| Urša Jurman |
|
Research project Manifesta in our backyard |
| The research project takes place within the frame of the
regional programme SCCA Network Research & Education in Contemporary
Art in the Region Person responsible for research project: Barbara Borčić (director of SCCA – Ljubljana) Co-ordinator: Urša Jurman Initiative group: SCCA – Ljubljana, 1998 (Barbara Borčić, Alenka Pirman, Saša Glavan, Igor Španjol), Jože Barši and Urša Jurman Main working group: Jože Barši (artist and lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana), Saša Glavan (final year student of History of Art at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, programme co-ordinator at SCCA - Ljubljana), Urša Jurman (final year student of Sociology of Culture and History of Art at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, co-worker at SCCA - Ljubljana) and Sabina Salamon (final year student of Philosophy and History of Art at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana). Co-workers: Vanesa Čokl (final year student of History and Slovene language at the Pedagogic Faculty in Maribor, reporter for the field of culture at the daily newspaper Večer), Maša Gedrih (final year student of Philosophy and Sociology of Culture at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana), Slavko Kurdija (lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana) Tanja Pesko (final year student of History of Art and Sociology of Culture at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, editor at the Krt publishing house, which publishes sociological and humanistic literature), Alenka Pirman (artist) and Marjetica Potrč (artist, lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana). Short presentation of the research project The third variant of Manifesta - a European biennial of contemporary art which states as one of its main characteristics and tasks the actualisation of the term Europe and the artistic development within, and at this pays special attention to joining the Western and Eastern European cultural space - will for the first time be hosted here, or rather on the edge of the Eastern European space, in Ljubljana. (In 1996 Manifesta 1 took place in Rotterdam, while in 1998 Manifesta 2 took place in Luxembourg). This is why the hosting of Manifesta 3 in Ljubljana is an important event, not only for Slovenia and Ljubljana (especially for the field of contemporary art) but also for Manifesta itself. The fact that Ljubljana will be a test case for the event itself and from which the event will be able to check its basic standpoints and concepts is made clear already by the choice of the theme of the event "borderline syndrome" and "defence energies". In order to avoid passive and uncritical acceptation of the event and with this the model of presenting contemporary art brought from the outside (Manifesta is a Western European initiative) on one side and an a priori rejection on the other, the initiative group in January 1999 (in November 1998 the official news that Manifesta 3 is going to be hosted in Ljubljana was announced) decided to set up a research project Manifesta in Our Backyard. In the research project Manifesta 3 serves as an example of a large, representative contemporary art event and thus as an example of the manifestation of the cultural industry. The goal of the research is to encourage a critical discourse on the contemporary art system which operates in accordance to the market mechanisms and the dominating (post-modern) ideology. At the same time we wish to encourage the self-reflection of the protagonists on the local art scene (especially ourselves) as well as broader (especially in Eastern Europe). Parallel to this we wish to encourage the formation and emancipation of individual models of operation within the art system – models which would emerge from the specifics and needs of the area in which we are working. In this context the research seems to make sense and be of importance also due to the fact that in the year 2000 SCCA – Ljubljana (the same as all remaining 19 Soros Centers for Contemporary Arts) will stop operating within the frame of the Open Society Institute – Slovenia, with which the newly established Institute for Contemporary Arts is gaining new opportunities for a different way of working in the field of art and culture. In the research project we have focused on three fields and formed three working groups. Apart from the more or less constant permanent co-workers, we are also inviting various project co-workers – artists, art theoreticians and critics, philosophers, sociologists, etc. a) Analysing the Manifesta 3 self-image This group gathers and analyses the official statements of Manifesta 3 (from the side of curators, participating artists, organisers). At this special attention is paid to the ways of forming art dominants and trends. We are also paying attention to any contradictions that might occur (contradictions between the initial intentions and goals of Manifesta and especially Manifesta 3 and its realisation – exhibition, as well as all accompanying events). Since August 1999 when the curators of Manifesta 3 published the concept of the event ("borderline syndrome" and "defence energies" or to be more precise the issue of protection from political, economic and cultural homogenisation) we have focused our attention mainly on the issue of globalism (relation between global and local or centre and periphery) and how it is reflected in the field of fine arts (at this we are especially interested in the relation between Eastern and Western Europe). Apart from getting on terms with the theme of Manifesta 3 our priority remains a critical reflection of the operation of a contemporary art system and the issue of the institutionalisation of art. b) Studying the influence of Manifesta 3 on the local art scene The task of this group is to gather the expectations and experiences of contemporary art protagonists in the Slovene region (curators, gallery owners, artists, critics, etc.) related to the hosting of Manifesta 3 in Ljubljana: how are they involved in it (if at all); in their opinion, does the event influence the local art scene (if yes – how); what can the event offer them and what are their expectations, how do they react to the event. One of the ways we gather information is through a series of three questionnaires, with which we hope to gain the information as regards the influence and effect of Manifesta 3 on the local scene. The first questionnaire was mailed to 1000 addresses on 8th June, while the other two will be performed in September (after the end of Manifesta) and in December (when a certain time distance will already be established). c) Analysing works of art This group was formed due to the fact that at writing texts on large art events, works of art themselves are normally left out and forgotten about. This occurs due to the very large number of works of art which makes an in depth analysis very rare. For the starting point of our work we have set the analysis of individual works of art, the choice of which was based on the personal preferences of the participants. The joint "on the spot" analysis of works is followed up by individual work which in turn is followed by a group discussion as regards the results (texts). e-mail: jurman@soros.si |