the problem that even rich and well organized societies hardly cope up with. Contemporary art production requires investments and at least minimal financial capital support that is going to the big centers from the small cities. The state still sporadically, and lets say elementally supports small and regional initiatives, while leaving the local authorities that are not instructed or in discord with contemporary art to take care of them. What lacks is understanding, financial support and places/spaces that would support their efforts and ideas.
Absence of thought-out cultural policy is yet another very serious problem that has extremely bad effect on state of affairs in our art. Serbia, as country in transition, still hasn’t managed to stabilize politically and every alteration in power also means the change of the course in culture policy, if one exists in the first place. The lack of the real galleries seams to be the biggest problem of all. With only a few serious private galleries, Serbia practically has no gallery system as we recognize it in the west.
Trade unions are yet another sad story. Sometimes, they seem to cause more damage than good in consolidating of the art scene.
Situation that Serbian art scene is in today has the key priority, besides entering international scene, to form well arranged system that implies establishing of market for works of contemporary art. Many reasons have contributed the actual market nonexistence. Disintegration of Yugoslavia, wars, sanctions and economic crisis have adversely influenced art production as all other society segments. Transitional process that socialistic countries went through additionally hindered already difficult situation that contemporary art scene was in. That is why establishing of the art market is an important step for Serbian art scene ‘cause the artists would gradually start solving their existential problems, the buyers would gain security and legitimacy of investing their money in real and true values, and finally it would imply legal security for everyone. Serbian community seams to fail to realize the fact where market isn’t just buying and selling of the particular art work, but the whole system that includes setting of value criteria, variety of métiers and different forms of public presence directly and indirectly related to art production. The market implies educational process of artists, critics, theoreticians, gallery owners, managers and potential buyers (financier), on nature and history of art creativity, on process of creative work and public presentation of the art work.
Tangling behind Europe is not being manifested in ignorance or the lack of ideas, but before all, in production abilities of galleries and artists. Technical and technological accoutrement of the art works and galleries are often, because of the lack in funds, on such a low level that indifference of visitors and potential buyers should not come as a surprise. Poor production abilities, regardless of good ideas, make works by some of our artists look like, to put it mildly, clumsy attempts of the amateur or the beginner. In undefined market system foundation of the art production relies on the idea that the most important thing is to make an exhibition
Serbian Contemporary Art Today
Instead of the question often asked lately “Is there a scene at all?” it seams that we should ask ourselves “What is our scene like, what is its quality like and how big it is?”
Physical space of the country we are living in has been continuously reducing in the last two decades, which resulted in mild changes in art space and scene. The artists responded to this change and altered cultural ambience either by withdrawing to own worlds of small realities, or by trying to build their position in a wider context. Nowadays it is clear to everyone that discussing national art is unbecoming when describing current / remnant art, because the majority of artists creates and works in specific ambience of dominant multiculturalism.
The artists like Milica Tomic, Mihael Milunovic, Tanja Ostojic, Zoran Naskovski, Vlada Nikolic, Biljan Djurdjevic and Miodrag Krkobabic prove that. When they have realized that this surrounding is far too small and that the real test lies in entering European and international stage, these artists have managed to establish and position themselves in far bigger surroundings. They regularly take part at big art exhibitions where they present in the best possible manner the scene they belong to, and their works are already in some of the most important world museums and collections. In addition to experience and tradition of the seventies, Belgrade art scene, which has promoted artists like Marina Abramovic and Rasa Todosijevic, but also many others, this, now middle-aged generation, thanks to their persistence, but before all quality and originality, has managed to become the part of the European art trends. Bearing in mind that Serbian art scene was isolated during the nineties from the rest of the Europe, because of the well known events in former Yugoslavia, their success is all the bigger since they have manage to surmount numerous obstacles and prejudices that occurred in the meantime. Isolation, sanctions, war environment, economic crises, material and spiritual degeneration of the society during the nineties had fatal effects on domestic art scene that is still slowly but surely recovering.
