travelling communiqué. going into the photo archive of josip broz tito, museum of yugoslav history,...

1

Travel l ing Communiqué

Going into the Photo Archive (1948–1980) of Josip Broz Tito through the contemporary pract ices of art, theory, history, architecture, typography, cinema, and educat ion.

Footnotes to an exhibi t ion

June 10 to August 17, 2014 Museum of Yugoslav History Belgrade

Curated by Travel l ing Communiqué (Armin Linke, Doreen Mende and Mi l ica Tomić with conceptual support by Kodwo Eshun and Branimir Stojanović, cinemat ic programming by Mirol jub Miki Stojanović, archival rendit ion by Museum of Yugoslav History curators Radovan Cukić, Ivan Manoj lović and Mir jana Slavković, typographic conceptual isat ion by Žiga Testen, architectural intervent ions by Mi l ica Lopičić, structural endurance by Fabian Becht le, research support by Mir jana Dragosavl jević, and editoria l precision by Vanessa Vasić-Janeković)

3

The Travel l ing Communiqué project undertakes a durat ional invest igat ion into the photographic archive of the president ia l Photo Service of the Yugoslav Part isan leader and statesman Josip Broz Ti to, through a range of contemporary pract ices, from art, through theory, h istory, archi tecture, typography, to cinema and educat ion . The project ’ s point of entry into the archive of approximately 300,000 photographic records, permanent ly housed at the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade, is the col lect ion of 1,200 photographs taken dur ing the f irst Conference of the Non-Al igned Movement (NAM), held in Belgrade from 1 st to 6th September in 1961, at the moment of an acute Cold War cr is is .

Travel l ing Communiqué is informed by the idea that the col lect ive statement art icu lated as a cal l for a new kind of internat ional ism by the 25 delegates of the f irst Conference of the Non-Al igned Movement (NAM) in Belgrade, September 1961, remains unanswered. Travel l ing Communiqué does not aspire to celebrate the h istor ies and geographies of the Cold War and the NAM. Instead, i t enquires into the possibi l i t ies of ‘ prolonging ’ the format ion of the NAM into the socia l condi t ions of the present. The NAM can be understood as a th ird space of emancipat ion that sought to unset t le the bipolar world order through a wide var iety of ant i-colon ia l th inking. The Travel l ing Communiqué is an at tempt to understand the process of becoming a pol i t ica l subject, in i t iated by those without names whose voices exist despi te efforts to si lence them.

Travel l ing Communiqué begins with the idea that the col lect ive statements, images and sounds announced dur ing the f irst Conference of the NAM, in Belgrade in 1961, are st i l l travel l ing .

Who is the addressee of the Communiqué today?

Travel l ing CommuniquéBelgrade, May 2014

Travel l ing Communiqué

Travel l ing Communiqué fosters a trans-discip l inary way of working together towards the idea of pol i t ica l fr iendship. At work since 2012, i t has been in i t iat ing i ts own condi t ions of product ion with in current g lobal is ing forces. Most of the exposed contr ibut ions are new mater ia ls, ideas and concepts as consequences of jo int research processes that are translated into the space of exhibi t ing: projects, proposals and f i lms are equal to fragi le vocabular ies, educat ional sessions, students ’ work, group constel lat ions and means of art icu lat ion st i l l to arr ive.

E lements

A Project B Proposal C School D Cinema

About this guide

5

Space One

6

Research Group of the Museum of Yugoslav History (MYH)

Photo Archive of Josip Broz Ti toA view of the picture of pol i t ica l power2014, pr inted photographs, pr inted archive mater ia l , pr inted per iod ica ls, video interviews

This photographic archive, now at the Museum of Yugoslav History, has a turbu lent past. I t is the fru i t of the work of four photographers employed at the Cabinet of the President of the Socia l ist Federal Republ ic of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Ti to.

Their cameras captured the act ivi t ies of the former President from 1948, unt i l h is death in 1980. The photographic archive then began i ts l i fe in the museum, adher ing to the pr incip les of museology, and has been wait ing for a cr i t ica l review ever since. The exhibi ted contr ibut ion is based on a memorandum writ ten in 1963 by the art ist and photographer Mirko Lovr ić, later the Head of Photo Service, Press Department of Josip Broz Ti to ’ s Cabinet. Th is document reveals i ts author as the f irst cr i t ic and theor ist of Ti to ’ s archive. The photographers ’ s awareness of the need for conceptual isat ion and contextual isat ion ar ises from his posi t ion as one of the producers of the archive. Mirko Lovr ic ’ s memorandum suggests product ion of “ images for the future ” by consider ing ut i l i tar ian media role of these photographs.

Through an exemplary and comparat ive analysis of a set of visua l grammars as traceable in the photographs taken dur ing eight of Ti to ’ s journeys to var ious socia l ist, capi ta l ist and Non-Al igned nat ions between 1948 and 1980, we wi l l point to the l i nk between photographic protocols and the pol i t ica l network of a statesmen, or rather, the issues ar is ing from the use of photographs as a means of leg i t imiz ing relat ions of (pol i t ica l) power. We wi l l open up the quest ion of the relat ionsh ip between photographs and pol i t ica l pract ice in socia l ist Yugoslavia . Does such a photograph then become an equal instrument of that pol i t ica l idea, on a level wi th pol i t ica l speech?

Photo Archive of Josip Broz Ti to is the resu l t of col laborat ion between museum ’ s curators and the Travel l ing Communiqué project, wi th the a im of offer ing a new way of interpret ing, as wel l

A1

7

as a possib le d irect ion in analysing the role of one of the most important European photographic archives in the second half of the 20th century—that of Josip Broz Ti to.

Authors: Ivan Manoj lović, Mir jana Slavković, Radovan CukićProfessional associates: Marko Radovanović, Slavica DrobacCoordinat ion: Katar ina ŽivanovićProofreading and translat ion: Jelena Baj ićDisplay design: Ivan Benussi , Dor ja BenussiVideo edi t ing: Darko Andonov Product ion: Sava Kovačević, Tihomir Nedel jković, Svet lana Ognjanović Partner: Arh iv Jugoslavi jeThanks to Mi lad in Mi lošević, Nada Pantel ić

Fol lowing interviews introduce and analyse the h istor ia l funct ions and contemporary relevances of the photographic archive of the president ia l Photo Service from var ious perspect ives.

Mirko Lovrić in conversat ion with Olga Manoj lović Pintar

Camera: Fabian Becht leHDV, 22:52 min, 2013Translat ion: Vuk Vuković

Mirko Lovr ić (1935–2013), Head of the Photo Department of Ti to ’ s Cabinet between 1963 and 1971, provides a f irst-hand account of the per iod of the 1960s and ear ly 1970s. An art ist tra ined in photography at the Zagreb School of Appl ied Arts (1953 to 1956), and art h istory graduate from the Belgrade Universi ty (1961),


A1

A1.1

8

Lovr ić was h ired in 1963 to replace Grbić, who was h ired by Pol i t ika . Member of the Serbian Associat ion of Art ists of Appl ied Arts and Design since 1957.

Miroslav Mladenović in conversat ion with Radovan Cukić

Camera: Fabian Becht leHDV, 12:06 min, 2014Edi t ing: Darko AndonovTranslat ion: Zvonimir Ivanov

Miroslav Mladenović (born in 1924, in Mačkovac near Kruševac) part icipant in the People L iberat ion Movement from 1944, and ret ired as a l ieutenant colonel . He served in the Guards Br igade, provid ing in secur i ty to president Ti to. He started photographing the l i fe and work of the Guards Br igade in 1954, and cont inued after h is ret irement, unt i l 1998. He photographed president Ti to on var ious occasions between 1959 and 1980. He wrote for the journal Gardist and other army journals, h is photographs, reports and ser ia ls were publ ished in I l ustrovana Pol it ika , Borba , Večernje Novost i , Pol it ika and other newspapers. Publ ished books: Accompanying Supreme Commander (with Sava Kržavac, 1971), Tito ’ s War Photographs (1981), Guard Chronicle (with Pera Damjanov, 2002).


A1.2

9

Momo Cvi jović in conversat ion with Mi l ica Tomić

Camera: Armin L inke, Fabian Becht leHDV, 05:31 min, 2012Translat ion: Mirko Dautović

Momo Cvi jović (born in 1950, Raška, Serbia) graduated at the Facul ty of Phi losophy, Belgrade Universi ty at the department of archeology. He works as museum counselor in the Museum of Yugoslav History (former Museum 25th May) in Belgrade, since 1978, when Ti to was st i l l a l ive and the Photo Service of the president ia l Press Department st i l l working. He is the curator of the col lect ion at the Museum.

