ot
ot
ot
``UDAS``
galerija
MLADEN MILJANOVIĆ
OKUPACIONA TERAPIJA / OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Prostori / Venues :
UDAS galerija / UDAS gallery
Banski Dvor KC / Banski dvor cultural center
Muzej savremene umjetnosti Republike Srpske
Museum of contemporary art Republic of Srpska
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Okupaciona terapija
Occupational therapy
(ergo terapija, radna terapija) jedan od najstarijih načina liječenja
u psihijatriji. Međutim, organizovana okupaciona terapija plod je
modernizacije psihijatrijskog liječenja i postupaka sa psihičkim
bolesnikom od vremena francuskog psihijatra Pinela naovamo.
Pored liječenja u psihijatriji, okupaciona je terapija u novije
vrijeme metoda liječenja svakog bolesnika i traumatičara metodom
svrsishodnog zapošljavanja. Ciljevi ove terapije su da pobudi
interesovanje kod bolesnika za okolinu i da popravi eventualnu
postojeću individualnost. Okupacionu terapiju najbolje je provoditi
u grupi. Pritom valja paziti da je rad raznovrstan, da je koristan
i svrsishodan, a ne besmislen, i da je za pojedinog bolesnika
zanimljiv.
(ergo-therapy, work therapy) one of the oldest kinds of treatment
in psychiatry. However, organised occupational therapy is a result
of the modernisation of psychiatric treatment and dealing with
mentally ill patients since the time of the French psychiatrist Pinel
to this day.
Along with its application in psychiatry, more recently occupational
therapy has been used as a method of treatment of all kinds of
patients and traumatised persons using the method of meaningful
occupation. The goal of this kind of therapy is to arouse the patients’
interest in their surroundings and enhance their potential existent
individuality. Occupational therapy is best carried out in a group. It
is necessary that occupation be varied, useful and meaningful, not
meaningless, as well as engaging for every individual patient.
(Okupaciona terapija – odgoj – str.290.
Dr Vladimir Hudolin
``Psihijatrijsko psihološki riječ nik``)
(Occupational therapy – education – p. 290,
Dr. Vladimir Hudolin,
“Dictionary of Psychiatry and Psychology)
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Još mikro-narativa sa imaginarnog Balkana:
nekad poručnik, sada umjetnik
4
1
Marija Todorova, Imaginarni
Balkan, Biblioteka XX vek,
Beograd, 2006.
Pojam „imaginarni Balkan“ kao diskurzivna tvorevina Marije Todorove i metafora koja
prokazuje ideologiju getoizacije, konceptualno dobro pokriva sadržaje različitih aspekata
socijalno-ideološke kontekstualizacije u gotovo svim slučajevima takvog umjetničkog djelovanja
koje dolazi s tog previše ideologiziranog prostora. Ovaj pojam, kako navodi Todorova u svojoj
knjizi Imaginarni Balkan, „početkom 20. veka je dobio pejorativne konotacije, iako je ovo bio
postepen proces, na čijem su početku stajali događaji koji su pratili raspad Otomanskog carstva
i stvaranje malih, slabih, ekonomski zaostalih i nesamostalnih nacionalnih država koje je tek
trebalo da se modernizuju“. Na kraju, „zbog teškoća u modernizaciji i pratećih nacionalističkih
aberacija“, Balkan je postajao sve više ne samo simbol za nešto „zaostalo“, nego i „agresivno“
i „netolerantno“, dakle, iracionalno. Tako, „Balkan kao metafora“ 1 postaje čak i predmet
postkolonijalne diskurzivne analize u pokušaju da se, na tragu Edwarda W. Saida i Gayatri
Spivak, dekonstruira ideološka konstrukcija ontologije „imaginarnog Balkana“, zasnovanog na
„strahu od drugog“.
No, taj je Balkan kao „imaginarni paviljon“ između Saidove makro-naracije o „ne-zapadnom
pogledu“ i „zapadnog pogleda“ s visoka, dakle kao zabran „ni na nebu ni na zemlji“, postao
metaforički pogodan ne samo za geopolitičku ideologizaciju ili postkolonijalnu teoriju, nego i za
kontekstualizaciju umjetničkog djelovanja s mnoštvom različitih mikro-narativa. Ma kako bila u
suvremenom pomaku rastegljiva, ta velika autentična pripovijest o paradigmi „Istoka“ i njegovoj
„tranziciji“ ipak je upućena pogledu zapadnog svijeta; no, kao takva je intertekstualna, te
kulturalno, antropološki, analitički i semiotički orijentirana. Tako je i s umjetnošću koja dolazi s
neke od tih „malih“ scena: ona je razapeta između procesa globalizacije i lokalne fragmentacije.
Ali, upravo joj ta razapetost daje ne samo unutrašnju snagu i energiju u označavanju, nego i
zavodljivu intrigantnost autentičnosti „malih priča“ na velikom svjetskom „sajmu taština“. Jaki
mikro-narativi viđeni od tamo nisu tek predmet novih empirijskih spoznaja i doživljaja u/o ovom
„međuprostoru“, nego se u njihovim konceptima, dakako, prepoznaje i energija intelektualnog
projekta koji donosi nove mogućnosti proistekle iz lokalne krize identiteta i potrebe prezentacije
svijetu, konačno svijetu umjetnosti.
Energija umjetničke uronjenosti u razumijevanje posebnosti vremena i prostora itekako
je bitna za pitanja konstrukcije identiteta. Ona je u stanju razotkriti kognitivne, perceptivne,
ideološke i druge zablude i iluzije, što već put prevrednovanja postojećeg konteksta situacije. Iz
osjećaja etičkih razloga, „preuzimanja odgovornosti“, artikuliraju se relacije, prihvaćaju identitet
i alteritet, identičnost i drugost; a ti se procesi gotovo uvijek odvijaju i susreću na granicama,
na ivicama društvenog polja. Tako se drugost, zahvaljujući (auto)percepciji i kreativnoj energiji
osobnog iskustvenog doživljaja te njegovoj konceptualnoj i medijskoj artikulaciji, pojavljuje kao
paradigma prepoznavanja novog iskustva identiteta i različitosti. Ovakva energija nedvosmisleno
posreduje, neovisno o genezi pristupa ili okolnostima nastanka koncepta, odliku povijesnoavangardne etičke aspiracije djelovanja u društvu putem umjetnosti. Ali, na početku 21.st.
putem osobnih umjetničkih mikro-priča!
Tako su u „imaginarnom paviljonu BiH“, na tankoj liniji semantičke kontekstualizacije i
rekontekstualizacije, nastajali dragocjeni radovi mladih umjetnika koji su tek završili ili
završavali banjalučku Akademiju umjetnosti; ti su radovi počeli razotkrivati vezu između
identiteta, moći i prostora. Njihov „remetilački potencijal“ nastaje u provociranju pomaka i
hijatusa unutar specifičnog lokalnog konteksta, poput umjetničkih asocijacija Protok ili Tačka,
te različitih oblika i projekata individualnog umjetničkog djelovanja. U manifestaciji osobne
odluke i izbora o uključivanju, odnosno isključivanju određenih elemenata iz referencijalnog
okvira tog konteksta stvaraju se nukleusi koji eksponiraju nove interpretacije u vlastitoj sredini.
Iako su u njoj drugi, oni je istodobno otvaraju pogledu drugog, što je već izazvalo pozornost
na topološkoj karti međunarodne umjetničke scene; no, upravo zbog njihovih mikro-narativa
u „identitetskom pozicioniranju“.