The problems of collective amnesia and historical memory in several years long project Yugo-Museum by Mrdjan Bajic is closing symbolically one chapter of Serbian Contemporary Art and opens the new one that coincides with the beginning of the new millennium. This virtual museum made out of digitally processed and assembled collage, photographs of historical personalities and artifacts that have marked the existence of three countries with the same name, Yugoslavia, deal with historical aspects of myths and question whether politics and history could be turned into art1. Project by Milica Tomic National Pavilion presented at the 50th Venice Biennale, also treats the subject of historical heritage of Yugoslavia, and the position how impossible it is to represent a single event from the national history, i.e. political idea and concept (as Yugoslavia was) that had an exceptionally empiric character. It turned out that Yugoslavia is an equally utopian concept as the modern itself. The work itself, executed on the façade, since it’s the first thing the viewer notices and what leaves an impression, consisted out of numerous flashes that were supposed to dazzle the visitors and make “our pavilion” disappear, i.e. become invisible. In similar fashion, influenced by various circumstances, one whole generation stayed invisible during the war nineties. The culture of war and violence Mihael Milunovic has established into her research of visual better than all the others.
What distinguishes works by this artist are devotion, production accuracy, dedication to details and diversity of media in which he creates. In his drawings, oils on canvas, installations, objects and photographs, Milunovic demonstrates fantastic ability to show his ideas and concepts with crystal clarity. The challenges of the new era, fortresses, advertising, weapons, bondages, flags, emblems, symbols, and coats of arms are unambiguously pointing to wide, but yet specific spectrum of his interests. If we were to define a common trait or a link, it might be identified as a correlation to politics, ideology, money, or perhaps desire to be in control or questioning of that desire. Implacable destruction processes of a modern human being have inspired Mihael Milunovic to carry out metaphysical transformation of his objects/sculptures into almost timeless modules. He confronts us with unease, with fear for each moment spent in illusion that we are safe and that we are aware of what is happening around us. Aesthetic of the militant in Milunovic’s works is in function of constant position reexamining and one extremely critical relationship towards system of power that is based on elitist models which were created by modern countries. All this probably wouldn’t be that important if we, as a society (Serbia), haven’t been confined in an extremely closed environment whose characteristics were tremendously destructive behavior and material deterioration of society with completely disturbed values. That was the society that almost couldn’t distinguish the difference between collective and individual. Mihael exploits historical and cultural heritage with no illusions about the real power and importance of those factors in determining of the contemporary moment.
The period after the year 2000, was marked by several important retrospective exhibitions in Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art that were dedicated to active participants from the seventies. One of those, perhaps the most significant one, was exhibition Thank You Rasa Todosijevic, the artist who has also successfully continued working in the nineties. This retrospective has finally given local public long awaited, and a few decades late, acknowledgement, but also a definite legitimacy, institutionalized verification, and a new reading of this artist to Belgrade conceptual scene. Nowadays, when we, more then ever, need and wish for different new readings and re-questioning of art, the seventies conceptual art, and entire Rasa’s work, have given us the opportunity to reestablish continuity and recognition, not just to him personally, but to all those artists who were never supported or long forgotten and deserted by this cultural environment.
What exactly is the thing that characterizes our art scene? If we would define exploring of identities, new readings of history and re-questioning of artist positions and art in newly arisen circumstances as the main art characteristics from the end of the nineties and the beginning of 2000, than we could say that present moment is characterized by divergent thinking, approach and process, and growing use of digital technology.
The questions regarding significance and function of art at the beginning of the new millennium amongst some artists and certain works are being observed and interpreted through a wide range of art experience, both past and present. In his several-years long research of visual phenomena, Mileta Prodanovic is in his latest cycle turning towards the perception of lion, an emblem symbol that altered its meaning throughout the history, but never lost its power of perception. At the same time it presents history phenomena and problematic heritage of one epoch. Using postmodernist procedure, he continuous to create, at first sight, illogical and anachronous symbiosis of modern time master piece, combined with documentary photographs and experiences of transitional Serbia. The experiences of transition and new social and political circumstances are reflected in work Europoly by Dejan Kaludjerovic. This ambient-sound installation derived from the artists thinking on subject of new European culture identity. For its starting point Europoly is using well known game Monopoly that is being modified in this case so it can enable players purchase different identities while using assembly of rules and regulations. No matter how paradox it sounds, especially for people who carelessly enjoy benefits of EU, the aim of the game is to become the citizen of European Union on the basis of good investments. Just like all potential members of EU are obliged to fulfill certain political, economic and social conditions for entering the club of the privileged ones, so the players, depending on the amount of money they poses, are purchasing certain professions and occupations, and are automatically placed in specific social hierarchy of power.
