[spectre] 15th AAA - GLOBAL BLAME (call for works)

[ana peraica]

15th AAA announces an open call for works:

'GLOBAL BLAME'
deadline: 1. November 2001

The goal of the 15th AAA is to spread as further as possible, to twist and
shake, to blame and deny. The show will curate itself. Everyone is invited
to participate in this media spectacle, either by using own media space or
using a legal possiblity of reaction on the disinformation in the medias
that have already published articles of accusation. 14th AAA is accused and
denies, blames others... 15th AAA is already running. The concept of the
next AAA is - 'Global blame'. AAA is a show that will not be curated, not be
selected, its concept is to cross the limits of the blame.

Your contributions - in newspapers, radio, TV or other media, please send on
the following address:

(for 15th AAA)

HDLU
Obala hrvatskog narodnog preporoda 24/1
21 000 Split
Croatia

aaa_split@hotmail.com

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RECOMMENDING SUSPECTS (14th AAA)

Ana Peraica

'we all are' (Juliani, Norac, Milica Tomic, Gypsy, Diocletianus, Kafka,
Stalin,
Bin Laden...)

On the start of the summer I was asked to curate a 14th AAA, an exhibition
of contemporary local art with the un-local topics, here back home, in Split
(Croatia). It was not because of a strict local situation (though with
reference to much wider discourse) that lead me to abolish, but because of
the feeling that with topics of anti-globalization one can not curate
(honestly), but only moderate voices, which were arriving from different
positions; anarchist, fascist... positioning of artists.

In a sense it was my curatorial strategy, the dialogue with the topic I
decided to take - not to play a decision force and involve in selection.
Only in the introduction entitled 'Meeting', issuing the strategy of a
discussion, the open one, in which everyone is invited to talk I referred to
the problem of the of marginal, of ephemeral, not
important.... But at the end it turned to be much more important.

The text started with the story on old women from Dubrovnik, who swim in
front of the Dubrovnik - city, for hours, and issue everything read in
newspapers that day. Usually they swim-out on the topic of globalization,
finding it too connected to stay in the sea. Do these discussions say
something on situation, or do they change it? Does
the minimal mass of the body going out of the global medium of the sea (as
fisherman say over here - put your finger into the sea and you will be
connected to whole world) change
something in the sea itself? We know how the waves are formed (...)

*

The topic of globalization for the town itself was interesting. Namely, the
town Split is for already half of a year in a fear of selling of their urban
coast, near to the fully preserved palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian,
built 1700 years ago. The plan named AFCO of American hotels was presented,
in which the palace itself would be absorbed as an atrium to the hotel, and
emptied of its inhabitants, making it - a dead place. The palace is
protected by the UNESCO declaration as a monument of a zero category, but
also with it - all inhabitants (it never stopped being inhabited, and it is
argued that this continuation of life kept it from the demolition).

But, with the total pauperization of society, that is a consequence of ten
years of centralization of power in Croatia, and large unemployment
rate - citizens are lead to believe that this serial of large buildings
would, except covering the peissage, also employ, on the contract of few
decades, a large amount of professionals and workers in tourism. Though, it
is already discussed that Mediterranean temperament, fused with the East
European manners is not going to be liked as much as might be for example
imported workers from China, more servant and pleasant.

Of course, none knows the purpose of the skyscrapers in the city serving
only as a transport harbor for tourist islands. Some speak of casinos, some
of
a harbor with the prostitution of the local woman (as they indeed win the
Beauty contests all the time), some say it is a gangster plan... Though
gangsters turn out to be others.

*

The exhibition was, therefore, un-curated. The central piece was Bozidar
Jelenic's installation representing young anarchist Juliani, after which, on
the old Roman wall, near the red and black flag was written 'G8 solo:
Assasini'. The composition was obviously reminding on the photo of Che
Guevarra's death, many times issued classic renaissance composition of the
saint body. Che Guevarra's funeral... which of course now recalls - first
kidnapped plane. Next to it was written : Capitalism is everywhere, death is
no longer an important question'

Scandal on the 14th Annale, originally, on this local level happened
when the journalist who applied to exhibit, Ante Kustre, made a commercial
desk selling T-shirts using the untastefull (for the protocol of the local
art circles) fashion models (again). Those pieces of clothes were printed
with the names of Croatian generals (as; Mirko Norac) invited to Den Hague,
to which, in
recent demonstrations of right referred with slogans 'We are
all Mirko Norac', inviting themselves also to Den Hague.