Unutar mlađe grupacije medijski i konceptualno obrazovanih umjetnika banjalučke nove
scene, Mladen Miljanović svoje umjetničko djelovanje pozicionira kao komunikacijski relej
traume diskontinuiteta na ovom prostoru. Još kao student završnih godina Akademije, on
uspostavlja svoju strategiju mikro-naracije zasnovanu na biopolitičkim refleksima i refleksijama,
na preispitivanju i istraživanju identiteta prostora kao mjesta i osobne povijesti vlastitog
identiteta. Već tada je pokazao konceptualnu zrelost aktivnog komunikatora određenog
projekta koji je sažet u diplomskom radu naslovom Konstruktivna dekonstrukcija prošlosti
prostora. Pojmovne jukstapozicije kao što su konstrukcija-dekonstrukcija i prostor-prošlost
govore o ranoj artikulaciji svijesti o globalnom post-modernom stanju svijeta te svijeta
umjetnosti, ali i o stanju vlastite lokalne situacije. U tom se rasponu umjetnik pozicionira sa
stajališta antropologa/istraživača, što podrazumijeva intencionalno „uživljavanje“ u autentične
kontekstualne mikro-naracije ili ono što je rekao južnoafrički umjetnik i kustos Kendeel Geers
povodom nastupa Milice Tomić na Venecijanskom bijenalu 2003.: „realizam proživljenog
iskustva“, koji je u Mladenovom slučaju početna osnova daljnjeg recikliranja priče.
Ovaj najširi referentni okvir u konceptualizaciji projekta koji Miljanović postupno razvija
polagano se diferencira na pojedine tematske cjeline, različite medijske pristupe ili pojedinačne
„cikluse“, ali „smjernice“ ostaju.
Sve one potječu iz konceptualnog odabira, produkcijske odluke i sažete prezentacije pristupa,
počevši od ranih pojedinačnih radova kao što su Hepening Balkana, Krčenje vojničkog spomenika,
Prostor i prošlost kao elementi koji se reflektuju na rad, Dekonstrukcija lične prošlosti i prošlosti
prostora kroz instalaciju, Umjetnost kao sredstvo sublimacije negativne prošlosti ili Služim
umjetnosti. Svi ti radovi započinju projekt koji će dobivati svoje različite formalne, medijske,
znakovne, značenjske, kontekstualne ili druge okvire prezentacije, no njihovi intertekstualni
narativi su simptom suvremene povezanosti umjetnosti s egzistencijalnim toposima. U
slučaju Mladena Miljanovića, taj je topos „prostor kasarne“ kao simbolička i faktička matrica
konstrukcije osobne priče kojom reflektira suodnos vlastitog identiteta i proživljenog iskustva
„prošlosti prostora“.
Ovaj suodnos je započeo nakon završene Škole rezervnih oficira, a upravo kada je slijedio
nastavak obrazovanja za vojni poziv, poslijeratna vojska BiH je reorganizirana i vojna škola je
ukinuta, kao i banjalučka vojna kasarna. U tom trenutku i danim okolnostima desio se preokret,
upis na Akademiju umjetnosti, te preseljenje same institucije u prostor bivše kasarne. Tako je
inicijalna osobna priča prerasla u konstrukciju vlastitog identiteta u procesu razvijanja projekta
dekonstrukcije identiteta povijesti prostora i njegovih dominantnih funkcija (vojna moć,
razaranje, „neutralizacija žive sile“, manipulativni nadzor nad pojedincem, služenje vojnog
roka itd.).
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6
Dekonstrukcija vojne faktičke i simboličke moći je konceptualni i intermedijalni rad s
proživljenim kontekstom, krhotinama realnosti i fikcijama prošlosti, ideologijama društvene
moći, jezikom vizualnih simbola, prizorima signalizacije iz vojnih shema i planova napada,
materijalnim fragmentima ratne prošlosti (šljemovi, štake, invalidska kolica), simulakrumi
rituala totalne kontrole i dr. Umjetnička akcija tako dobiva konstruktivnu energiju, koja se
može pozvati i na umjetnost kao „sublimaciju negativne prošlosti“, dakako pod uvjetom da se
razaznaju granice, odnosno „razlike između umjetnosti kao profesije i umjetnosti kao terapije“.
Ovdje je, dakle, riječ o suočenju ne s bilo kakvim fiktivnom ili utopijskom, odnosno apstraktnim
ili univerzalnim prostornim kontekstom, već sa sklopom određenih povijesno-lokalnih okolnosti
koje su proizvele određenu prošlost, ne bez posljedica po sadašnjost. Fokusiranje upravo
ove strane u lokalizaciji “nemirne prošlosti prostora” je čin etičke reakcije mladog umjetnika:
“Mnogo je lakše prošlost izmisliti…nego sjećati je se”, citira on rečenicu Christe Wolf.
Za razumijevanje geneze Miljanovićevog sada već opsežnog umjetničkog djelovanja
paradigmatičan je projekt dekonstrukcije memorije prostora u radikalnoj umjetničkoj akciji/
performansu Služim umjetnosti / I serve art, koja je trajala akademske 2006/2007. godine, u
dobrovoljnoj fizičkoj izolaciji u nekadašnjem zatvorenom prostoru vojne moći a sada otvorenom
prostoru Akademije umjetnosti, vremenski ograničeno isto onoliko koliko bi trajalo „služenje
narodu“ u toku vojnog roka. No, Miljanovićeva sintagma u nazivu projekta, ironizirajući
poziciju vrijednosne neutralnosti, govori i o konstruktivnoj moći umjetnosti u egzistencijalnom
svijetu kojemu, na kraju, pripadaju i značenja umjetničkih djela. Jer, značenja pripadaju
različitim kontekstima društva, ideologije, umjetnosti, kulture ili prirode, te ni jedan sustav
znakova nema značenje po sebi nego ga dobiva stupajući u odnose s drugim znakovima ili
sustavima znakova. U radu s kontekstualizacijom znakova i značenja, njihovim prenošenjem
ili premještanjem iz jednog konteksta u drugi (iz jedne faktičke i simboličke ravni u drugu),
proces resemantizacije dobiva na značaju – pretvara se u „proces dekontaminacije prostora“,
s „274 pogleda na svijet“. Pogledi i poruke umjetnika, preko otvorene web stranice i drugih
elektronskih i analognih medija, prerastaju u javnu komunikaciju iz izolacije, u virtualni socijalni
život. Iz izolacije umjetnik „organizira“ i komunikacijski Artattack, simulirajući „aktom terorizma“
„modus bosanskog umjetnika“ da dođe do izložbe u svjetskim galerijama. Kasnije će modus
Umjetničkog terorizma ostvariti i u granicama BiH, na Tuzlanskom 4. BUM BiH- 2007.
Umjetnikovo intermedijsko razvijanje interkontekstualnosti reflektira na svoj način recentnu
situaciju u kojoj nema stabilnih medijskih okvira prezentacije djela, što je simptom današnje
povezanosti umjetnosti s antropološkom interpretacijom konteksta, s neizvjesnim granicama
između umjetničkog i javnog prostora. To je povezano i sa sustavnom autorefleksijom vlastite
strategije djelovanja u umjetnosti, koju će Miljanović dosljedno manifestirati u novim projektima
kao što su Svrha, Agresija ili Okupacija. Strategiju prati taktika okupacije koja postupno proširuje
galerijski prostor i osvaja javni i medijski prostor. Dominantan komunikacioni kanal je odnos
prostora i znaka: multiplikacijom istog znaka u nizovima se, poput signalizacije, obilježava,
naseljava, ispunjava i, konačno, zauzima javni prostor. Znak preuzima identitet agresora, jer
se njegova vizualna reprezentacija referira na plošni otisak siluete lika vojnika, jedinke bez
svojstava, bez identiteta, po stoga podložne kontroli i manipulaciji. Sam se umjetnik takvim
„osvajanjem“ galerijskih ili drugih prostora pozicionira u identitet agresora, prenoseći traumu
egzistencijalnog suočavanja subjekta s (ne)mogućnošću formiranja stabilnog identiteta;
dakako, na prostorima koji imaju svoju dugu povijest diskontinuiteta, koja je konačno za
posljedicu imala i sam konstrukt „imaginarnosti“.