Two new Belgrade sculpture representatives from the eighties and nineties, Zdravko Joksimovic and Gabriel Glid have managed to maintain authenticity and quality characteristic for their works, but at the same time, to transform their thinking in accordance with the challenges of modern times. Joksimovic’s sculpture process is characteristic as he is introducing found objects into his work, and, when combined in his new creations they are gaining additional meanings and narrative qualities. 2 Minimalist purified and simple forms in metal and glass, that he uses most often, poses certain metaphorical notion that enable artist to communicate with the viewer. Works like Rest, Run Over and Hygiene masterfully picture and criticize society and environment, often unaware of own illusions and mistakes.
Talent is another artist who has been present on the Belgrade art scene since the mid 80-ies and his work has a specific heterogeneous character that is difficult to classify. The reasons lay partly in the fact that the art praxis of this author originates from a multimedial/intermedial activity, which summons up a variety of works, from installations and photos to video art and design, and partly and more importantly, from his specific relation to the material used. Talent has been obsessively collecting and accumulating it, giving it new functions and putting it in other contexts. “Technical overview” is exemplary work in which he transfer objects from the world of real things into the world of art. Novelty is in the desire to add to his long-lasting process of research of “what can become an exhibition exponent” the tools that he used in his art work or everyday life, and in the intention to adjust the realization of the work (installation) to the name and sense of functioning of one space and its image.
Comeback of the world trend in painting hasn’t managed to bypass our artists. New type of figuration in Biljana Durdjevic’s work, with brutal, almost surreal sight, has restored faith into this traditional media. Intriguing large-scale paintings of children by Dejan Kaludjerovic, that are often on the verge of pornography, are questioning use of children in contemporary advertising. Metaphysical urban landscapes by Milena Putnik are on the other side displaying new image of urban scenery freed from human presence, almost indicating certain apocalyptic vision where there is no more space for human race. Empty Stages by Ivan Grubanov have similar starting point, but in this instant the artist is not focusing on the object itself or the material plan of his objects but on certain perceptive experiences and all the dilemma and confusions they initiate. He aspires breach into ethical appropriation through certain symbolic and metaphoric meanings, where visual effect is in foreground. In serial of drawings Visitor, made during the trial of former president of Serbia and Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, almost everyday court visits and the fact that he is the part of the global TV spectacle, the artist is using for purpose of creating, both, performance and psychological portrait of the person who has marked the end of the 20th century.
The question of media use, but the media culture and the world of entertainment in general, the growing number of artists is using for the starting point of their works. Petar Mirkovic, in his drawings and his innovative polyester images – made out of polyester, is using framing movie technique to present some of not yet seized street moments. Sights in Petar’s drawings are in fact some of the most interesting, but at the same time, the most bizarre scenes that streets, cars and hurly-burly of city life are showing. The drawings fascinate with their precision of detail and technique they were made in creating an impression of photograph. Objects/installations that Mirkovic titled Movie board is another work with the same starting point - street life phenomena, in which the screen made out of Plexiglas is placed in the street environment. Below the screen is the text (subtitle) which is describing the situation just like on TV or movie. Simulation of the screen that became the way we view the world and our parallel reality, enabled us to create and witness derivation of the screen image, and to observe various situations taking place in real time on the streets. This work simply wipes out the borders between reality and fiction that screen image brings about.
Because of the specific economic situation, characteristic of digital photography, where huge investments are not necessary and because of the progress achieved in the field of photography, Serbian photography scene has managed to make the biggest improvement. Change from optical images (photography and movie) to electronic (video) and digital (computer generated) has slowly but surely started the process of discarding the figuration method based on representation, replacing it with the principal based on presentation. Presentational ability of photography media, based, before all, on its reproducibility, enabled us to finally outline reality and construct social and cultural visibility that Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze talk about. That cultural visibility is defined by vision and visualization, the main marks that specify sight/look (vision) as the ultimate degree of esthetic and spiritual activity and visualization as the social and cultural fact. Photographs by Ivan Petrovic suggest a viewpoint directed to certain esthetic moments that bizarre places like shelters present as the ultimate sights of beauty. His outlook on these never used facilities creates an interesting dialog between the experience of the artist and the environment that had experienced bombing and use of similar shelters in the recent past.