Ironically, this work related itself to the exhibited work of Milica Tomic
(My name is Milica Tomic), to which, on the opening itself, a situation
happened in which many of people were exclaiming 'We are all Milica Tomic'
that happened to be the
best contextualisation of this work, as far as I know.

Ante Kustre was asked to move his models and T-shirts on a different place
by some artists, and not to intervene in other artwork's semantic spheres.
The work especially endangered was the one of Niksa Cvorovic, Pathology.
Cvorovic himself was known for the media-related scandals, publishing names
of some of his neighbors with the question of - who the one is, but not
finishing with the question mark, but the symbols of communism that remind
in the shape. Then the discussion in newspapers provoked happened to be
classic - of whose parents were, in that mood of Croatian nationalism,
partisans indeed - or whose
blood is politically correct. The artist was sentenced on two months in
prison for assaulting. It turned out, as in communism it was incriminated
one letter -letter U, the situation happened to be also with the marks of
communism.

Cvorovic's work was accompanied with the following text of the H.G. Adler
(The experience of helplessness: Towards the sociology of the persecution'):
'Every persecution from a moral point of view is an absolute evil and a
crime, while from the psychological standpoint it belongs to the area of
PATHOLOGY, as showing signs of madness, so even when the persecution is
joined with the cold peace by the mental normal individual, what happens
when it is put under protection of the state (super power). An impulse
towards any of exile comes, by the rule, from an obsession or at least a
criminal will, that is not too far from the madness'

The discussion in newspapers escalated until it reached a blame for a
murder, and finally it ended up decontextualising the work of
Jelenic, who turned out to be connected with the terrorism.

Bozidar Jelenic (78) is known in those circles, not as a murderer, but as a
disinformator, as a member of underground that shifts facts and truths, and
plays with them deliberately for already half of a century or more. In his
life he was
arrested only for being accused for possible Tito's assassination, and
latter investigated related to some artworks (Red and Black Peristil). But,
weekly magazine Nedjeljna Dalmacija published the complete accusation on a
double - page. In reply allowed for defense of the accused, and in the
middle of the number dedicated to horrible scenes of WTC and Pentagon, the
photography of his work was published, excerpted from the exhibition
contexts and other works.

The work, just before that innocent and paying a tribute to a single
death - was decontextualised. Or, it took the context of
the polemics of own work. With it, not only a local artist was accused, but
also the attitude. Of course, this connection of Genova and New York is
tasteless, but - it happened at least over here, through a serial of
scandals.

*

But, the similar thoughts could also be said of other artist's works. And
they all could be, as they all were and are... For example, Zeljko Marovic,
NY schooled himself, offered to the public
sweets and bonbons (which could relate him to the celebration in Pakistan),
on the menza of
the emperor Diocletianus, the last known Roman emperor that really, really,
hated Christians. The mensa is positioned in the execution place of 11
martyrs.

In relation, Petar Grimani made a piece in which the Emperor himself is
presented as the guerilla figure, with the bandana over his face, and faced
him to the sculpture of Tito. (Note: Empire, bandana, Tito's relation to
Arabic countries...) The text on the floor suggested the same sentence of
who we all are, in the
manner of Den Hague discussion. (Note: accusation, Balkans, 'we all are').

Local situation was also discussed in the work of Srdjan Plesko, who
exhibited a single photo of the Our lady of health church, and two roads
leading to it
drawn on the floor, both corrupted (Note: Vatican, sack of Rome, Vandals,
Crusade...). On the church is written Economat (a place to collect money, a
bank).

Other artists, as Rino Efendic, who was more related to the topic of fascism
in the classic example of the morphology of a gypsy (Note: nomad, the one
that moves around, the one that
could be on the plane...)

At the same time Ilija Soskic's two meters high black heart was accompanied
with the handwritten letter issuing a fascistic visa policy (Note: visa,
illegal, cross the border). Words used were; own country, documents,
citizenship, visa - terror, and one sentence told 'Beside it, visa is
easiest issued by precisely criminals and terrorists, so I see in that a
great cynicism'. Can this be related to the world paranoia, too?