Preispitivanje načina konstrukcije identiteta ostaje preokupacija Mladena Miljanovića i u
daljem radu, no uvijek se iz početka oživljava narativna matrica traume. Međutim, današnji
subjekt nije više zauvijek određen traumom, jer u osvjetljavanju ove pozicije umjetničkog
djelovanja teško se više može govoriti kao u „doba predteorijske nevinosti“, recimo u formalnoekspresionističkim terminima. U današnje doba samorefleksije kao postkonceptualnosti,
umjetnik svoju priču istražuje u njenim kontekstualnim (značenjskim i vrijednosnim) odnosima;
time oduzima umjetnosti njenu mitsku modernističku neutralnost, a svom djelovanju daje
auru lokacije. Zato je umjetnikov postupak antropološki, odnosno relativistički, jer pokazuje
da su povijest, mitologije i umjetnost socijalni konstrukti. Miljanović u svom novom projektu
Okupaciona terapija fokusira socijalni status traumatizirane subjektivnosti; riječ je o ponovnom
zaposjedanju psiho-socijalnog prostora i „terapijskoj“ rekonstrukciji njegovih razbijenih
3
fragmenata. Njegovi mikro-narativi sadrže one značenjske odnose kojima su doslovno
prikazane priče tek osnova za izvođenje metaforičkih ili alegorijskih značenja; dakle, bez
vanjskih referenci Mladenova „art klinika“ ne funkcionira.
Zanimljivo je, međutim, da se ova oznaka pojavila na drugoj „balkanskoj“ lokaciji („Odbijajući
da učestvujemo u rušenju, klanju, pljački, siledžijstvu, izmeštamo se iz tradicionalnih prostora“)
kao mikro-narativ radikalnog lokalnog projekta akcionističke socijalne „šok terapije“ od
2002.g.: Novi Sad, umjetnička grupa Art klinika, „gde se međuodnos umetnosti i društva
2
postavlja u relaciju dvosmerne komunikacije i uticaja“, s izričitim ciljem „prebacivanja težišta
sa estetskog na etički plan. Međutim, projekt Okupaciona terapija Mladena Miljanovića zasniva
se na ironijskom obratu, a ne na linearnosti akcionizma urbane gerile koja na kraju „strategijom
kameleona“ (B. Pejić) osvaja institucije. Nesumnjivo je u oba slučaja u pitanju „prestupnički“
stav, no Mladenov koncept svojim paradoksalnim obratom u narativu nastoji probuditi novo
i neočekivano iskustvo vezano za traumatična stanja i time potaknuti kritičku svijest. Izraz
„okupaciona terapija“ je zapravo doslovno vezan za stručnu medicinsku psihijatrijsko-terapijsku
problematiku (metoda liječenja putem rada), ali u kontekstu umjetnikovog rada je prikazivanje
koje znači suprotno od onoga što govori i prikazuje.
Naime, umjetnik stvara svoj referentni kontekst preuzimajući iz medicinskog, te danas nešto
šireg konteksta, značenje stručnog termina (ergo terapija, radna terapija) kao organizirane
okupacione terapije (način, najbolje grupni, „liječenja svakog bolesnika i traumatičara metodom
svrsishodnog zapošljavanja“, s ciljem da se „pobudi interesovanje bolesnika za okolinu“ i „popravi
individualnost“, pri čemu „valja paziti da je rad raznovrstan, da je koristan i svrsishodan, a
ne besmislen, i da je za pojedinog bolesnika zanimljiv“, iz Psihijatrijsko psihološkog rječnika).
Poznati etimološki potencijal latinske riječi occupare sa širokim spektrom svojih agresivnih
značenja koji su našli najveću upotrebu upravo u vojnoj terminologiji (zauzeti, angažirati,
osvojiti, obuhvatiti, privući, preobraditi, savladati, posjedovati, postići, biti opsjednut, vladati,
ovladati, preduhitriti, ukloniti, poduzeti, atakovati…), postupkom premještanja u kontekst
umjetnosti se dekontekstualizira i relativizira. Također se i medicinsko značenje „okupacione
terapije“ decentrira u polju intertekstualnog suočavanja s paradoksalnim efektima „medijske,
2
Art klinika - Prva petoljetka,
SKC, Novi Sad, 2007.
3
Micro - Naratives, Musée d’Art
Moderne, Saint-Etienne / Skira,
Torino, 2008.
7
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mentalne, intelektualne i fizičke okupacije“ (M. Miljanović). Ovaj se pristup već manifestirao u
radovima Occupo, umjetničkom „okupacionom“ djelovanju u galerijskom prostoru (Graz), ali i
intervencijama u neumjetničkom, vanjskom urbanom prostoru (New York), u okolnostima koje
su nerazdvojne od realnosti, pa bila to i realnost s neizvjesnim i nestabilnim (među)prostornim
granicama (Beograd).
Metamorfoza okupaciono-terapeutskih ambicija je rasla u umjetničkoj praksi Mladena
Miljanovića, s nastojanjem da se pojača diskurs o suočenju s imaginarnim tijelom identiteta.
Složenost projekta Okupaciona terapija, koji se prezentira paralelno u više izložbenih segmenata
(u prostorima koji su ujedno i jedini banjalučki izlagački prostori za predstavljanje domaće i
ponekad regionalne umjetničke produkcije). Radi se, dakle o totalnoj okupaciji izložbenog tijela
da bi se pojačao prodor „u masu usnulih bez identiteta“. Dodatno se okupira i Galerija UDAS,
gdje Miljanović zbilja volonterski sprovodi program okupacione terapije i gdje je započeo njegov
projekt Hepening Balkana, no ovog puta on sam zauzima prostor svojom foto-dokumentacijom
(Ispraćaj) o „balkanskom“ ritualu ispraćaja na „služenje vojnog roka“, čiju paradoksalnost prati
na vlastitom slučaju ispraćaja koji on kao događaj iz 2000.g. re-konstruira, odnosno iznova
stvara simulakrum rituala. Također i serija malih radova (Amajlije) s istim onim siluetama
„okupacionih“ vojnika koji su ovoga puta u ironijskom obratu predstavljeni kao „sveti predmeti/
amajlije“ koji, u tradiciji primitivnih kultura, „liječe od bolesti, štite porodice od nesreća, čuvaju
djecu, donose sreću, novac, moć…sve“. U ciničnoj maniri fluksusovske emancipacije publike,
umjetnik zavodi riječima: „moje amajlije, u širokom spektru ponude nude za svakog po nešto.
Od država, entiteta, gradova, institucija, mjesnih zajednica, porodica i pojedinaca oni štite sve.
Oni su obučeni za to“.
No, ipak se cijeli narativ, ne samo „balkanski“, o „besmislenosti agresivnog osvajačkog akta“,
sažima u umjetnikovom video radu Preuzimanje odgovornosti. U njemu se ne ogleda samo
kontekstualni stav da su značenja i vrijednosti akta umjetničkog djelovanja vezani uz kontekst
realnosti u kojem umjetnički akt nastaje i funkcionira. Naprotiv, umjetnik kao društveni subjekt
koji djeluje kritički u realnosti preuzima samoodgovornost za nju, čime izravno sudjeluje u
(„terapeutskim“) procesima njene dekontaminacije i (re)konstrukcije. To nije, dakle, pozicija
izmještanja, o čemu govore sve uporišne točke Miljanovićeve strategije mikro-narativa. U
spomenutom video radu se pokazuje umjetnik kao terorist, pod gas-maskom, te sve više
uznemiren stezanjem maske, neprestano, u maniri prisilne neuroze, ponavlja jednu rečenicu:
Moje ime je Mladen Miljanović, ovaj rad sam napravio u bivšoj kasarni Vrbas, bio sam poručnik,
sada sam umjetnik.