The group diSTRUCTURA with their serials of photographs is exploring relations between intimate/private and public space in overpopulated metropolis and vanishing i.e. destruction of nature. Changeability and dependence of that relation in the context of global trends are equally reflected in microcosms of intimate space and hyperspace of our environment. The strategy of opposition between intimate and public space are a continuation of, now famous, works by Tanja Ostojic Intimate Space and Looking for a Husband with EU Passport where the artist recombines her intimate space with the virtual Internet space, uncompromisingly revealing innermost feelings to global public. In the work created after the fashion of Courbet, her body is the body of the women that doesn’t belong to EU territory and through her performances and engagement she is emphasizing political exclusiveness of EU and its position towards important bio-political questions.
The borders between private and public are annulling more and more each day because of the current trend in the whole society. What ones was called “private consumption of art” in newly arisen circumstances is becoming very public activity - because only by going public art can achieve its real effect. The art driven out from our lives by various existential problems, now has also and finally vanished from public space, the only true democratized space where each individual has equal rights. Working with social -case categories of people Art group SKART has in serial performances and public presentations managed to put art back to the field of socially engaged activities, but also back to public space. Their work with refugees and single mothers show more human face of art that is using public space as an integral part of their tendency to draw certain problems closer to public.
In the last few years a certain improvement is noticeable within domestic art scene. This improvement can be noticed in the growing number of the youngest generation of artists who are very successfully taking part in big international exhibitions, who are enrolling important world and European academies of art and are trying to, with personal example and enthusiasm, break down stereotypes and build a new image of Serbia and our art. They are wiping out political, ideological, national and social borders by means of new meta-language communication, communication based on new technologies. The whole pleiad of young artist who graduated from newly opened art academies have quite successfully and actively joined happenings and life of the Serbian scene.
That new energy and power are displayed as an unnecessary factor in revitalizing of the scene that is becoming more and more aware of the need for change and faster and more significant connection with the world. Young artists like Hana Rajkovic, Petar Mirkovic, Milena Putnik, Viktor Sekularac an many others, now masterfully conduct new technologies and knowledge that is definitely going to ensure them a position in contemporary art system. Since they grow up in time of crises and wars their perception of the world is unique and somehow different, filled with genuine hope, but anxiety as well. They are not shutting their eyes before current globalization proceses and subjectivity desintegraion, and their work is constantly emphasizing the need for new means of presentation and communication. In the moment when art is being suffocated under the burden of marketing strategies and excessive commercialization, what is encouraging is that the chance is still being given to young artists and new ideas they introduce are being appreciated.
In works of young artists, perception and articulation of the world around us point to processes of constant reexamining of the position of art inside social system full of flaws and inconsistencies. Using various processes of deconstruction and de-contextualization, new generation of Serbian artists is ones again codifying and reading all the representatives of such system. Based on questioning of both visual and sociological phenomena they are creating works that are occasionally thought out as direct provocation of civil society, tucked into numerous stereotypes and ideals. Their works reflect all the illusions, fears and anxieties, but at the same time they are filled with hopes and belief in “virtuous new world” and better tomorrow.
To end with, we can conclude that Serbian Art Scene unquestionably possesses quality and will, but lacks financial support and unity of all members in contemporary art creation process for it to finally become visible to us and the others.

Saša Janjić

1 Lidija Merenik, BACKUP, Mrdjan Bajic, or The Years of Insomnia, in Reset Serbian Pavilion 52th Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, 2007.
