ART GUIDELINES

Between utopia and practice

By Gabriela Vasic

Crisis and opportunities at the end of a millennium

Crisis was a “trade mark” of the nineties in former Yugoslavia . The ethnic hatred, economic break down of socialistic enterprises, inflation were on the scene. I received diploma on my primary studies on conservative Fine arts Faculty during the period of crisis. Being a citizen of a country under sanctions for a decade, as a young artist I emerged in the ages of limitations. Therefore, I was forced to search for alternatives in my art production. Being trained as a painter, I developed different skills and a universal language of visuals. This helped me training others and that was used to be my occupation for about 13 years by now. In last three years I've been trying to quit educating youth but I provoke situations in which I am still engaged. My professional background was in fine arts but I diverted into interdisciplinary arts (video, performance, installation, print). I started as institutionalized educator and diverted into a cultural producer, project manager, interior designer, journalist, photographer, light jay... and possibly an entrepreneur. Gaining education in various art fields, cultural studies and management, craft skills and flexibility in thinking were goals in symbolic upbringing for me.

Cultural background

During the ages of my professional shaping, I faced a deeply traumatic society. Restricted cultural policy, abundant in triviality and scary mass media pornographic production indirectly influenced my aesthetics. All the projects I've been undertaking I understood as a form of Cultural Healing Strategy! Whether I've been dealing within a relational aesthetics or design and advertising, my acts were critical upon the prevailing cultural stream.

Non functional links in the art chain, between state institutions, governing and economic elite and creative potentials of educated population may reflect in unsystematic and jet non-launched cultural policy in the latest established state from prior Yugoslavia , Serbia .

Lack of communication with curators and art critics, accompanied by the absence from rare visual art publications, and directly reflected the absence of professional audience on my exhibitions. As far as to exhibit meant to be “ALIVE” on a “provincial” art scene, gain a “feed back” in media meant to position oneself within the public sphere and gain social and retirement insurance. That possibility created an impression of social security within the members of the so called “elite” category called free lance artists who are organized within a state art association, ULUS. In 2005 the City Secretary of culture, guided by the Ministry of culture and a Ministry of finances launched the low which was supposed to shape culture as market oriented category. It limited the privileges of the free lance artists, among which were famous and successful folk/pop stars. Nowadays, after a big campaign for maintaining the status of free lance artists, a city of Belgrade took the responsibility for our insurances. Unfortunately, the other cities are not affording this to it's' artists. (A minister of finances is a member of a pop band, so he finds, “Culture is a business as well”!)

In Serbia , as in a specific post communist country in transition to capitalistic system, articulation of an artwork and an artist's presentation is still related to the authority of official cultural institutions who participate as artwork co producers. In early nineties when I appeared on a domestic art scene gallery art market was not established but a few collectors appeared. The most of them collect art pieces of well known artists from a period within two World wars. The few of them collect contemporary artists but under very low prices! These people often come from popular folk or pop music background.

Articulation of a common obligation

An artist as a cultural producer within a state institution engages at least a dozen of professions out of art field and in that way contributes economically to the state budget (organizers, administration, journalists, publishers, media, catering and food industries, craftsmen...). On the other hand, contemporary works of art are out of incomes and market transactions. The artist is in a very precarious situation in Serbia and all he gets is an honorarium of about 400 EU per an exhibition in a gallery established by the City (it used to be one expo in three years!). That served as my starting point in forming a self sustainable strategy of art production - Cultural Healing Strategy.

A lack of material means for the production of exhibitions/projects became a constant occurrence during the social and economic crisis in nineties.

While exhibiting as a sort of self-positioning in public domains (of a so called art scene), I dealt with transformation of capitalistic network of relations: producer/consumer.

Here is my statement: “An artist is a cultural producer whose work is a common good and it is not essentially leaning to logic of a market. Artwork is a cultural value and a society has to participate in its production!”

On this issue I based my art production. I've been using a gallery or an exhibit space as a vivid interactive space for social and economic exchange . In a form of relational aesthetics I offered a space for information, goods and service interaction. A public exhibition space I converted into an alternative economy system , positioning my self as an institution within an institution. The projects established instruments of power control within the closed art institutional system. Arranging gift exchange, donations, information, goods or service exchange, I overtook institutional control policy and marketing strategies of branding. Registration of the audience became the obligatory method in my solo shows in a public space.

Projects based on interaction>>>>>> http://www.gabrielavasic.com/energy/events.php

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/energy/events.php

A list of events:

Two, an interactive wall installation made out of alum folia collected on the city garbage depot - Eurynom's Gambit, Chaos in action (project of http://www.x-arn.org/wiki/EvgenijaDemnievskaAndWolfgangZiemer

Evgenija Demnijevska , Center za kulturnu dekontaminaciju, Belgrade, 1997.

Gifting, Gallery Zvono, Belgrade , Serbia 2000 http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/giffting.php

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/giffting.php , http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/darivanje.php

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/darivanje.php

A social participation in an art production; an exchange of gifts and exhibits

Contr'act art: art 4 free?, Gallery SULUJ, Belgrade , Serbia 2001 http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/contract_art.php

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/contract_art.php

Donations of audience as participation in a cultural production

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/contract_art.php

http://www.artmajeur.com/?go=account/artists/articles&f[artist_id]=25753&subsec=expo

12 Apostles , Carbon art camp, Tipova , Moldova- a performance in which audience was gifted by candles and participated in a work realization

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/contract_art.php

Brandch Service, Gallery '73, Belgrade , Serbia 2004/5

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/bsn_sr.phphttp

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/galerija/v/BRANDch-SERVICE/?g2_GALLERYSID=55e5b0efd66395a7138f793b1c100474

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/bsn_project.php

A social exchange of information&services among the audience – sponsors

More than anything, anti billboard photo prints, Gallery Circus, SCC-Student cultural center, Belgrade 2005 – query on billboards for the visitors http://www.skc.org.yu/search.php?lang=1

http://www.skc.org.yu/search.php?lang=1

http://www.gabrielavasic.com/projects/vise_od_svega.php

http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/2005/05/13/srpski/K05051201.shtml

Art is a Temptation, Artist is a Monk , Art camp in a village Deronje, Vojvodina, 2005 - a performance with the gifting the audience with a part of an artwork - a piece of coal

Art is A Battle, Artist is a Warrior,

http://www.ri-rock.com/portreti086.htm FONA

Festival of new art, Rijeka, Croatia, 2005 - a performance with paintball and gifting the audience with a part of an artwork - a leaf from the book of Vladimir Dedijar, Contributes to Tito's biography