Katarina Živanović

Camera: Armin L inke, Fabian Becht leHDV, 13:15 min, 2012Translat ion: Mirko Dautović

Katar ina Živanović (1968), PhD candidate at the Universi ty of Foggia (Foggia, I ta ly) department for the Pedagogy and Educat ion Science. Holds a master ’ s degree in Media and Communicat ion . Employed at the REX Cul tura l centre (Belgrade) in 1995, from October ‘97 REX Execut ive Manager, in 2004 appointed Director of the Fund B92, Belgrade. Was the Director of the Museum of Yugoslav History (Belgrade, Serbia, 2008-2012), head of the Department for Cul ture of the City of Belgrade (2012/2013). Founder of the Free Zone - a project promot ing Human Rights through f i lm; founder of the Centre of the Visual H istory at the Facul ty of Media and Communicat ion, Belgrade. Fie lds of interest :


A1.3

A1.4

10

preservat ion and presentat ion of the (cu l tura l) her i tage of Socia l ism, eth ics in the museums, d i f f icu l t her i tage, d issonant her i tage, her i tage of the minor i t ies

Olga Manoj lović Pintar

Camera: Armin L inke, Fabian Becht le, Dani lo VasićHDV, 06:22 min, 2012Edi t ing: Laura Fior i , Sarah PoppelTranslat ion: Mirko Dautović

Olga Manoj lović Pintar (born in 1966, Belgrade, Serbia) graduated at the Facul ty of Phi losophy, Belgrade Universi ty at the department of h istory. She works at of the Inst i tute for Recent History of Serbia . Her f ie lds of interest are monuments and “ col lect ive remembrance. ”

Interview with Pramod Kumar

Camera: Armin L inkeHDV, 60:00 min, 2014Edi t ing: Giu l ia Bruno

Pramod Kumar (born in Ind ia) is current ly the Managing Director of Eka Archiving Services Pvt. Ltd, based in New Dehl i . He has worked extensively with text i le and photographic col lect ions. He is the author of Posing for Posterity—Royal Ind ian Portra its (2012).


A1.5

A1.6

11

Armin Linke

Staging and Servicing the Media2014, Insta l lat ion: d ig i ta l video, durat ion var iable, iPad player, headphones, s ing le edi t ion inkjet photographic books. St i l l from interview with Jasco Wenzel , off icia l government photographer, and Ulr ike Keiser, Director of the Press and Informat ion Department of the German Government, Ber l in , May 23 2014. Camera and edi t ing, Giu l ia Bruno.

The codes and ru les of d ip lomat ic photographic pract ice seem inscr ibed with in specif ic ceremonia l ru les wri t ten in ancient t imes, before the invent ion of mechanica l reproduct ion . They, however, also fol low the needs of real-t ime media d istr ibut ion and propaganda. The d ig i ta l izat ion of image product ion and media d istr ibut ion does not seem to have changed the internat ional codes and condui t pract ice of photographers, the products of which we can see in the images taken in 1961, or in the archive of the MHY Museum in general . These topics are d iscussed in a ser ies of interviews: with Jasco Wenzel , the off icia l German government photographer; Ulr ike Keiser, the Director of the Press and Informat ion Department of the German government ; as wel l as with agency photographer Thomas Köhler and freelance photographer Ute Grabowsky who both undertake contracts for the German Min istry of Foreign Affa irs, accompanying min isters on d ip lomat ic vis i ts . The d isplay holds a ser ies of selected photographic a lbums pr inted as specia l ed i t ions in inkjet and d ig i ta l techniques (normal ly intended for internal ceremonia l and documentary use). These have been lent by the photographers and are being exhibi ted for the f irst t ime.

A2

12

Founded by Kodwo Eshun and Anja l ika Sagar in London in 2002

Gather round me, my wri ters, musicians, art ists: my name is NAM2014, wal l paper, 1400cm x 440 cm, d ig i ta l reconstruct ion of photographs from President ia l Press Service archive of Conference of Heads of State or Governments of Non-Al igned Countr ies, 1–5 September 1961, Belgrade.

How to envis ion a cl imate of thought? How to invoke the mater ia l d imensions of a gather ing of certa in f igures at specif ic moments? Of d ip lomat ic forces concentrated upon the wri t ing of a col lect ive proposal? An unstable and i l leg ib le proposal drafted with in and against Imperia l ism ’ s d ivis ion of the earth? What happens when you try, speculat ively, to col lapse the publ ic presence of a world pol i t ica l project onto a two dimensional plane? Instead of str iving to animate deta i ls that are supposed to l ie behind us, try g iving up. Imagine what ensues when elements from the th ick textures of history emerge in the forms of g lances and postures? When the g l int of an ashtray and the base of a vase, the foot of a heavy chair and the carpet that placates, when footnotes f i l tered and subt i t les si f ted from the pages of journals and the edges of photographs taken dur ing September 1961 and i ts aftermaths are a l lowed to fa l l back. To g ive themselves up to f latness and fata l ism. To become décor, i f not decorat ion . To imply a l lus ion and to h int at int imat ion . To take on a temporal s imul tanei ty, in which a publ ic summit is orchestrated as a ser ies of encrypted ornaments. What happens when exposure is occluded? When evidence becomes anarchiva l? When a shadow archive is i l luminated by the penumbra of a pax atomica?

The Otol i th Group

A3

13

Jean-Luc Godard

Born in Switzer land, l ives in Rol le

Je Vous Salue, Sara jevo1993, 2:15min, f i lm, French with Engl ish Subt i t les.

I n a sense, fear is the daughter of God, redeemed on Good Fr iday. She is not beaut i fu l , mocked, cursed or d isowned by a l l . But don ’ t be mistaken, she watches over a l l morta l agony, she intercedes for mankind; for there is a ru le and an except ion . Cu l ture is the ru le, and art is the except ion . Everybody speaks the ru le: cigaret te, computer, t-sh ir t, te levis ion, tour ism, war. Nobody speaks the except ion . I t isn ’ t spoken, i t is wr i t ten: Flaubert, Dostoyevsky. I t is composed: Gershwin, Mozart. I t is painted: Cézanne, Vermeer. I t is f i lmed: Antonion i , Vigo. Or i t is l ived, then i t is the art of l iv ing: Srebren ica, Mostar, Sara jevo. The ru le is to want the death of the except ion . So the ru le for cu l tura l Europe is to organise the death of the art of l iv ing, which st i l l f lour ishes. (from Je Vous Sa lue, Sara jevo)

A4

14

The concept of proposal suggests a new method for exhibi t ing processes: in t imes of an ‘ excess in d isplay ’—as Jean Genet descr ibed the h istor icised iconici ty of independence struggles—the set of proposals on th is table a l lows us to keep open the space of th inking, beyond chronolog ica l and below terr i tor ia l constra ints. I t i nvi tes to share the Travel l ing Communiqué not as a defin i te and f ina l resu l t, but with each proposal ind icat ing a prospect for th inking further through the means of an exhibi t ion . This set of proposals, translated here into a text ⇄ image graphic constel lat ion into a spat ia l format ion, departed from var ious formats, ranging from a performance lecture, a d iagram, a book, a slogan, archiva l images or an image, in resonance with an enquiry about what relevance the foundat ional moment of the NAM might have for us today.

The quest ion ‘Who is the addressee of the Communiqué today? ’—as Branimir Stojanović proposed to th ink about the Travel l ing Communiqué project—can therefore on ly be answered by those who act ively decide to become an addressee. Authors are art ists, f i lmmakers, pol i t ica l theor ists, psychoanalyist, exhibi t ion makers, ed i tors, act ivists, archi tects, photographers, researchers, and others, engaged in var ious pract ices.

Concept : Travel l ing Communiqué proposal (Doreen Mende), Žiga Testen with James Oates / typography-design and Mi l ica Lopičić / d isplay archi tecture.