2 Denegri Jesa, One on One, Joksimovic – Rafajlovic, exhibition catalogue, Cacak 2005.

Nikola Šuica

MODES OF EXILE

Serbian Contemporary Art in transforming signals
As a cultural construct, Serbian Art scene has gone for more than a decade of politically incorrect handling. This does not aim inside obvious political misfortunes for the most of the citizens, but as well as inside transforming capabilities of domains that artisan skills have to compete with. If we are to classify artistic procedures, one can surely discard any possibility of a dominant principle. This makes no news. It is obvious that handling or coping with the world makes a multitude tales of artistic and moreover, existential modes that were created on the brink of disaster. Society of negative spectacles can be seen as prolonging even fall of any utopia while the local artistic production in general has been increasingly extent into brutal non- humanistic claims, and the social positioning, as well as swindling any possibilities for a local cultural scheme. Price for everything and the value of nothing, as a consumerist principle effected the very notions of contemporary artistic scene, no matter the media techniques and other claims. Seems like ages that any trail of humanistic attitudes inside individual artistic proposals toward outer world can be handled on ambitious artistic presentation. After the year 2000, it is generally regulated that the age of explorations inside recent histories and technology that lurking inside artistic production or can be revealed inside layers of history have become the past. The provoking and ambitious global exhibitions such as Punti Cardinali di arte, or Identity and Alterity in Venice Biennale exhibitions in the mid '90s , or previously L'epoque la mode la morale la passion, in Parisian Centre Georges Pompidou in the late '80s were the cultural parameters that can not equate the current flow of social legitimacy and cultural experience of socially constructive functions. Such vast and epoch oriented concern contributed to a rethinking that can be seen as arguing the ideology and the very idea of development of art, whether postmodern or a neo-modernism inside practice of post conceptual shaping capacities. Employing work from artists is often confronted with realms of advertising, commercialism and entertaining methods that have taken the image generating techniques for the sense and the placing of what is the craft inside a mere positioning one has to recognize as contemporary art. The need of a more speculative sense of what has become with the creating of image, the visual and even the post- spectacle, having in mind the latest editions both of Venice Biennales or Documenta  in Kassel have contextualized the task of representing nearly everything. With such often networking resonances, it is quite challenging to classify the artistic endeavour. Nowadays it seems that everything that appears to be irreducibly singular, utterly willful, unrealistic, of course marginal in social and psychological fashion, creates an outlook that handles the artistic currents. We are even in gallery practice in Belgrade, both through solo or group exhibitions from mid '90s up to the already generated social capacity for visual art in the first decade of 21st Century witnessing the constant interplay between traditional boundaries. Contributions that are lively, self reflexive, globally inclined or domestically overburdened in their significances and increasing operating principles: society is addressed both in current narrow margins of Serbia, or inside network increase of global deployment of produced, or referred images. The Artist as the creator / presenter of images is even in Serbia trying to react inside margins of media or object produced effects that personify the layers of perception. There is a vast scope of such documented and perceived focus as we are also in Serbian adventurous examples of art practice having to grasp a projected existence where the art becomes capable of handling with energy resources that are not just breaching the modernistic dream of progress or motion image in video, as well as environment and exteriorization techniques in post-conceptual art. The specific perusing quality as the nomadic artistic quest can be seen in quite diverse artistic launching into negative utopia of weariness from politics, historical myths and predicted social perspectives of Serbian society that hasn’t got any culminating point. It became obvious that the paradox of political violence, has to be generated inside frictions exiling inside worlds of used objects or garbage disposals. There can be named not a few of such artists, but more recently from the year 2000, the world of found objects of painter Predrag Nešković who originated in the mid 60’s inside new figurative ironic handling of the trivia has occurred new constructs of anatomical nature of Barbie doll world, as well as inside automobile objects or multicolored plastic beads jewelry with a parade of novelty and transformation. With works that emerged from his paintings Nešković, who won a prestigious Politika award for art for his redesigning of used clothes exhibition makes an epic meditation on time and somehow emphasizing the very Principle of Hope in the accumulated negative city space that Belgrade has become, with its entangled and perplexed urban problems. If such example of found object culture might be significant, along other significant artists on such tasks, there are almost spatial and temporal constructs such as with works of Zoran Naskovski who makes a unique journeys inside regional opinion on global phenomena, with sounds of primitive lament on Kennedy's assassination from 45 rpm vinyl record or his environment of blues music where the emotion and rushing the proximity is miraculously traversed. When the question of emblematic image of local time can be visually pronounced in economic and brutal turmoil, what comes in mind is a slow motion of a video work by Nenad Glišić titled 'Moving Track' where the fixed camera follows a strong and aggressive fighting bull terrier in exercise on a moving track belt with amplified growls and screeching sound. Such dismantling of primordial suggests that no voluntary identity is a heightened task. Such examples are only the principles of an arbitrary closure that the sense of sadness permeates inside the works of sovereign artists display the often neglected non recognizable subjective results inside their media, no matter the painting, sculpture, objects, installation, photography, video or rarely site specific examples.
Both mentioned examples, as well as the whole gamut of processed and lively work produced and exhibited in Belgrade gather the positioning of art but also quite diverse generations of active artists (Dragan Papić, Marija Dragojlović, Dušan Otašević, Gabriel Glid, Aleksandar Rafajlović, Mileta Prodanović, Jelena Trpković, Mihael Milunović, Ivan Petrović, diSTRUKTURA, etc ) Their contextual regional and global awareness relate to the geographic and psychological positioning of art. Communication as the quality intervenes the indelible bond between the subject and the world it tries so hard to inhabit.
 Nikola Šuica