Vanja Pagar's sacks of water (Note: fire), burned installations of Zvonimir
Bakotin were issuing a catastrophe (Note: fire and new media), while Milan
Brkic's chess
figure Pat (note G8 - G6), positioned in space - a strategy of attack. (In
addition Milan Brkic is an artist who
survives selling hand made boxes of matches, drawing figures of heroes he
founds interesting: Kafka, Tito, Stalin, Indian Chiefs... Note beside
figures also - matches). Sanja Jona exhibited enlarged drawings, very bad
done, from the book for First aid, in cases of
burns, or fire (Note: first aid, Red cross), while Zlatan Dumanic himself
was discussing a topic of corruption of humanism (Note: collect the
humanitarian aid)

Somehow, with those new events exhibition was contextualised too. None
mentioned any of skyscrapers,
but the most contextualised seems the work of Kristina Restovic, who made a
model of the train in real size violently entering into the Diocletian's
cellars, making a hole in ancient walls. The train was Balkan Express...
(Note: both last two world wars started on the Balkans, note Balkan express
role in the 1972 variola vera terrorism). That can, in this situation, be
seen as a terrorist act of Balkanization, but who knows... In this situation
everything is related...

Meanwhile the sanitary police made objections of the smell of work of Mladen
Donadini, using bones and Sinisa Labrovic using vegetables and bones... What
can be more said, as Ivan Bura told with his work 'Hell is around the
corner'.

*

The exhibition AAA is the only place of the discussion, and this year
discussions were centered around WTO, G-8 much seriously than other
institutions refer to them. It is actually run by the group of artists
themselves, that don't give up, and with this event, on an annual exhibition
they try to discuss publicly main problems.

But, back on the start in the eighties, it was an international
manifestation of contemporary arts, generously financed by the government of
that time, and networked with the art practice of the West. During the war,
the exhibition
was sentenced to the local artists, and kept on survival.

But in last few years it revealed, as might be read - an ancient
Mediterranean
aesthetics of 'dispetto' (tal., anarchistic principle of; doing something
'just
because' in a manner Kropotkin was relating to the 'because'), producing
scandals.  Last year's AAA was shocking, issuing the economy. Some of
artists just wrote letters they are unable to make
any work, as they can not survive, which was also published in a catalogue.

After the 11th AAA (I was curator of), which was closed immediately after
the
opening, the police investigation was held on the team of artists, for no
particular reasons. Namely, the main square of
the Roman palace was during the night, by anonymous person painted black,
and the message with the social
contextualisation of the black-ness was done in relation to the government
(then still with Franjo Tudjman being the president). Painted square was an
homage to the thirty years old urban intervention on the same place - Red
Peristil, done by the group of artists who were publicly blamed and most
of them died, back in the sixties.

Though not being the authors of the black version, the group of AAA
discovered the mutual accusation as the strategy. 12 hours long interviews
with the police gave them the opportunity to speak on their own work, own
ideas with someone who finally wanted to listen and discover the point -
police inspectors. At the end of the serial, on the shells of those two
simple police guys all books, all texts, all catalogues that have been
related found their place. It was nice to see Malevic's monography with
many other books of there. Finally, art made own public.

But this year things seem to be different - the scandal was not provoked by
a
work, but by the context, and the investigation was not done by the police,
but by the media, and the accusations went far to over...  blaming turned
out to be on the attitude, of not being with AFCO, not being with G8... and
it absorbed world events.

*

On one hand this may speak on the genius of the artist (among which the
local scene is indeed hermetic), on the other on the local policy and a
total paranoia. By now, the 14th exhibition was discussed in 15 more than
half page big articles, two of which are double paged, in different
magazines and newspapers. It was the biggest cultural scandal, on this
periphery of the world that turned to be - political. This year it was
threatened not only not to be supported for the next year, which is a kind
of common, but artists were blamed for many of things... among which - being
connected to terrorism,
being murderers themselves.

Herewith I do recommend suspects for a further blame...

sincerely,
Ana Peraica

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some of articles published on 14th AAA on-line
unfortunately - Croatian only

Sandi Vidulic http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20010827/kultura.htm
Vesna Bozanic - Serdar  http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20010828/kultura.htm
-   in reply Ante Kustre
http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20010901/tribina.htm
-   in reply Vesna Bozanic - Serdar
http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20010904/tribina.htm
-   in reply Niksa Cvorovic
http://www.slobodnadalmacija.com/20010911/tribina.htm
Jasna Gluic http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20010902/kultura.htm
Damir Karakas (6.9)
http://www.vecernji-list.hr/2001/09/10/Pages/PDF-GLAVNI.html
Zlatko Gall http://www.slobodnadalmacija.com/20010911/kultura.htm

(...)