Proposal

B

15

Proposal

Kader At t ia Born in Alger ia, l ives between Ber l in and Alg iers Décol lage

Tarek Elha ik & Kriss Ravet to-Biag io l iBorn in Marocco, l ives in San FranciscoBorn in the USA, l ives in Berkeley, Cal i forn ia Future Remake

Heba Far idBorn in Egypt, l ives in Cairo Test imonies, Protests, and Photojournal ism

Flaka Hal i t i Born in Pr isht ina, l ives in Vienna and Munich Manifestat ion of the r ight to not be understood

Samia Henni Born in Alg iers, l ives in Zur ich Alger ia 1961: The Paradigm of Counter insurgency

Doreen Mende Born in East Germany, l ives between Ber l in and London Excess in Display

O ’Tam Pul to Born in Ethopia, l ives in Addis Ababa A Belgrade Version of Love

Branimir Stojanović Born in Yugoslavia, l ives in Belgrade Black on White: How to Cont inue Without Oneself

Subversive Fi lm Part icipat ing members are Reem Shi l leh, born in Yugoslavia, l ives in Ramal lah, occupied Palest ine and Mohanad Yaqubi , born in Kuwait, l ives in Ramal lah, occupied Palest ine This Fi lm Was Created Out of Love for Man as a Protest Against Vio lence and Destruct ion

Mi l ica Tomić Born in Yugoslavia, l ives in Belgrade Druž ina A: The Non-al igned Movement and i ts relat ion to art and society

Françoise VergèsReunionnaise, from the South by lack of a proper term and because she does dot want to be str ict ly associated with a nat ional i ty Al ternat ive Cartographies and the Decolon izat ion of Europe

Jelena Vesić & Rachel O ’ Rei l lyBorn in Yugoslavia, l ives in Belgrade Born in Austra l ia, l ives in Ber l in On Neutra l i ty

16

Space Two

17

Mil ica Tomić in conversat ion withBranimir Stojanović and Olga Manoj lović Pintar

Subsequent ly on Non-Al igned Movement2013, video, 23:30 min, acousmat ic voice, whi te screen, text and sound

A montage of conversat ions with Branimir Stojanović and Olga Manoj lović Pintar about the Cold War epoch and the role of Yugoslavia, about the cont inu i t ies and d iscont inu i t ies of ant icolon ia l struggle si tuated with in pol i t ica l sequences such as the Spanish Civi l War through the People ’ s L iberat ion Struggle (in Yugoslavia, WW2) and towards the Non-Al igned Movement. This conversat ional i nvest igat ion urges to understand the relat ionsh ip between the ant icolon ia l th inking and the concept of peace today, under the condi t ions of permanent war. The video is real ised a long the concept of the acousmat ic voice, referr ing to the specif ic form of conveying knowledge in ancient Greece, the so-cal led Pythagorean lecture. The art ist refers to her contr ibut ion as a member of Grupa Spomenik [Monument Group] and their performace Pythagorean Lecture (2009), performed by the group behind a curta in, out of the sight of the spectators.

A5

18

Jean-Luc Godard

Born in Switzer land, l ives in Rol le

De l ’ or ig ine du XXIe siècle 2000, f i lm, 16min, French with Engl ish subt i t les

“You are a l l of a sudden overwhelmed by so much beauty: a landscape, a tree, pedestr ians, an ar ia and a young g ir l on the bicycle. A l i t t le later a bus is si lent ly traversing the n ight, as i f f loat ing; you may be th inking of a pr isoner ’ s transport dur ing the war in Yugoslavia—a myster ious trace that is losing i tsel f in the darkness. This is the beginn ing of De l ’ orig ine du XXIe siècle (The Orig in of the 21st Century)—an appl icator, that was the opening f i lm of the Cannes Fi lm Fest iva l 2000—an at tempt, he says. “ I tr ied to cover up the memories of terr ib le explosions and cr imes through chi ldren ’ s faces and the tears and smi les of women. ” The at tempt was of course doomed to be a fa i lure, because in th is retrospect ion there are no remedies for the abhorrences of the passed century.

Godard makes the 20th century go by in reverse; h is f loats of images consist of armies and fug i t ives, of cannonades and pr isoners, of freight tra ins and dead bodies, of conquests and occupat ions, of humi l iat ion and torture. And when one scene is searching for a lost century, then i t does not f ind sweet memories, but an era that is lost, because vio lence and war demol ished i t. ”

(Viennale 2007)

A6

19

Space Three

20

Part icipants of Travel l ing Communiqué in Arnhem

13 art ists from var ious geographies of the world part icipated in the Travel l ing Communiqué project-at-large by jo in ing i ts year long educat ional segment in the form of a project course at the Dutch Art Inst i tute (DAI) in Arnhem, from September 2013 to Ju ly 2014. The students had to apply for the course with a short elaborat ion of their interest in the Non-Al igned Movement ’ s (NAM) foundat ional moment in 1961. Ind ividual research, group work with tutors and guest-tutors, as wel l as a project journey to Addis Ababa, in col laborat ion with Netsa Art Vi l lage have bu i l t a condi t ion for research and product ion of art ist ic/curator ia l projects. This work departed from a quest ion: what are the cont inu i t ies and d iscont inu i t ies of the f irst NAM Conference, in Belgrade in 1961, d iscussed through and with in contemporary art? Their contr ibut ions to the exhibi t ion, therefore, consist of ind ividual projects in relat ion to the group contr ibut ion that has come out of a col lect ive process. Ind ividual contr ibut ions found their form in insta l lat ions, video-pieces, col lage, video-messages or concept papers. The project can a lso be understood as a proposal of var ious voices, at var ious stages of approaching the non-al igned spir i t by contemporary means.

Part icipants, DAI : students—Jan Adriaans/NL, Kat ia Barret t/UK, Hanan Benammar/DZ/FR, Anna Dasović/NL, Coco Duivenvoorde/NL, Aziza Harmel/TN, Monique Hendr iksen/NL, Marianna Maruyama/USA, Aart i Sunder/IN, Cel ia Eslamieh Shomal/IR, La i la Torres Mendieta/MEX, Larra i tz Torres/ES, Si lv ia Ul loa/ES; tutors and guest-tutors—Theo Eshetu/UK/ET, Jelena Vesić/born in SFRY, Armin L inke/IT/D, Kodwo Eshun [The Otol i th Group/UK], Doreen Mende/D, Mi l ica Tomić/born in SFRY. Framework: Doreen Mende/D with Gabriel le Schlei jpen/NL, Jacq van der Spek/NL, E l izabeth W. Giorg is/ET, and Helen Zeru/ET.

A7

21

Part icipants of Travel l ing Communiqué in Addis Ababa

MEGLET (UNFOLD issue No.01 March 2014)Newspaper, 26 pages, design by Samuel Tsegaye, Addis Ababa. Berta Pr int ing, Addis Ababa.Photograph by Yero Adugna Et icha: the Travel l ing Communiqué project in Addis Ababa, March 2014, with art ists from the Netsa Art Vi l lage communi ty and art ists of the Dutch Art Inst i tute.

MEGLET is the f irst issue of the UNFOLD newspaper. I t is the resu l t of several conversat ional sessions around art ist presentat ions, lectures and screenings in Addis Ababa, March 2014, as part of the Travel l ing Communiqué project. UNFOLD insists on a th ird perspect ive on g lobal concerns, a perspect ive from below, from everyday l iv ing condi t ions. I t is largely informed by ongoing tr i-cont inenta l d iscussions between Afr ica, Asia, Lat in America and their communi t ies in Europe, rehearsing independence from the dominant ideolog ies in g lobal economics and pol i t ics. The design of MEGLET refers to the layout of newspapers in Addis Ababa, as the locat ion of product ion, which wi l l remain specif ic with each subsequent locat ion of product ion anew. MEGLET is a term in Amharic, meaning ‘ to turn a page ’ and the act ion ‘ to f ind something new. ’ Contr ibut ions by Jan Adriaans, Daniel Alemayehu, Helen Zeru Araya, Kat ia Barret t, Hanan Benammar, Anna Dasović, Coco Duivenvoorde, Yero Adugna Et icha, Abiyi Ford, Tamrat Gezahegne, E l izabeth W. Giorg is, Fasi l Giorghis, Aziza Harmel , Monique Hendr iksen, Mulugeta Kassa, Mihret Kebede, Tesfahun Kibru, Si lv ia Ul loa, Marianna Maruyama, Beede M. Mekonen, Yafet Mekonnen, Doreen Mende, Leykun Nahusenay, O ’Tam Pul to, Cel ia Eslamieh Shomal, Jacq van der Spek, Aart i Sunder, La i la Torres Mendieta, Larra i tz Torres.


A7.1

22

Jan Adriaans

Born in the Nether lands, l ives in Rot terdam

Holes2014, 92 x 98 cm, Inkjet-pr int on 170 grams paper, two whi te A4 ’ s with the text in Bra i l le.

A text-work about the percept ion of publ ic space and publ ic bui ld ings, taken from an interview with Abebe Mola, a bl ind person and the coordinator of the Bl ind Inst i tute in Addis Ababa. This interview was made for the project ‘Another Blackout ’ as part of the publ icat ion UNFOLD. Dur ing electr ici ty blackouts (a reccurr ing problem in Addis Ababa) people with sight become vulnerable in publ ic space and tend to go home. A person with visua l d isabi l i t ies, however, feels more comfortable outside dur ing the dark, when there are fewer cars and people, less noise.