8
Opis je tog rada na engleskom još sugestivniji:
I’m a terrorist in the field of art.
I was a lieutenant in the regular army, today I’m junk in the regular art!
Do you think it’s comfortable with this mask on?
Yes, I made mistakes in the past, but I promise you now, I will be good in the future.
Yesterday is history!
History pinches my soul just as tight sweaty shoes wound my feet.
I will love people with the mask off just as they hate me with the mask on.
U Zagrebu, 11.11.2008.
Sonja Briski Uzelac
9
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More micro-narratives from the imaginary Balkans:
Once a lieutenant, now an artist
10
1
Marija Todorova, Imaginarni
Balkan, Biblioteka XX vek,
Beograd, 2006.
The term “imaginary Balkans” was coined by Marija Todorova as discourse-related and as a
metaphor which discloses an ideology of ghettoisation; it is conceptually appropriate in terms
of how it envelops the contents of various aspects of social and ideological contextualisation
in practically all cases of such artistic activity originating in this excessively ideologised region.
This term, according to what Todorova says in her book Imagining the Balkans, “was attached
derogatory connotations at the turn of the 20th century, even though it was a gradual process,
proceded by events which followed the downfall of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of
small, weak, economically underdeveloped and dependent national states, which were yet
to enter the process of modernisation”. Eventually, “due to difficulties of modernisation and
the accompanying nationalist aberrations”, the Balkans increasingly turned into not just a
symbol of something “underdeveloped”, but also of something “aggressive” and “intolerant”,
therefore, of something irrational. So, the “Balkans as a metaphor” 1 even becomes a subject
of postcolonial discourse analysis in an attempt to deconstruct, on the track of Edward W. Said
and Gayatri Spivak, the ideological building of the ontology of the “imaginary Balkans”, based
on “fear of the other”.
However, these Balkans, as an “imaginary pavilion” between Said’s macro-narration about
“non-Western views” on the one hand and condescending “Western views” on the other,
meaning a kind of enclosure levitating in mid-air, have become metaphysically convenient
not only for the purpose of geopolitical ideologisation or postcolonial theory, but also for
contextualising artistic activity, including many different micro-narratives. As flexible as it may
be in the framework of the contemporary shift, this great authentic tale of the paradigm of the
“East” and its “transition” is still turned towards the Western world; nontheless, as such, it is
intertextual as well as culturally, anthropologically, analytically and semiotically oriented. The
same goes for the art arriving from anyone of those “small” scenes: it is tormented between the
process of globalisation and local fragmentation. But, it is specifically this kind of torment that
provides it not only with inner strength and energy to designate, but also with the seductive
intruiging quality of the authenticity of “small stories” in the great international “vanity fair”.
Powerful micro-narratives coming from there are not merely a subject of new empirical insights
into and experiences of this “interspace”, and certainly recognisible in their concepts is the
energy of an intellectual project bringing about new possibilities originating in the local identity
crisis and the need to present itself internationally, and eventually to the world of art.
The energy of artistic immersion in the understanding of the specificity of time and space is
most certainly important for the issues of identity building. It is capable of uncovering cognitive,
perceptional, ideological and other misconceptions and illusions, which is in itself a way to
revaluate the current situational context. For ethical purposes, for the purpose of “assuming
responsibility”, relations are articulated, identity and altarity, identicalness and otherness
accepted; such processes practically always eventuate and are encountered at boundaries, at
the perimeter of the social sphere. Thus otherness, owing to the (self-)perception and creative
energy of one’s personal empirical experience and its conceptual and media articulation, takes
the form of a paradigm of identification of new experience of identity and diversity. This kind of
energy unambiguously has as a result, irrespective of how the approach was generated or of
the circumstances which led to the concept, the quality of historical and ethical aspirations for
social engagement through art. But, at the turn of the 21st century, this is by means of one’s
personal artistic micro-stories!
Thus, the “imaginary pavilion of Bosnia and Herzegovina” is where rare works have been
created along the thin line of semantic contextualisation and recontextualisation, by young
artists who have recently left or are close to graduating from the Banja Luka Academy of
Arts; those works begin to reveal the connection between identity, power and space. Their
“disruptive capacity” is born out of provoking a shift and a hiatus in a specific local context,
like the artist associations Protok (Flow) or Tačka (Period, Dot), along with various forms and
projects of indvidual artistic activity. In presenting the personal decision and choice in terms of
the inclusion, i.e. exclusion of certain elements from the referential framework of that context,
nuclei are formed to expose new interpretations within one’s own environment. Although
others are in it, they simultaneously open it for another one to see, something that has already
put them on the topological map of the international art scene; nontheless, precisely for the
reason of their micro-narratives in “identity positioning”.
Mladen Miljanović belongs to a group of young, media and conceptually trained artists on
Banja Luka’s new art scene, who defines his artistic activity as a communication relay of the
trauma of discontinuity in the local region. During his final years at the Academy, he formed
a strategy of micro-narration based on biopolitical reflexes and reflections, on rethinking and
scrutinising the identity of space as a place and the personal history of one’s identity. It was back
in those days that he demonstrated the conceptual maturity of an active communicator of a
specific project summarised in the title of his graduation work – Constructive Deconstruction of
the Past of Space. The manner of juxtaposing notions such as construction-deconstruction and
space-past evidence an early articulation of his awareness of the global postmodern condition
of the world as well as of the world of art, but also of the condition of his own local situation.
Within that range the artist defines his position as that of an anthropologist/researcher, which
implies an intentional “identification” with genuine contextual micro-narrations, or as the South
African artist and curator Kendeel Geers said with regards to Milica Tomić’s performance at the
Venice Biennale in 2003, the “realism of a lived-through experience”, which in Mladen’s case
makes the initial basis for any further recycling of the story.
In conceptualising his project, Miljanović gradually develops this broadest referential
framework, and it slowly differentiates into separate thematic units, different media approaches
or individual “cycles”, but the “lines of procedure” still stay.
They all result from his choice of concept, production decision and compact approach
presentation, ever since his early solo works, such as The Balkans Happening, Clearance
of a Military Memorial, Space and Past as Elements Reflecting on Work, Deconstruction of
a Personal Past and the Past of Space Through an Installation, Art as a Tool for Subliming
a Negative Past or I Serve Art. All those works commence a project which would be given
its various formal, media, semiotic, semantic, contextual or other presentation plans, but
their intertextual narratives are a symptom of the contemporary connection between art and
existential loci. In Mladen Miljanović’s case, that locus is the “area of the barracks”, as a
symbolic and factual matrix of construction of the personal story, whereby he reflects the
correlation between his identity and the lived-through experience of the “past of a space”.
11
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This correlation began after he graduated from the Army Reserve Officers’ School, and just
as he was about to continue the training needed for him to join the military, Bosnia and
Herzegovina’s postwar army was reorganised and the military school disbanded, as well as the
military barracks in Banja Luka. The change of course took place at that moment and in those
given circumstances – he entered the Academy of Arts, and the Academy moved to its new
premises in the former barracks. This is how what was initially a personal story grew into the
construction of his identity in the process of developing the project of deconstrution of identity
of the past of this space and its dominant functions (military power, devastation, “neutralisation
of human force”, manipulative supervision of individuals, doing national service etc.).
