黑料不打烊

At +MSUM we have presented several exhibitions from Moderna galerija collections with the emphasis on Arteast 2000+ collection. Arteast 2000+ is the first museum collection conceived with a focus on Eastern European postwar avant-garde art in a broader international context. Since its inception in 2000, the collection has become well known for providing a comprehensive overview of art in the region. Similarly, it is recognized for the insight it provides into certain shared sociopolitical issues that are or were of central concern for the artists in the formerly socialist countries, outlining as it does the developments from the 1960s through the transition period in the 1990s to the present-day context of global neoliberal capitalism. In 2011, Arteast 2000+ came to form the core of the newly founded Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (+MSUM), which operates as part of Moderna galerija, Ljubljana.

The new installation of works from the Arteast 2000+ and national collections entitled Things Break Down refers to the short film Revolution (1975) directed by the pioneer of Slovenian modernist cinema Bo拧tjan Hladnik, based on the comic strip The Light of the Darkness by the OHO group members and authors Marko Poga膷nik and Iztok Geister 鈥� Plamen. The film as well as the comic strip is about a revolution of things taking control of their own actions. They do this by ceasing to serve their purpose at some point. What people, their users, see as useless, broken objects when things do not work, is in fact their rebellion and liberation. Indeed, OHO's work is strongly influenced by the doctrine of reism. This is reflected in the group as part of a broader discontent within the Yugoslav political system. The members speak of the hooligan role of art, which must act destructively if it is to liberate man from the conceptual shackles of the cultural order of the time. In the spirit of reism, things are thus liberated from the yoke of functionalism and their alienation, and function on the level of subjects in the autonomy they have achieved. Dialogue between people and things happens when people ask things to name themselves. But this action can also be seen as a political statement in the sense of: everyone is allowed to be who they are. It is a utopian liberation of things in the sense of reification.

The social system that the OHO group resisted in this way also left behind, when it collapsed, a number of monuments that once foreshadowed the utopia of the society to come, and which were used to preserve identity and determine the future. In fact, even monuments whose meaning has changed due to social or political changes have taken on a life of their own, most often in contrast to their often monumental and invincible appearance. The artists in the exhibition reflect on their role and fate and possible alternatives in different ways. The installation includes the works of: Yuri Avvakumov, Manca Bajec, Gy枚rgy Gal谩ntai, Igor Grubi膰, Dejan Habicht, Sanja Ivekovi膰, Zofia Kulik, Vladimir Kupriyanov, Sini拧a Labrovi膰, David Maljkovi膰, Slavko Matkovi膰, Nonument Group (Neja Tom拧i膷, Martin Bricelj Baraga, Nika Grabar and Milo拧 Kosec) and New Collectivism. Part of the installation related to monuments refers to the documentary exhibition about the Second World War related monuments from the time of SFR Yugoslavia developed at the seminar Art for Collective Use at the Art History Department of the University of Ljubljana in cooperation with the Modern Gallery.

The consequences of the disintegration of the former common state of Yugoslavia, as a result of the political turmoil and conflicts of the early 1990s, were of course more long-term. In this context, part of the exhibition deals with the theme of war and the individuals and places marked by it. It addresses themes of cultural contradiction, social hierarchy and power relations, the state, identity, language, community and direct reactions to reality, as well as critiques of the past and doubts about the future. This section presents a selection of works by artists: Maja Bajevi膰, Barbara 膶eferin, Jo拧t Franko, Jusuf Had啪ifejzovi膰, Vlado Martek, Adrian Paci, Erzen Skholloli, Mladen Stilinovi膰, Tone Stojko, Balint Szombathy, Neboj拧a 艩eri膰 艩oba, 艩kart, 艩kart & the Single Refugee Mothers鈥� Association from Zemun, Jane 艩travs and Slaven Tolj.