Kat ia Barret t

Born in Great Br i ta in, l ives in London

We Mould the Nat ion2014, col lage, 184cm by 85cm.Documentat ion of an ongoing project

In 1980, Forbes Burnham, the Pr ime Min ister of Guyana, introduced the pract ice of Mass Games based on Korean mass dramat isat ions, in which thousands of youths were instrumenta l ised in pra is ing their leader through choreographed mass performances of geometr ic precis ion . These are bodies animated by state ideology. Korean technicians were imported to a id in the condi t ion ing of students learn ing to depict Burnham ’ s image in


A7.2

A7.3

23

exuberant revolut ionary mot i fs . Th is was a short per iod in Guyanese h istory, as i t stopped fol lowing the sudden death of Burnham in 1985. For th is ongoing project I am learn ing the movements and ski l ls of these youths from one of their or ig ina l teachers, who now resides in London and cont inues to use h is acrobat ic ski l ls to put on energised one man shows in clubs. My at tempt in learn ing these ski l ls is a commitment to the abstract ion of knowledge as potent ia l ly transmit ted through the body in order to engage with that which cannot be easi ly translated with in the d iscursive archive of moderni ty. How do we begin to translate the residual , impercept ib le h istor ica l condi t ion ings that reside through the body? The work wi l l take the form of an ever-changing format ion of documentat ion that deals with the impossibi l i ty of representat ion .

Hanan Benammar

Born in France, l ives in Oslo

A Place I Have Never Been2014, insta l lat ion, research mater ia l on a desk 300cm by 40cm by 86cm, 3 g lass layers.

I col lected hundreds of maps, pictures, art icles and documents that now const i tute the core of my research around the Afar Triangle, in Northeastern Eth iopia . I t is the land of the Afar people, who are nomads. Divided between Eth iopia, Er i trea and Dj ibout i , i t touches upon the Somal i border. I t is a lso a tr ip le junct ion between the Arabian and the two Afr ican plates (Somal ian and Nubian). Known as the Danaki l depression, th is is one of the most spectacular deserts in the world, due to d iverse minerals and toxic waters that g ive intense colors to i ts landscape.

The Afar people have become one of the best armed tr ibes in Afr ica, as they constant ly face the chal lenges ot borders and confl ict zones. For these reasons and facts, I have al lowed myself

Part icipants of the Travel l ing Communiqué in Arnhem

A7.4

24

to cal l th is place I have never been to, a “ Non-Al igned Terr i tory. ” This contr ibut ion is, then, a kind of transit iona l materia l isat ion , a term I use to descr ibe when I work with research-based projects. I t is arranged in pi les of pr inted mater ia l , wi th edges painted to g ive visua l un i ty to the piece. I f a vis i tor were to take one of the sheets, they would see that the rest is d i f ferent—each sheet in the pi le is . I expect the pi les to d isappear by the end of the exhibi t ion .

Anna Dasović

Born in the Nether lands, l ives in Amsterdam

The Protocol of Peace (f irst i terat ion) 2014 ongoing, text and image

DUTCHBAT was a Dutch bat ta l ion that part icipated in ‘ peace-keeping operat ions ’ in former Yugoslavia under the f lag of the Uni ted Nat ions, between February 1994 and November 1995. ‘ Dutchbat I I I ’ and commanded by L ieutenant Colonel Thomas Karremans, was assigned the role of ‘ safekeeping ’ the Musl im enclave of Srebrenica, a designated ‘UN Safe Area. ’ The enclave fel l to Bosnian Serbs under the command of Colonel General Ratko Mladić, on 11 Ju ly 1995. Mlad ić and Karremans had four meet ings dur ing and after the fa l l of the enclave that were f i lmed. On these occasions Karremans receives g i f ts from Mladić and they are seen dr inking together on camera. Mlad ić is now deta ined and on tr ia l at the Internat ional Crimina l Tr ibunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, where h is defence wi l l start in May 2014. Karremans might face tr ia l for h is a l leged responsibi l i ty for the massacres. Dasović fol lows these visua l traces and exposes the ‘ protocol of peace ’ through t ime, as a pract iced, executed, neglected and analysed event. Her f irst f ind ings form a t imel ine from 1961 to 1995 to 2014.


A7.5

25

Coco Duivenvoorde

Born in the Nether lands, l ives in Amsterdam

“ Oh my fr iends, there is no fr iend ” 2014, text and image

What is fr iendship? What is a pol i t ica l fr iendship? How is (a pol i t ica l) fr iendship staged? And when is a fr iendship formal or i nformal? I am working on these quest ions by researching the fr iendship between Josip Broz Ti to (president of Yugoslavia from 1953 to 1980) and Hai le Selassie (the Emperor of Eth iopia, 1930 to 1936, and 1941 to 1974) through archiva l images of the MYH and the Yekat i t 12 monument, g iven by Ti to to Selassie in 1954, in Addis Ababa. I am interested in the entanglement of pol i t ica l and personal fr iendship. As a documentary and theatre photographer, I want to introduce a performat ive element into the relat ionsh ip between fact and f ict ion with in image product ion .

Aziza Harmel

Born in Tunis ia, l ives between Tunis and Amsterdam

My fr iend ’ s movie2014, text and image

The contr ibut ion consists of a let ter from a student to her tutor that ref lects about the exhausted hopes depart ing from the word ‘ revolut ion ’ wi th regard to the transi t iona l per iod in the aftermath of the upr is ings in Tunis ia in 2011 . A contemporary ta le , a short f i lm by f i lm-maker Sadri Jemai l provides the space for f ind ing a vocabulary that could replace the word ‘ revolut ion ’ in order to re-connect to i ts in i t ia l power.


A7.6

A7.7

26

Monique Hendriksen

Born in the Nether lands, l ives in E indhoven

. . . what i f you would not want to make a work manifest 2014, 9min, d ig i ta l video

Does the quest ion of peace st i l l resonate, or is pacif icat ion the inherent consequence to a more al inear sense of t ime? How do we f ind a methodology for act ivat ing the ‘ 61 moment? According to Lyotard, our role is to uncover the moments in which something has been si lenced due to the lack of a un iversal meta-language. Our responsibi l i ty starts in f ind ing the (impossib le!) id iom for them. In order to approach h istory from an art ist ic and—whatever that means—contemporary point of view, I invest igate the plants appearing in the archive pictures. They are the protagonists in my methodology of col lect ing/cut t ing/changing/combin ing images. I try to catch something of their si lence.

Marianna Maruyama

Born in the U.S., l ives in Amsterdam

From Japan: Project Omoide Salvage—Archive Recovery2011-2014 ongoing, 49 photographs, d iagram drawn onto the wal l , booklet with interviews

How can the president ia l Photo Service archive offer ways in which to understand how any archive could be ‘worked ’ art ist ica l ly? In order to test the methodology I am developing, I am conceptual ly pair ing ‘Ti to ’ s archive ’ , and the stages i t has gone through, wi th a very d istant and enormous photo recovery project


A7.8

A7.9

27

happening in Japan r ight now. The project Omoide (Memory) Salvage a imed to recover and return fami ly a lbums from the wreckage and debris after the 11 March 2011 tsunami that wiped out numerous coasta l town and ci t ies. Because of our ear ly, but l imi ted, involvement with the project in 2011, and our connect ion to Japan, my col league Manami Goda (Tokyo) and I are further ing our work with th is part icu lar (re)archiving project. By exhibi t ing the images of the recovery project in Japan at the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade, we intend to connect two distant, yet related pract ices.

Aart i Sunder

Born in Ind ia, l ives in Rot terdam

cowtomatoicecubeonion2014, animat ion

What happens when two disconnected narrat ives are brought together? Does everyth ing seen become a metaphor? Ti to, Nehru, Sukarno, Nkrumah and Nasser—the in i t iators of the NAM, the spear-headers of the off icia l post-colon ia l era. What d id each of these men stand for, in the world and for their respect ive nat ions? Are they being made out to be more important than they were? What does neutra l i ty mean? What happens when a h istory they are a part of is contrasted with a seemingly na ïve and simpl ist ic story? A story narrated to me by chi ldren from Vanavi l school , in Sikkal , Nagapat inam, TN. A chi ldrens ’ ta le about what interact ion would mean, what i t may mean to survive, and a mat ter-of-fact way of perceiving i t, connected inconclusively and ‘ normal ly ’ to something a l l of us do whi le cut t ing onions. What are the connect ions that then become impl ici t?