Deconstructing the actual and symbolic military power is a conceptual and intermedia project
with a lived-through context, pieces of reality and fictions of the past, ideologies of social
power, the language of visual symbols, images of signalisation taken from military schemes
and assault plans, physical fragments of the military past (helmets, crutches, wheelchairs),
simulacra of rituals of total control, and so on. This is how artistic action is fed constructive
energy, which can fall back on art as “sublimation of a negative past”, naturally, on condition
that boundaries are distinguishable, that is, “distinctions between art as occupation and art
as therapy”. So, this is about encountering not just any fictitious or utopistic, i.e. abstract or
universal spatial context, but a complex of specific historical and local circumstances resulting
in a specific past, which certainly has a bearing on the present. Placing a focus on this particular
aspect in localising the “restless past of a space” is an act of ethical response on the part of
the young artist: “It is much easier to invent the past... than to remember it,” he quotes the
words of Christe Wolf.
The project of deconstructing spatial memory is paradigmatic for understanding the genesis
of his artistic work, which is now fairly extensive. This project took the form of a radical art
action/performance I Serve Art, which took place during the academic year of 2006/2007,
where the artist put himself in voluntary social isolation inside what was formerly an enclosed
area of military power, now an open space of the Academy of Arts, during a period of exactly
the same duration as that spent “serving the nation”, i.e. doing national service. However,
Miljanović’s syntagma in the title of the project, which renders ironic the position of neutrality
in terms of value, also speaks about the constructive power of art in the existential world
which, eventually, claims to possess the meanings of works of art. Because meanings belong
in various contexts of society, ideology, art, culture or nature, and no semiotic system is
meaningful in itself – it only becomes such once it establishes a relation to other signs or
systems of signs. In contextualising signs and meanings, transferring or removing them from
one context to another (from one factual and symbolic plane to another), the process of
resemantisation grows in importance – it turns into a process of space decontamination”, with
“274 views of the world”. The artist’s views and messages, presented in an open web page
and other electronic and analogue media, evolve from isolation to public communication, to
virtual social living. Although socially isolated, the artist “organises” a communcation Artattack,
simulating by means of a “terrorist act” the “mode of the Bosnian artist” to get a chance to
exhibit in international galleries. Later, the mode of Artistic Terrrorism would become reality
within the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well, at the 4th Biennial of Miniature Art of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in Tuzla in 2007.
The artist’s intermedia development of intercontextuality reflects in its own way a recent
situation lacking any stable media systems used for artwork presentation, which is symptomatic
of today’s connection between art and anthropological interpretation of context, with elusive
boundaries between art and public space. This is also related to the systemic self-reflection of
one’s strategy of action in art, which Miljanović would demonstrate with consistency in his new
projects such as Purpose, Aggression and Occupation. Ensuing the strategy are occupation
tactics, gradually increasing the exhibition space and invading both public space and the media.
The predominant communication channel is the relationship between space and sign: like
signalisation, one sign is multiplied into series in order to mark, inhabit, fulfill and finally occupy
public space. The sign takes on the identity of an aggressor, because its visual representation
refers to the surface impression of a soldier’s silhouette, an individual with no personal traits,
no identity, consequently an individual susceptible to control and manipulation. As for the
artist, with this kind of “seizure“ of exhibition and other spaces he identifies as an aggressor,
conveying the trauma of existential confrontation of the subject with the (im)possibility to
form a stable identity; certainly, in regions which have a long history of discontinuity, which
eventually led to the very construct of “imaginariness” as its consequence.
Further on in his work Mladen Miljanović remains preoccupied with reexamining how identity
is constructed, but the narrative matrix of trauma is always revived from the start. However,
today’s subject is no longer defined permanently by trauma, because as we shed light on this
position of artistic activity, it is hard to continue using the same discourse as in the “time of
pretheoretical innocence”, say, using formal expressionist terms. In this age of self-reflection
as postconceptuality, the artist explores his story in its contextual (semantic and value-related)
relations; thereby he deprives art of its mythical modernist neutrality, while bestowing an aura
of location upon his actions. For that reason, the artist’s actions are anthropological, that is,
relativist, because they show history, mythology and art as social constructs. In his new project
Occupational Therapy, Miljanović focuses on the social status of traumatised subjectivity; it is
about yet another case of occupation of psycho-social space and a “therapeutic” reconstruction
3
of its fractured fragments. His micro-narratives contain those semantic relations by which the
literally presented stories are merely a base from which to derive metaphorical or allegorical
meanings; therefore, Mladen’s “art clinic” does not work without external references.
It is curious, however, that this label appeared at yet another “Balkan” site (“By refusing to
take part in destruction, killing, looting, bullying, we relocate ourselves from the traditional
spaces”) as the micro-narrative of a radical local project of an activist social “shock therapy”
since 2002: Novi Sad, the art group Art klinika (Art Clinic), “where the interrelation between
2
art and society is set as a relation of two-way communication and impact”, with the explicit
goal to “shift the focus from the aesthetic to the ethical”. However, Mladen Miljanović’s
project Occupational Therapy is based on an ironic turn, not on the linearity of urban guerilla
activism, which eventually takes over institutions resorting to the “chameleon strategy” (B.
Pejić). Undoubtedly, in both these cases we are dealing with “felonious” attitudes, but with
its paradoxical turn, Mladen’s concept endeavours to stir a new, unexpected experience in
2
Art klinika - Prva petoljetka,
SKC, Novi Sad, 2007.
3
Micro - Naratives, Musée d’Art
Moderne, Saint-Etienne / Skira,
Torino, 2008.
13
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14
the narrative, connected to states of trauma, and so awaken critical conscience. Actually, the
term “occupational therapy” is literally related to the specialist medical field of psychotherapy
(a method of treatment using occupation), but in the context of the artist’s work, it is a show
which means the opposite of what it says and shows.
Namely, the artist creates his referential context by borrowing from primarily the medical
context, but also from a context which is somewhat broader nowadays, the meaning of a
specialist term (ergo therapy, work therapy) as organised occupational therapy (a method
best conducted in a group, where “each patient or traumatised person is treated using the
method of meaningful occupation”, whose goal is to “arouse the ill person’s interest in his or
her surroundings” and “enhance his or her individuality”, where “it is crucial that occupation
be varied, useful and purposeful, not meaningless, as well as engrossing for every individual
patient”, from a dictionary of psychiatry and psychology, Psihijatrijsko-psihološki rječnik).
The well-known etymological potential of the Latin word occupare, with a broad range of
meanings indicating aggressiveness, which are mostly used as military jargon (occupy, engage,
invade, encompass, attract, reprocess, win, own, achieve, be obsessed, govern, master, outdo,
remove, undertake, attack…), is decontextualised and relativised in the procedure of transfer
into the context of art. Also, the medical meaning of “occupational therapy” is decentred in the
field of intertextual encounter with the paradoxical effects of “media, mental, intellectual and
physical occupation” (M. Miljanović). This approach was previously used in the works Occupo,
an artistic “occupational” action in a gallery (Graz), but also in interventions in a nonartistic,
exterior urban space (New York), in circumstances which are inseparable from reality, even if
the (inter)spatial boundaries of this reality are uncertain and unstable (Belgrade).