A7.10

28

Cel ia Eslamieh Shomal

Born in Iran, l ives in Enschede

Third Case2014, col lage and a length of f ict ional d ia logue pr intout

Hamid Dabashi commented in the Al Jazeera Magazine in August 2012, “ I t is not even too far fetched to th ink that the treacherous coup against Mossadegh ’ s government was at least a factor behind the Non-Al igned Movement. ” I wrote a f ict ional d ia logue between Marshal Josip Broz Ti to, and Dr. Mohamad Mossadegh (the Pr ime Min ister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, when h is government was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the Br i t ish MI6 and CIA. He is the champion of Iran ian ant i-colon ia l nat ional ism.) This f ict ional d ia logue comes with a col lage made of an archive image from the MYH and a recent page from Tehran ’ s Resalat newspaper (Apri l 14, 2014). The col lage depicts Ti to welcoming Sardar Mohammad Daoud, the Pr ime Min ister of Afghanistan, to the f irst Conference of NAM. Mr. Daoud ’ s shape is replaced by the page from Resalat , problemat is ing the sign i f icance of Dr.Mossadegh. The newspaper art icle is about Dr. Mossadegh, the nat ional izat ion of Iran oi l industry, the coup, the colon ia l ism in the past and now.


A7.11

29

Lai la Torres Mendieta

Born in Mexico, l ives in Rot terdam

Someone2014, d ig i ta l video, 7 min .

How do we define ourselves in terms of sexual i ty? When does sexual i ty become an essent ia l part of our concept of belonging to society? In relat ion to these quest ions, images play an essent ia l role when ta lking about ident i ty. Plat forms of visua l product ion such as cinema, televis ion and magazines have created an imagery f i l led with types of sexual i ty that are f ixed in binary codes (female/male). This mater ia l isat ion of our need to posi t ion ourselves as elements of col lect iv i ty produces an a l ienated, preconceived posi t ion ing. We often do not recognise th is inf luence of the Western cu l ture with in us, the l inger ing traces of their symbol ic meaning with in our unconscious. May th is piece serve as both an audiovisua l exper iment and a d iscursive proposal to unfold a broader understanding of our cu l tura l hybr id isat ion and the possibi l i t ies with in a sexual i ty that defines i tsel f as non-al igned in relat ion to those binary codes.

Larraitz Torres

Born in Spain, l ives in San Sebast ian

Personal ly, un iversal ly 2014, video, 8:18min .

Art ists from the Dutch Art Inst i tute spent two weeks in Addis Ababa col laborat ing with art ists from the AAU Al le School of Fine Art and Design and Netsa Art Vi l lage Art ist Residency, as part of


A7.13

A7.12

30

the educat ional element of the Travel l ing Comuniqué project. Netsa Art Vi l lage produced a socia l space with in which th is process cont inued as a const i tut ive element of the project. Th is video is based on conversat ions we had around the works of some of the part icipat ing art ists . Conversat ional space is space of product ion, of sociabi l i ty and of art ist ic pract ice. This unfold ing of the socia l fabr ic is demonstrated in conversat ions recording approaches to art ist ic product ion, manifest ing that a singu lar pract ice is a lways connected to the group condi t ion . The art ists explored the condi t ions of art educat ion, wi th in the academy and those of self-educat ion, wi th in art ist ic pract ice, d iscussing a need for a “ d issident educat ion programme ” in relat ion to academic structures. Educat ion could be looking for another language (other than the imposed); cou ld be the mul t iopt ica l object (the one that the viewer can see from dif ferent perspect ives) through the d i f ferent sourced mater ia ls ’ or objects of interest ’ s assemblage.

Si lvia Ul loa

Born in Spain, l ives in Amsterdam

Unseen2014, work on paper.

The contr ibut ion consists on a poem and handwri t ten notes about a f i lm I haven ’ t seen, Abyssin ian Expedit ion . I t is about an ethnographic f i lm made in Eth iopia by an expedi t ion group from the Chicago Field Museum, in 1926, which on ly exists in the archives of the Museum. L isa Brooks, a fr iend of mine who l ives in Chicago, saw the f i lm and made notes about i t. Her handwri t ten notes are scanned and presented here. This project is based on an extend research about the context under which Abyssin ian Expedit ion f i lm was produced, as wel l as the relat ion among the one who f i lms and the one who is being f i lmed. The presentat ion deals with a ‘ cinema by other means ’ (Pavle Levi), where images have left, the

Part icipants of theTravel l ing Communiqué in Arnhem

A7.14

31

project ion has been interrupted and other gestures begin to generate a f i lm in the mind of the spectator.

“ For I haven ’ t seen i t and at the same t ime I have seen i t. I have seen i t because someone has shown i t to me - with words. ” *

*Serge Daney, The Tracking Shot in Kapo , Trafic: 7, 1992


32

Born in SFRY, l ives in Cel je

We Need a Ti t le2014, HD video, 28 min .

Part icipants:Lara Calasan Dorn, Serheja Hrovat ič, Tjaša Lea Kosmat in, Tinkara Kovać, Jure Macuh, Matej Ocvirk

The art ist is producing th is video in col laborat ion with the debate club of Gimnazi ja Cel je—Center [Grammar School Cel je—Center]. Over several meet ings held dur ing school hours, the debaters and the art ist engaged with a paral le l curr icu lum by looking at mater ia ls that are ei ther absent from or part ly present in the current h istory or art h istory schoolbooks. In common sessions they explored the fol lowing mater ia ls: the NAM photographic archive at the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade, Part isan art and h istory schoolbooks from the per iod of Yugoslavia and the present state of Slovenia . Through reading these mater ia ls, the debaters try to ref lect upon their own posi t ion with in the coded environment of the school . Their points of exposure are: the problem of cu l tura l colon isat ion; the school apparatus as a contr ibutor to repressing ind ividual capaci t ies to imagine or interpret knowledge from the curr icu la d i f ferent ly; the need for col lect ive act ion; and the impossibi l i t ies emerging from the voice of the students that d isable conversat ion with their elders. In the video, these concerns are jo ined in an at tempt to wri te a poem col lect ively. We observe the members of the debate club dur ing the process of wri t ing a poem that would express their needs and concerns. However, being and doing th ings together is a compl icated process, s ince ind ividual voices have to be in sync with the overal l interest of the group. The video exposes moments of mutual effort of creat ion, d isagreement and points of negot iat ion .

Maja Hodošček

A8

33

Mil ica Tomić

The Pur lo ined Let ter2014, lambda-pr int, 180cm by 120cm, (photograph: Armin L inke)

The Pur lo ined Let ter is a d iscursive operat ion in the form of a photograph. I t emerged with in d iscussions that took place dur ing the product ion of the Travel l ing Communiqué exhibi t ion, depart ing from the idea that the col lect ive statements, images and sounds announced dur ing the f irst Conference of the NAM in Belgrade in 1961 are st i l l travel l ing .

Who is the addressee of the Communiqué today?

A9

34

Netsa Art Vi l lage

Art ist col lect ive with stud ios and an exhibi t ion space in the publ ic park in Addis Ababa

Netsa Arts Vi l lage was establ ished in 2008 by n ine graduates of Addis Ababa Universi ty School of Fine Arts and Design and two independent art ists with the a im of promot ing contemporary art in Eth iopia and giving emerging art ists a plat form for exchange and d iscussion. Netsa Art Vi l lage is located inside Ferensay Park, a large urban green space on about 57,000 sqare metres. Netsa Art Vi l lage provides Eth iopian art ists with a forum for networking, communicat ion, and dynamic exchange. Concerts, readings, video presentat ions, d iscussions, and exhibi t ions a l low art ists to come into contact with the local communi ty and create a l iv ing museum of contemporary art. Several projects, many of them interd iscip l inary, involve youths from socia l ly d isadvantaged neighborhoods. Netsa Art Vi l lage is a lmost ent irely f inanced by the art ists themselves, even i f they don ’ t often sel l their work. Netsa is an exhibi t ion space, simul taneously used as a stud io space, cooperat ing with partners such as the Goethe-Inst i tut Addis Ababa, who offered support by creat ing plat forms and workshops for the art ists as wel l as contr ibuted f inance to renovat ing the exhibi t ion space and websi te development. Netsa a lso col laborated with Tr iangle Networks, The Pr ince Claus Dund, Al le School of Fine Arts, Addis Ababa and the Townhouse Gal lery, Cairo.

netsaartvi l lage.org

A11

35

Netsa Art Vi l lage

Mihret Kebede

The Contemporary Al ignment2014, Mixed media col lage on paper, 60cm x 60cm

The quest ion is to quest ion what i t is to be al igned and non-al igned. We al l are a l igned as l iv ing th ings and non-l iv ing th ings and have been taught that way before the Non-Al igned Movement came into being. So being a l igned is natura l . . .but being a l igned or non-al igned unnatura l ly is unnatura l ! What would have been/should be the Quest ion by our contemporary act ivists and communi ty leaders at the recent Non-Al igned Movement Conference, in 2012, i n Tehran? My art work is a proposal for an imaginary real i ty!

Tamrat Gezahegn

Guid ing with Wisdom 2012, Manuscr ipt, 47 x 130 cm (170 cm unrol led) Paint ing on paper, 38 x 35 cm.

May peace upon you! What would you feel i f you were to dare l isten to God ’ s words. The creator created one art space to be served as the space for the creat ion of art works and pract ices with blessings, spir i ts and medi tat ions. With h is medi tat ive creat ions, some have fa l len some have cured. Even though the creator is responsib le for what happens, the research cont inues, whether the creator knows i t would happen or not. With a l l the processes and achievements of our art ist ic pract ice, in order to exchange ideas and experiences with the other world, we got invi ted to Ber l in to take part in an internat ional art symposium and exhibi t ion represent ing our country, Eth iopia . Out of the four invi ted professionals, two of us have been denied visas.

A11 .1

A11 .2

36

De 27.04.12BOTSCHAFTAddis Ababa[Apri l 27 2012, German Embassy, Addis Ababa]

The main reason for refusing to grant us visas was that we do not have enough property to show or registered in our names as a guarantee we would return home after the program is over. Only once people and inst i tut ions create safe guards for art and art pract ices, wi l l there be a cure for th is, so that art ists in both worlds could share each other ’ s exper iences and benefi t from th is world as a whole, regardless of borders or other restr ict ions.

The pract ice of art is st i l l dr iven by th is capi ta l ist world . When our renowned art ist, world laureate Mai tre Art iste Afework Tekle d ied, h is stud io and al l of h is property were left to the state, fol lowing h is wish to leave al l to h is beloved country. The property of the art ist is the property of the world . When th is property of the world is then g iven to th is world by the art ist, and when the property of the art ist is g iven to the world by the government, an important moment ar ises that has impact in our future world, and th is cont inues to be researched.

This generous idea of g iving h is treasure to h is country was recognised by h is fel low people as a good start. For someone to be tasked with the capaci ty of governing people with care, one must cure h is fel low people with cr i t ica l th inking.

Helen Zeru Araya

To be together whi le being together2014, works on paper, 65cm x 50cm each.

How is th is place d i f ferent from anywhere else? Does being together here by carrying the same circle with in us or moving somewhere else together makes every place the same or unchanged? In that case, what is the d i f ference? Why leave here, why go there? With in th is project, my work carr ies mater ia ls from the past, not on ly as an archive, but as i t becomes the present

Netsa Art Vi l lage

A11.3

37

again when I am working with i t now. The concept or ig inates from a story cal led “ Basha Ashebir be America ” by the Eth iopian wri ter Mengistu Lemma imaging the 1960 ’ s. He addresses issues in the society st i l l relevant to th is day through d i f ferent forms and arrangement. I try to object i fy the story through f ind ing coherence and relevance issues to the present t ime in Eth iopia .

Mulugeta Kassa

The Cit ies Background 1The Cit ies Background 2The Cit ies Background 3 2014, three col lages, 60 x 84 cm each.

I see the ci ty civi l izat ion being a l l about money and power. I have encountered untold problems in sending my art works to Hong Kong for a show at Para Si te gal lery and paid a r id icu lous amount of money for that. The off icia ls I encuntered fa i led to understand what I was trying to do, that I was, in fact, was represent ing my country! Their pr ior i t ies could on ly cover the immediate considerat ions of what they th ink is bet ter according to their l iv ing real i ty. Therefore: The pr ice of the art work = Money + Moral

Tesfahun Kibru

Life Inspirat ionUndated, col lage, 29 x 42 cm

Entrance door: the world is fu l l of d i f ferent styles of l iv ing and wisdoms of cu l ture. The sacr i f ices we al l provide in order to l ive together, wi th a l l the tolerance, are part of what we are trying to do and i t shou ld be something we cont inue to pract ice. We have reached th is point by accept ing both what we bel ieve

Netsa Art Vi l lage

A11.4

A11 .5

38

in and what we do not bel ieve in, as we know that, at the end of the day, our courage to tolerate and our abi l i ty to l ive together with our var iet ies is what mat ter most.

Netsa Art Vi l lage

39

Theo Eshetu

Born in Great Br i t ian, l ives in Ber l in

The Atom Bomb 2014, 85 min, montage of publ icly avai lable footage, Engl ish, Russian and Amharic, Engl ish subt i t les.

Despi te d i f ferences and d isagreements, a un i fying factor emerged out of the Non-Al igned Movement (NAM) founding conference held i n Belgrade in September 1961: the concern over destruct ive powers of the atom bomb. The Cold War was undermined by the paradoxica l threat of world destruct ion . The abi l i ty to harness nuclear energy was a scient i f ic breakthrough capable of enhancing many aspects of human l i fe, but i ts use as a Weapon of Mass Destruct ion turned i t into an epoch-changing invent ion, quest ion ing the very sani ty of human mind. I t became a tool of control and coercion, wi th repercussions st i l l fel t today. The neurosis of the Modern age and our desire to overcome i t is founded on the contradict ion that progress can a lso mean annih i lat ion . Archives, a rest ing place for h istor ica l memory, are deposi tor ies that test i fy to past events and, as such, subject to interpretat ion .

The or ig ina l circumstance and chain of events that precede the forming of an archive are hard to decipher, as the or ig ina l mindset can on ly be guessed at or hypothesised. Whi lst much can be understood through such processes, fragments in an archive often appear as quaint shadows of the past, leaving us to impose credib le theor ies and readings from a present day perspect ive. Based on the let ter sent at the end of the f irst NAM conference to Khrushchev and Kennedy, The Atom Bomb uses h istor ica l footage from newsreels and propaganda f i lms, cu l led from onl ine Internet archives, to unfold the complex network of ideas around the atom bomb and i ts present day repercussions.

The scope, however, is not to arr ive at a root understanding of the factors and circumstances that led to th is let ter, but rather to point at the fa lseness of pol i t ica l rhetor ic and reveal the fol ly generated by the Bomb and i ts image.

A12

40

Born in Budapest, l ives in Budapest

Syr ian Voices 2012—Syrian Voices Mediat ion and Art 2013, 500 postcards, s ize DIN A 5 148mm by 210mm and DIN A 6, 105mm by 148mm

What is specia l in art from Syr ia? How can people endure the th ird year of terr ib le fate without breaking? And how can art ists produce works showing so much energy, even br ightness in t ime of darkness and losses? What can we learn from Syr ian art ists? We know media images showing tota l destruct ion of the country. What not so many people know is the poetry of Syr ian contemporary art, i ts depth and wisdom, which is enigmat ic, secret ive Syr ian Voices shows in t imes of cr is is the br ightness, confidence and often enigmat ic wisdom of Syr ian art ists .

In the world fu l l of threatening problems, such as overpopulat ion, migrat ion and ecolog ica l issues, the br ightness and wisdom of Jasmine f lower, the symbol of Damascus, is needed. I ts message is part of the message of the Syr ian revolut ion . This ethereal l ight sh ines through the images of darkness, the l ight of bel ief. Art ists belong to a l l the rel ig ious and ideolog ica l groups in Syr ia, we never ask about one ’ s confession. The strength is in the presence of the l ight. Syr ian art ists use d ig i ta l tools in the way painters used the brush; young Syr ian art ist g ive new meaning and value to d ig i ta l art and photography. The glossy photo-paper is fresh, l ike a st i l l-wet gouache or oi l pa int ing. This is a young generat ion using immater ia l media, as wel l as brush and canvas, wi th a h igh level or art ist ic virtuosi ty and human depth, demanding more humani ty in the world .

Many Syrian art ists and designers publ ish their work on blogs. This contr ibut ion to Travel l ing Communiqué explores and invest igates alternat ive forms of image distr ibut ion. In Hungary and in the region, we remember the t ime when there was no Internet or private art-gal ler ies. Then, magazines, postcards and stamps were often the only medium of distr ibut ing art and individual posit ions.

syr ianvoicesmediat ionandart.wordpress.com

Roza El-Hassan

A13

41

Fabian Becht le

Born in Ber l in , l ives in Ber l in

Jablan ica Col lect ion 2014, var ious length, var ious d imension, 2-channel HD video insta l lat ion

Channel 01 : Expanded MuseumHDV, 2:00min, stereo

Channel 02Cutout Animat ion, HDV, 3:00min, stereo Premium Grani te Works, HDV, 2:50min, stereo Blockbuster, HDV, 3:00min, stereo Camp, HDV, 2:30min, stereo How to Blow Up Br idges, Mounta ins, Monuments, HDV, 5:20min, stereoHDV, 2:30min, stereo

The president ia l photo archive, now at the Museum of Yugoslav History (MYH) in Belgrade, grew out of the idea of creat ing a representat ional tool for the state of Yugoslavia, under Josip Broz Ti to and beyond th is t ime. After reviewing images from the archive I decided to leave th is ideolog ica l space in order to „vis i t “ some of i ts places of or ig in . The start ing point of one of my travels was a photograph of Ti to at the opening of the Museum the Bat t le for the Wounded on Neretva River, based in Jablan ica (Bosnia and Herzegovina). By fol lowing d i f ferent strands of Jablan ica-related local and g lobal (h i)stor ies the Jablan ica Col lect ion project tr ies to i l lustrate the complexi ty of d i f ferent layers of narrat ions of Jablan ica. Of centra l importance in th is regard is the story of the Jablan ica br idge. The br idge was blown up twice, f irst by Ti to ’ s Part isans in the Second World War, and then, years later, for the internat ional/Yugoslav blockbuster product ion Batt le of Neretva (1969). This paral le l ism of f ict ion and authent ici ty is a lso at work in the MYH Belgrade archive.