The metamorphosis of occupational-therapeutical ambitions grew in Mladena Miljanović’s
artistic practice, in an attempt to intensify the discourse about one’s confrontation with
the imaginary body of identity. The complexity of the project Occupational Therapy, which
is presented in parallel in several exhibition segments (in spaces which are at the same
time Banja Luka’s only exhibition spaces used to present local and occasional regional art
productions). So, this is a case of total occupation of the exhibition body in order to intensify
the penetration into the “mass of those asleep with no identity”. In addition, the UDAS Gallery
is also occupied, where Miljanović voluntarily runs a program of occupational therapy for real
and where his project The Balkans Happening began, although this time he himself occupied
the space with his photo documentation (Send-Off Party) about the “Balkan” ritual of having
a send-off reception for a young man leaving to do his national service, whose paradoxicality
he examines in the case of his own send-off party, which he reconstructs as an event which
took place back in 2000, that is, he creates anew the simulacrum of the ritual. Also, there is
a series of small works (Amulets) with the same silhouettes of “occupying” soldiers, this time
presented as “sacred objects/amulets” in an ironic turn, which in the tradition of primitive
cultures “cure diseases, protect families from accidents, safeguard children, bring good fortune,
money, power... everything”. In a cynical, Flux-like manner of audience emancipation, the artist
uses these words to seduce: “My amulets come in such a broad range that everyone can
find something for themselves. They protect everything – states, entities, cities, institutions,
communities, families and individuals. They were trained for it.”
However, the whole narrative, not only the “Balkan” one about the “meaninglessness of the
aggressive act of invasion” is still summarised in the artist’s video Assuming Responsibility.
It does not only reflect the contextual attitude that the meanings and values of an act of
artistic action are related to the actual context of reality in which the act of art is made and
operates. On the contrary, the artist is a social subject whose actions are critical in reality, and
as such, he or she assumes responsibility for it, which means his or her direct participation in
the (“therapeutic”) processes of its decontamination and (re)construction. Therefore, it is not
a position of one’s relocation, the subject of discourse of all points of support of Miljanović’s
strategy of micro-narrative. In the mentioned video we see the artist as a terrorist, with a gas
mask on, and as he is increasingly troubled by the mask tightening, he constantly repeats one
sentence in the manner of forced neurosis: My name is Mladen Miljanović, I produced this
work in the former barracks Vrbas, I used to be a lieutenant, now I’m an artist.
The description of that work is even more suggestive in English:
I’m a terrorist in the field of art.
I was a lieutenant in the regular army, today I’m junk in the regular art!
Do you think it’s comfortable with this mask on?
Yes, I made mistakes in the past, but I promise you now, I will be good in the future.
Yesterday is history!
History pinches my soul just as tight sweaty shoes wound my feet.
I will love people with the mask off just as they hate me with the mask on.
In Zagreb, 11 November 2008
Sonja Briski Uzelac
15
ot
Šta radi Mladen Miljanović?
16
Neko, to nisam ja, dolazi i pita: «Šta radi Mladen Miljanović?» Taj neko se interesuje za istinu
u Miljanovićevom slikarstvu, za Miljanovićeve ideje i slično.
I ja odgovaram (jer mi je povjereno): Miljanović hoće da razluči, opiše, objasni i uprizori
kako se u tranziciji zbiva moć.
Tranzicija je pojam kojim se određuje prelazak sa komandnog (centralno-planskog i
samoupravnog) na tržišno organizovan sistem privređivanja. Tranzicija je vrijeme krize.
Prvo, radi se o krizi odumiranja državnog socijalizma – krizi, možemo reći, krajnjeg vremena
socijalizma - a onda i o krizi nezavisnosti (država) što su upravo iz tog vremena. Socijalizam
je dokrajčen, kako misle Majkl Hard (Michael Hardt) i Antonio Negri (Antonio Negri), jer se
zapriječio vlastitim normama. Nije bio sposoban da nadvlada i modifikuje rigidne obrasce
disciplinovanja. Socijalizam zapravo nije znao sa moći. Moć mu se stvrdla, izjalovila se u šaci
partije.
Ali šta je uopšte i otkud moć? Evo šta veli Fuko (Michel Foucault): «Moć je svuda; ne stoga
što sve obuhvata, nego stoga što dolazi odasvud. A vlast (le pouvior) sa svojom postojanošću,
ponavljanjem, nepomičnošću, samoreprodukovanjem, samo je zbirna posledica svih tih
pokretnosti, ulančavanje koje se naslanja na te pokretnosti, i koje sa svoje strane teži tome da
ih ustali. Nema sumnje da treba biti nominalist: moć nije jedna ustanova, i nije jedna struktura,
ona nije izvesna snaga kojom su neki obdareni: moć je ime koje se nadeva nekoj složenoj
strateškoj situaciji u datom društvu.»
Država (neka totalitarna na primjer) može da izriče pravila i postavlja granice. Njena moć
je restriktivna i represivna. Nasuprot tome, postupci moći o kojoj slovi Fuko nadilaze državu
i njene aparate, i ne funkcionišu više kao pravo nego kao tehnika. U središtu moći otud nisu
rigidni mehanizmi uskraćivanja i izostavljanja, već suptilne tehnike kontrole. Djelotvorna u
mjeri u kojoj je prikrivena, moć je svuda. Ako se i predočava u zgusnutom stanju vlasti, to
je tek njen rudimentarni oblik. Moć nije u ustanovi, jednoj ili mnogima zajedno. Ona je ime,
rečeno je, koje se daje nekoj složenoj strateškoj situaciji. Moć nije zbirnost postupaka kojim
se neki opšti sistem pravila pretače u upravljanje. Moć je trenje u svim tačkama i između njih.
Moć je rasplinuta i rasredištena. Funkcija je ukrštanja sila stalne i haotične pokretljivosti. Ona
se upisuje u vlastiti otpor, ali ga i razgrađuje, raščinjava i rasipa u tijelu i jeziku. Otpor, drugim
riječima, prethodi moći, biva joj zamajac.
I eto šta interesuje Miljanovića - kako ono što je nekoć bilo represivno i očigledno sada
biva latentno i suptilno - uračunato u slobodu koja nam se stavlja na teret. Miljanović je voljan
znati kako moć (u postsocijalizmu) ustrojava puk, odnosno, kako i čime se (od poslijetka
jednostranačja) rabi život. Pokazuje da je disciplinovanje postalo stvar opšteg, a ne posebnog
mjesta. Pokazuje da je politika reprodukovana (mašinom) i stavljena u usta, i drugdje, čovjeku
koji ne govori, jer mu je uzet glas.
No, pokazuje i to da moć u tranziciji - čim zastane i okameni se na mjestu svog otpora
- biva obznanjena kao moć ubijanja. Pokazuje da politika razdvaja prijatelje od neprijatelja
i da, kako nas je naučio Karl Šmit (Karl Schmitt), prijatelji i neprijatelji nisu metafore već
skupni politički subjekti (politička jedinstva) koji se, osim kao prijatelji i neprijatelji, mogu zvati
lijepim ili ružnim, dobrim ili lošim, ili dalje po volji. Politička realnost tako i nije drugo do mjera
razlikovanja prijatelja od neprijatelja. Miljanović pokazuje i to da svako političko jedinstvo, u
slučaju vanrednog stanja, može od svog ljudstva tražiti da ubija onog za koga je odlučeno da
je neprijatelj, i da pogine u odbrani od neprijatelja. Pokazuje da su hvati nadzora i sebstva
biopolitičke fele, i da im je tijelo stjecište. Pokazuje da je u tranziciji (a i mimo nje) podanik
pravu uvijek dužan i da upravo u pravu on srasta sa svojom obavezom. Pokazuje da suveren
(ko god da je) može pojedincu dati pravo, ili mu izmaći pravo, kao što se izmiče tlo pod
nogama.
Nenad Malešević
17
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What does Mladen Miljanović do?
18
Someone, and this someone is not me, comes and asks: «What does Mladen Miljanović do?»
That someone is interested in the truth in Miljanović’s painting, in Miljanović’s ideas, and so
on.