A14

42

Entrance Space

43

Authors of Travel l ing Communiqué

Vitr ine 7: Travel l ing Communiqué, Ber l in , September 2013, Reproduced archiva l photographs and photocopied documents with four contemporary commentar ies, one large-scale reproduced archiva l photograph as image-wal l

This project speculates about a Communiqué (publ ic statement) that was publ ished in an ear ly moment of the Non-Al igned Movement, but never arr ived in publ ic debate. I t forces us to reth ink the Movement ’ s basic concepts in relat ion to today ’ s paradoxica l forms of the pol i t ics of exclusion—perpetuated by g lobal isat ion—that are entangled with the pol i t ics of inclusion leg i t imised by a state of permanent war. The project ’ s point of departure is the archive of the Photo Service of the late Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Ti to. What does th is archive provide us with and how can we relate, today, to the pol i t ics of un iversal ism beyond the dominant pol i t ica l and ideolog ica l concepts?

* Conceived by Mir jana Dragosavl jević, Theo Eshetu, Doreen Mende, The Museum of Yugoslav History (Radovan Cukić, Ivan Manoj lović, Mir jana Slavković), Olga Manoj lović Pintar, Branimir Stojanović, and Mi l ica Tomić with technica l support by Fabian Becht le in September 2013. Display design: Laure Gi let t i , Brussels . Al l photographic images from the archive of the Museum of Yugoslav History, Belgrade, i f not otherwise ind icated. Photographers of the president ’ s Cabinet Press Deparment dur ing the f irst Conference of the Non-Al igned Movement in 1961 were Dragut in Grbić, Mi loš Rašeta and Aleksandar Stojanović. Contr ibut ion for the exhibi t ion and conference After Year Zero , curated by Anselm Franke and Annet t Busch at Haus der Kul turen der Welt in Ber l in , September 18 to November 2, 2013.

A15

44

Summer School

45

Summer School cont inues from previous educat ional sessions in Addis Ababa and Arnhem now in Belgrade by mot ivat ing the pedagogical mobi l isat ion that the Travel l ing Communiqué project insists upon. The concept of becoming a student is const i tut ive of educat ion, not to be understood as art mediat ion, but as a mode of l inked, engaged and impl icated learning. I t addresses anyone who wishes to commit h im/herself to becoming a student of the Non-Al igned th inking. This th inking departs from the foundat ional moment of the Non-Al igned Movement (NAM), as proposed by the project-at-large . To become a student of the Non-Al igned th inking means the opposi te of becoming an expert on the Non-Al igned Movement. Becoming a student fol lows the idea of an open process of learning in order to understand the cal l for independence and ant i-colonia l mobi l isat ion. I t departs from an acute moment of the world (Cold War), as art icu lated during the first conference of the NAM in 1961, and arr ives in a world under global is ing condit ions. To become a student does not mean to accumulate informat ion with the aim of mastering i t, but to ask for methodologies to learn, to be exposed to an intergenerat ional condit ion, to be al lowed to struggle for words, to test ideas and thoughts, and to produce a socia l space with fel low students.

Summer School consists of a reading group and several days of programme at the Museum of Yugoslav History and at the Academic Fi lm Centre. The reading group was in i t iated by art histor ians Mir jana Dragosavl jević, Mi l ja Radovanović, Dejan Vasić and Jovanka Voj inović with the idea to have a plat form in Belgrade in order to col lect ively d iscuss texts and ideas around the topics of Archive, Publ ic Domain and Part icipatory Art Pract ices. The reading group ’ s topics reverberate strongly with the Travel l ing Communiqué project, which has produced other new projects working with the photographic archive of Josip Broz Ti to at the Museum of Yugoslav History. Working through the means of contemporary art and exhibi t ing, we have to stress quest ions: How we can th ink pol i t ics of NAM from today ’ s perspect ive? Is i t possible to produce new modes of sociabi l i ty which enable to th ink the legacy of NAM ’ s revolut ionary th inking? Moreover, is contemporary art capable of opening up a space for emancipat ion?

Summer School

C

46

Summer School

June 11 Museum of Yugoslav History

11AM introduct ion session by Mir jana Dragosavl jević, Mi l ja Radovanović, Dejan Vasić, Jovanka Voj inović and Mi l ica Tomić and Doreen Mende 2PM PhD-Research Group Confl ict ing Ident it ies at ETH Zür ich: Phi l ip Ursprung, Mari ja Marić, Sera ina Renz, Dubravka Sekul ić, Damjan Kokalevski and Haris Pip las 4PM conversat ional event with The Otol i th Group and Doreen Mende5PM performance lecture by Jelena Vesić & Rachel O ’ Rei l ly8PM lecture with d iscussion by Françoise Vergès

June 12 Museum of Yugoslav History and Museum of Afr ican Art

11AM educat ional session with Tarek Elha ik and Kr iss Ravet to-Biag io l i2PM archive session with Museum of Yugoslav History Research Group: Radovan Cukić, Ivan Manoj lović, and Mir jana Slavković 3.30PM presentat ion DAI students and Netsa Art Vi l lage 5.30PM presentat ion with d iscussion Maja Hodošček8PM performance lecture with Branimir Stojanović (at Museum of Afr ican Art)

June 13 Akademski f i lmski centar

3PM Screening Ari f in C. Noer: Serangan Fajar (Eng. : Dawn Attack, Serbian: Zora) 1981, Colour, 120 min . Product ion Company; PPFN Studio. 5PM panel Sol idarity in Quest ion , wi th Kodwo Eshun, Doreen Mende, Miki Stojanović and moderated by Jelena Vesić. 8PM Screening Amar Laksr i Patrou i l le à l ’ East (Engl ish: Patrol t to the East , Serbian: Patrola na Istok) 1971, 115 min .

Product ion Company: O.N.C. I .C.

C

47

Venues:

Museum of Yugoslav History BelgradeBot ićeva 611000 Belgrademi j . rs

Museum of Afr ican Art Andre Nikol ića 14 11000 Belgrademuseumofafr icanart.org

Akademski f i lmski centar (Dom kul ture “ Studentski grad ” Belgrade)Bulevar Zorana Đinđ ića17911070 Novi Beograddksg.rs

Summer School

C

48

Cinema Space

49

The Otol i th Group Founded by Kodwo Eshun and Anja l ika Sagar in London in 2002

In the Year of the Quiet Sun 2013, 34min, d ig i ta l video, UK/D, Engl ish .

The essay-fi lm In the Year of the Quiet Sun takes i ts name from the decrease in solar surface temperature that occurs every eleven years. From November 1964 to November 1965, the nat ion states of the world issued postage stamps to commemorate the f irst scient i f ic expedi t ion to study the sun. As the stamps turned their face towards the sky, they over looked the unstable land of Afr ica ’ s newly independent states.

Screening each Fr iday, from 10AM to 8PM, dur ingthe t ime of the exhibi t ion at the Cinema Space of the Museum of Yugoslav History.

Cinema

D

50

Cinema

Fi lm Programme with f i lm screenings and ta lks at the cinema space, Museum of Yugoslav History and at the Akademski f i lmski centar, Belgrade.Curated by Mirol jub Miki Stojanović

The Third World and i ts f i lms have engendered pol i t ica l radica l ism, socia l engagement, socia l protest, ideolog ica l manifests, utopia as a form of transfer, autochthonous subversion, intel lectual at tract ion and revolut ionary eth ics. More sign i f icant ly, and th is is often neglected, Third World cinema at i ts best was and remains pr imari ly a revolut ionary f i lm aesthet ic. Ant icolon ia l screening pract ices have redirected f i lm language towards essent ia l ly new forms of expression; they have, in the newly formed pol i t ica l constel lat ions, at ta ined d ivergent pointers to the most sign i f icant doctr inary quest ions of the very nature of f i lm and i ts operat ional isat ion of real i ty.

The mathemat ica l formula of their blossoming lay in the str ict rat ional isat ion of their existence: maximal creat ivi ty by min imal compromise. This a lso means that the f i lms of the Third World had their g iants, their log ic of interest, their product ion strategy, and above al l , a fa i thfu l audience of mi l l ions. A col lect iv ist concept of the world became the dominant tra i t in most such cinemas, and was perhaps best formulated by the great Bol iv ian d irector Jorge Sanj inés as leg i t imate narrat ive.