And this is what I say in response (so I have been confided): Miljanović wants to distinguish,
describe, explain and demonstrate how power comes about in transition.
Transition is a term which denotes a shift from the authoritarian (centralised, planning-driven
and self-governing) to the market-oriented mode of production. Transition is a time of crisis.
Firstly, it is a crisis of state socialism as it expires – a crisis, we may say, of the last days of
socialism – and then also an independence crisis (of states) originating during those days.
According to Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, socialism is dead because it came in collision
with its own norms. It was not capable of overpowering or modifying its own rigid ways of
exerting discipline. In fact, socialism could not handle power. Its power petrified, fell through
at the hands of the Party.
But what is power, and where does it come from? This is what Michel Foucault says: «Power
is everywhere; not because it encompasses everything, but because it comes from everywhere.
And power (le pouvior), with its resolution, recurrence, immobility, self-reproduction, is simply
a collective consequence of all those mobilities, a linkage which relies on those mobilities,
which on its part aspires to make them constant. No doubt one needs to be a nominalist:
power is not a single institution, and it is not a single structure, it is not a certain strength
bestowed on individuals: power is a name given to a certain complex strategic situation in a
given society.»
A state (for instance, a totalitarian one) can lay down rules and set limitations. Its power
is restrictive and repressive. Contrary to that, the actions of power which Foucault speaks of
surpass the state and its apparatus, and they no longer function in the manner of law, but
rather in the manner of technique. Thus, we do not have rigid mechanisms of deprivation and
exclusion at the heart of power, but rather subtle techniques of control. Power is everywhere,
effective to the measure of how well-concealed it is. Even if it is demonstrated as the condensed
condition of authority, this is only its rudimentary form. Power is not about institution, be it one
or an association of many. As previously said, it is a name given to a complex strategic situation.
Power is not a sum of actions taken to transpose a general set of rules into governance. Power
is friction at all points and between them. Power is vaporous and deconcentrated. It is a
function of the convergence of forces of constant and chaotic motion. It contributes to its own
resistance, but it also disintegrates, dissolves and dissipates it, both in the body and language.
In other words, resistance precedes power; it is its driving wheel.
That is what interests Miljanović – how come that something that was once repressive and
obvious has now become latent and subtle – calculated in the freedom we are burdened with.
Miljanović is eager to know how power (in postsocialism) structures common people, that is,
how and by what means (in the aftermath of the single-party system) it disposes of life. It
shows that exercising discipline has become a commonplace thing, not something special. It
shows politics has been reproduced (by machine) and put in the mouth, and elsewhere, of the
man who does not speak, because he is no longer given a voice.
However, it also demonstrates that power in transition – as soon as it comes to a halt
and is petrified at the point of its resistance – reveals itself as the power to kill. It shows
that politics separates friends from enemies, and that according to what Karl Schmitt taught
us, friends and enemies are not metaphors but collective political subjects (political unities)
which can be labelled as more than just friends or enemies – beautiful or ugly, good or bad,
and so on and so forth, according to preferences. Thus, political reality is nothing more but a
measure for distinguishing between friends and enemies. Miljanović also shows that in a state
of emergency, every political unity may ask of its people to kill whoever has been decided to
be the enemy, and die defending against the enemy. It shows that the bonds of supervision
and selfhood are biopolitical in nature, and that the body is their point of convergence. It
shows that in transition (and beyond it) a subject is always indebted to his or her rights and it
is through those rights that he or she becomes one with his or her obligations. It shows that a
sovereign (whoever it may be) can grant one with rights, but also cut those rights, like one’s
ground is cut from under one’s feet.
Nenad Malesevic
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Radikalni zaokret u vizuelnoj umjetnosti
(na primjeru umjetničkog djelovanja Mladena Miljanovića)
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Savremena umjetnička scena Republike Srpske, definisana u nekoliko posljednjih godina,
obilježena je izuzetno aktivnom pojavom Mladena Miljanovića (nagrađenog nagradom ZVONO
za najboljeg mladog BiH vizuelnog umjetnika u 2007. godini) koji je za samo nekoliko godina
javnog prisustva na bosanskohercegovačkom umjetničkom prostoru uspio da ostvari izuzetno
zapaženu, gotovo zavidnu karijeru, i tako postane neizostavni reper na mnogim izložbenim
manifestacijama recentne umjetnosti ne samo u Bosni i Hercegovini već i u širem regionalnom
kontekstu.
Ovu činjenicu možemo objasniti oživljavanjem neaktivne umjetničke scene Republike
Srpske, pokrenute od strane nove generacije pretežno mlađih umjetnika, koja je za razliku od
svojih starijih kolega postala svjesna značaja novih tehnologija i medija u kontekstu savremene
umjetnosti danas. Duboko razumijevajući ograničavajuće okolnosti sredine u kojoj žive i
stvaraju, nova generacija je načinila aktivniji zaokret prema savremenijim izvorima informacija,
a onda i savremenijim oblicima djelovanja koje je omogućilo formiranje nukleusa umjetničke
zajednice. Njihove aktivnosti široj javnosti postale su proteklih godina vidljive kroz djelovanje
nekoliko umjetničkih asocijacija (PROTOK, TAČKA) ali i pojedinih veoma smjelih, radikalnih i
umjetnički zrelih samostalnih projekata, među kojima se po svojoj problemski angažovanoj
inicijativi posebno izdvajaju umjetnički projekti Mladena Miljanovća.
Vratimo li se jednu deceniju unazad, u vrijeme traumatičnog razdoblja rata, sankcija i ekonomske
krize, uočićemo diskontinuitet u kojem se savremena likovna scena tokom devedesetih potpuno
gasi, što je ostavilo dubokog traga u likovnim i vizuelnim umjetnostima ovog prostora. Na ovoj
lokalnoj mapi, gdje su veoma primjetni paradigmatični procesi diskontinuiteta, uočljivo je da
nije bilo učestalih komunikacija sa drugim sredinama, a umjetničko – kreativnom radu svakako
da nisu bili naklonjeni uslovi života pod kulturno – ekonomskim sankcijama.
Zato nije teško shvatiti da je radikalni zaokret u umjetnosti, koji je krajem XX vijeka
prevazišao sve stilske, medijske i ostale podjele, dugo vremena ostao neprimijećen kako od
vodećih institucionalnih tako i od vaninstitucionalnih umjetničkih krugova. Pojedine autentične
umjetničke pojave prošle su nezapaženo jer postojeći kustoski kapacitet i umjetnički okvir nije
bio dovoljno otvoren da ih učini dostupnim, niti trajno vidljivim. Ovaj nepremostivi diskontinuitet
u umjetničkim praksama ovog prostora postao je vidljiv prvenstveno u svom odnosu prema
novonastalom društveno-političkom kontekstu, u kojem se ni generacija mlađih umjetnika nije
najbolje snalazila.
Tek pojavom Akademije umjetnosti 1998. godine u Banjaluci i preimenovanjem ranije
Umjetničke galerije u Muzej savremene umjetnosti Republike Srpske 2004. godine stvoreni
su institucionalni, a djelimično i produkcijski uslovi koji su postali svojevrsna infrastruktura u
sistemu umjetnosti koja se tek počela stvarati.