This Fi lm Programme offers nei ther an evocat ive, nor a retrospect ive academic view of certa in countr ies ’ contr ibut ion to global f i lm cu l ture. Conceived pr imari ly as a re-actual ised model of f i lmic behaviour of whol ly ant icolon ia l generat ions, i t demonstrates the mul t i tude of planes on which th is model funct ions, start ing with that at which contemporary audiences ident i fy themselves. Simply put, the t ime of these f i lms has not passed and their reciproci ty with the contemporary is tru ly astonish ing.

When Mohamed Lakdar Hamina received Palme D ’Or in Cannes, in 1975, for h is f i lm Chronicle of the Years of the Embers , an irony was reflected in fact that th is took place in the country against whose colon ia l presence in Alger ia th is f i lm was made. Today ’ s iron ies are a l together subt ler and no longer the pr ivi lege

D

51

Cinema

of imperia l strategies a lone. This programme reflects, above al l , the enormous plura l i ty of the aesthet ic models of engaged cinema, or mi l i tant cinema. Having become a textbook for revolut ionar ies, th is cinema has, more important ly, set new standards of product ion, form and eth ics.

August 16 and August 17, 2014 Programme and venues wi l l be announced in a t imely manner, and avai lable upon request from travel l ing .communique@gmai l .com

D

52

Travel l ing Communiqué is a durat ional project that rel ies on common authorship. I t is curated by Armin L inke (IT/DE), Doreen Mende (DE) and Mi l ica Tomić (born in SFRY) in d iscussion with Yero Adugna Et icha (ET), Kader At t ia (DZ/FR) Fabian Becht le (DE); ‘Confl ict ing Ident i t ies ’ at ETH Zürich: Ph i l ip Ursprung (CH), Mari ja Marić (BiH), Seraina Renz (CH), Dubravka Sekul ić (born in SFRY), Damjan Kokalevski (MK) and Haris Pip las (BiH); Mir jana Dragosavl jević (born in SFRY), Tarek Elha ik (MA/USA) & Kr iss Ravet to-Biag io l i (USA), Theo Eshetu (GB/ET), Kodwo Eshun (GB), Heba Far id (EG), Anselm Franke (DE), E l izabeth W. Giorg is (ET), Fasi l Giorghis (ET), Jean-Luc Godard (CH) and Anne-Marie Mièvi l le (FR) Flaka Hal i t i (XK), Roza El Hassan (SYR/HU), Samia Henni (CH/DZ), Maja Hodošček (born in SFRY), Pramod Kumar (IN), Mi l ica Lopičić (born in SFRY), Mirko Lovr ić (SRB)✝, Olga Manoj lović Pintar (SRB),

Fred Moten (USA); Museum of Yugoslav History Research Group: Radovan Cukić (SRB), Ivan Manoj lović (SRB), and Mir jana Slavković (SRB), Dor ja Benussi (CRO), Ivan Benussi (SRB); the Netsa Art Vi l lage Addis Abbaba with Helen Zeru Araya (ET), Tamrat Gezahegn (ET), Mulugeta Kassa (ET), Mihret Kebede (ET), and Tesfahun Kibru; Garin Nugroho (ID), The Otol i th Group (GB), O ’Tam Pul to (ET), Mi l ja Radovanović (born in SFRY), Branimir Stojanović (SRB), Mirol jub Miki Stojanović (born in SFRY); Subversive Fi lms: Mohanad Yaqubi & Reem Shi l leh (occupied Palest ine); Žiga Testen (SLO); Travel l ing Communiqué at the Dutch Art Inst i tute, Arnhem: Jan Adriaans (NL), Kat ia Barret t (GB), Hanan Benammar (DZ/FR), Anna Dasović (NL), Coco Duivenvoorde (NL), Aziza Harmel (TN), Monique Hendr iksen (NL), Marianna Maruyama (USA/IT), Cel ia Eslamieh Shomal (IR),

Colophon

53

Aart i Sunder (IN), Si lv ia Ul loa (ES), Larra i tz Torres (ES) and Lai la Torres Mendieta (MEX); Dejan Vasić (born in SFRY), Jelena Vesić (born in SFRY) & Rachel O ’ Rei l ly (AUS), Vanessa Vasić-Janeković (born in SFRY), Françoise Vergès (Réunionnaise), and Jovanka Voj inović (born in SFRY).

Travel l ing Communiqué ’ s f irst publ ic exposure took place at Haus der Kul turen der Welt (HKW) in Ber l in , September 2013, through an intervent ion with in the After Year Zero exhibi t ion and conference.

Responsib le for project-at-large: Travel l ing Communiqué (Armin L inke, Doreen Mende, Mi l ica Tomić) Coordinat ion and research: Mir jana Dragosavl jević Publ isher: Travel l ing Communiqué Concept pr inted mat ter: Travel l ing Communiqué Design concept pr inted mat ter: Žiga Testen with James Oates Edi tor ia l : Mir jana Dragosavl jević, Kodwo Eshun, Doreen Mende,

Mi l ica Tomić Text Edi tor : Vanessa Vasić-Janeković Translat ion: Vanessa Vasić-Janeković, Vuk Vuković

Exhibi t ion typography: Žiga Testen with James Oates Exhibi t ion archi teture: Mi l ica Lopičić Construct ion work: D&A&K “ Diza jn ”

Fi lm Programme: Mirol jub Miki Stojanović Summer School/ Reading Group: Mir jana Dragosavl jević, Mi l ja Radovanović, Dejan Vasić, Jovanka Voj inović

Museum of Yugoslav History BelgradeBot ićeva 6, 11000 Belgrade Director: Neda Knežević Coordinat ion: Katar ina Živanović Curators: Ivan Manoj lović, Mir jana Slavković, Radovan Cukić Archivists: Radovan Cukić, Marko Radovanović Press: Ana Radić Translat ion and proofreading: Jelena Baj ić

Colophon

54

Further venues: Museum of Afr ican Art (museumofafr icanart.org)Akademski f i lmski centar (Dom kul ture “ Studentski grad ” Belgrade) dksg.rs

Thanks to:Nebojša Čović, Zoran Er ić, Laure Gi let t i , Kuehn Malvezzi , Yunjoo Kwak, Kianchow Kwok, Steve Lake, Hannah L i ley, Mat th ias Mül ler-Wiefer ig, Sarah Poppel , Research Group Curator ia l /Knowledge Goldsmiths London, Gabriël le Schlei jpen, Alex Sainsbury, Sabine Sarwa, Ber i t Seidel , Jacq van der Spek, Stevan Vuković, Katar ina Živanović (Director MYH 2008 to 2012), Ana Sladojević.

Trave l l i ng Commun iqué is rea l i sed in co l laborat ion wi th the Museum of Yugos lav H is tory i n Be lgrade and cont r ibu tes to the pro ject through i ts research group wh i l s t operat i ng as the pro ject ’ s i ns t i t u t iona l par tner.

The pro ject is produced in cooperat ion wi th the Goethe- Inst i t u t Be lgrad, funded by the Fore ign Of f ice of The Federa l Repub l ic of Germany and The M in is t ry of Cu l ture and Informat ion of The Repub l ic of Serb ia .

I t i s co-produced by Dutch Art I nst i t u te and Netsa Art Vi l lage in Add is Ababa .

Trave l l i ng Commun iqué is suppor ted by Haus der Ku l turen der Wel t (Ber l i n), I ns t i t u t für Gesch ichte und Theor ie der Arch i tektur-E idgenöss ische Techn ische Hochschu le Zür ich , Museum of Afr ican Art and Akademski f i lmsk i centar (Dom ku l ture “ Studentsk i grad ” Be lgrade), ERSTE foundat ion , The Embassy of The Peop le ’ s Democrat ic Repub l ic of Alger ia i n Serb ia , The Embassy of The Repub l ic of I ndones ia i n Serb ia and The Embassy of The Arab Repub l ic of Egypt i n Serb ia and KNAUF.

Colophon

56

Entr

ance

A1

A1

A3

A5

A6

A7.

11

A7.

11

A9

A13

A12

A14

A8

A7.

3

A7.

1A7.

2A7.4

A7.

6

A11

.1A

11.2

A11

.3A

11.4

A11

.5

A7.

9

A7.

5

A7.4

A2

A4

B

A15

A1.

1 A

1.2

A1.

3A

1.4

A1.

5A

1.6

Spac

e O

ne

Spac

e Tw

o

Spac

e Th

ree

A7.7

A7.

8A7.

10A7.

14

F loor Plan

travelling communiqué. going into the photo archive of josip broz tito, museum of yugoslav history,...

Documents