Institucionalna umjetnost tek je pojavom samosvjesne i medijski obrazovane grupe umjetnika,
u posljednjih nekoliko godina, dobila svog radikalnog “drugog”, prepoznatom u generaciji
mladih ljudi koji, iako obrazovani u skromnim uslovima Akademije umjetnosti u Banjaluci,
poznaju i prate aktuelne tokove. Mnogi svjesni problema prostora u kojem umjetnički odrastaju
i problema obrazovne institucije u kojoj se školuju, nastavili su svoje školovanje u drugim
sredinama, ali za razliku od svojih starijih kolega, porijeklom sa ovih prostora, koji su tokom
ranijih decenija odlazili na školovanje u razne gradove bivše Jugoslavije ili inostranstvo, i tamo
trajno ostajali, ovi mladi ljudi se vraćaju, shvatajući da nemaju baš velike mogućnosti izbora ni
tamo ni ovdje. Ove zajedničke društvene okolnosti u svjetlu trenutnih mogućnosti, prvenstveno
možemo posmatrati kao otežavajući faktor, koji je vremenom od strane nove grupe mladih
umjetnika iskorišten i preusmjeren u pokretački resurs individualnog umjetničkog stvaranja.
Upravo je taj pokretački resurs individualnog umjetničkog stvaranja, shvaćen kao uzajamna
transformacija individue i društva, prepoznat i utemeljen u umjetničkim projektima Mladena
Miljanovića. Njegov se rad u osnovi situira na unaprijed označenim smjernicama, a koje u
većini slučajeva preispituju identitete mjesta i lične prošlosti. Fokusiranje ovih bitnih aspekata
vidljivo je već kod prvih Miljanovićevih radova, nastalih na posljednjoj godini studija. Njih je iz
njegovog generacijskog okruženja izdvojila određena misaona dimenzija koja je gradila sliku
na relaciji umjetničkog, društvenog i individualnog konteksta. Ove interkontekstualne relacije,
uočene već kod prvih serija slika ili tačnije kartografskih mapa, na kojima su predstavljeni
imaginarni planovi vojnih napada, otkrivaju nov odnos prema umjetnosti, proživljenoj prošlosti,
ali i trenutnoj stvarnosti, odnosno umjetničkoj sadašnjosti. Pored nepobitne ratne konotacije,
Miljanović je u legendi, koja prati sliku, a koja je i jedini ključ za tumačenje značenja, otvorio
novu, šaljivu dimenziju pristupa umjetnosti, prouzrokovanu paradoksalnom zamjenom teza.
Mi na kraju uviđamo da smo cijelo vrijeme u zabludi, da pred našim očima nije plan vojnog
napada već samo jedna obična invazija boja na sliku.
Na sličan način ovoj temi vratiće se koju godinu kasnije, slikajući brojne planove raznih
svjetskih muzeja i shematske prikaze osvajanja njihovog umjetničkog prostora. U ovim radovima
uočavamo ne samo drugačiji pristup slikarstvu već i drugačiji odnos prema muzeju, nečemu
što je institucionalno, istorijsko i hijerarhijsko. Svakako da je njegova idejna interpretacija
nova, stvarna i živa, da proturječi duboko ukorijenjenim uvjerenjima, bilo da su ona rezultat
reakcije na muzejsko kolekcioniranje, politiku kustoske prakse ili na stvarni život oko nas.
Povezivanje vojske i umjetnosti kao univerzalnih i trajnih sfera, usaglašenih i proživljenih
kroz umjetnikovo lično iskustvo (provedeno najprije u ratnom okruženju, zatim u vojnoj školi,
a potom na umjetničkoj akademiji), najbitniji je trenutak Miljanovićevog umjetničkog ali i
intimnog sazrijevanja praćenog evidentnom sublimacijom iskustva.
Većina njegovih radova temelji se na projektu I serve art, radikalne umjetničke akcije
– performansa, izvedenog od oktobra 2006. do jula 2007. godine, u okviru kojeg je devet
mjeseci izolovano živio i radio - „služio umjetnosti“, aludirajući na uslove vojnog roka i na svoje
lično iskustvo služenja vojske.
Nakon završene Škole rezervnih oficira, u trenutku kada se odlučio za vojni poziv, vojna
škola je ukinuta, a vojska u Bosni i Hercegovini radikalno smanjena. Ove iznenadne okolnosti,
kod ovog mladog čovjeka, prouzrokovale su promjenu izbora zanimanja i upis na Akademiju
umjetnosti u Banjaluci, koga je pratilo preseljenje ove visokoškolske institucije u prostor
nekadašnje vojne kasarne. Zatečena situacija stvorila je pozitivne naboje i konekcije između
lične istorije mladog umjetnika i istorije prostora u kome je sada boravio, uticala je umnogome
na tok njegovog školovanja, formiranja osnovnog idejnog polazišta, ali je uticala i na pravac i
način njegovog umjetničkog djelovanja.
Miljanović je u prostoru nekadašnje vojne moći doslovno ponovio ritual totalne vojne
kontrole nad pojedincem, u ovom slučaju nad samim sobom do krajnjih granica svoje fizičke
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22
1
Na izložbama u više navrata
prezentovane kao video rad u
DVD formatu ili veb sajtu, a na
ovogodišnjem 49. Oktobarskom
salonu u Beogradu pod nazivom
Umjetnik građanin – umjetnica
građanka izložene su kao serija
u svojoj punoj brojnosti od 274
fotografije.
izdržljivosti. Za vrijeme ove dobrovoljne i potpune izolacije, koju je uspio da sprovede do kraja,
on je, analizirajući lični identitet, kreirao novi virtuelni svijet izazivajući pažnju medija i javnosti,
a svoj izolovani prostor koristio je kako bi stvorio novu vrstu svog javnog identiteta i javne
prezentnosti. Njegov projekat poprimio je stanoviti oblik spektakla (u Bodrijarovom smislu) i
odvijao se poput neke kombinacije popularnog Big Brothera, vojne službe i kako sam voli da
kaže - zoološkog vrta, koristeći sve dostupne medije (web, tv, e-mail, video linkove, novine).
Svakodnevno je tokom ovog devetomjesečnog performansa sprovodio unaprijed osmišljene i
oblikovane strategije, razne zadane umjetničke akcije u okviru kojih je nastala serija fotografija
, u čijem je središtu njegov lik u stavu „mirno“, leđima okrenut prema objektivu. Vizura
objektiva i vizura fotografisanog objekta, u ovom slučaju samog umjetnika, je istosmjerna
i u potpuno ravnopravnom hijerarhijskom slijedu koji u značenjskom smislu odgovara ovom
1
vojnom prostoru. Na prvi pogled ovi istovjetni crno - bijeli portreti umjetnika, fotografisani
svakoga dana za vrijeme devotomjesečnog boravka, na kojima se protok vremena mjeri
isključivo rastom kose prezentovanog subjekta i njegovim udaljavanjem u bezgranični prostor
i vrijeme, ne sadrže tendencioznu poruku. Tom naizgled pasivnom pozicijom umjetnik iskazuje
svoju svijest o manjkavosti i složenosti datog društvenog prostora i vremena, u okviru aktuelnih
tranzicijskih problema, temeljeći ih na trenutnoj izolovanoj poziciji bosanskohercegovačkog
društvenog lokaliteta.
Ova problemski angažovana inicijativa, praćena specifičnom izlagačkom koncepcijom,
problematizovala je bitne aspekte funkcionisanja savremene umjetničke scene u ovoj sredini.
Njegov rad je iz mjeseca u mjesec postajao sve ozbiljniji i promišljeniji, da bi na kraju, izlaskom
iz kasarne, već prerastao u ozbiljnu umjetničku strategiju i koncepciju.
Miljanovićeve umjetničko – vojne reakcije, nakon izlaska iz kasarne, prerasle su u sofisticiranu
umjetničku strategiju i konkretnije su se bazirale na biopolitičkim refleksijama suverenih
kapitalističkih tendencija masovne potrošnje. Niz njegovih novih projekata imao je za cilj
okupaciju umjetničkih odnosno galerijskih prostora.
U osnovi ideja okupacije je proizašla iz nekoliko različitih područja njegovog djelovanja kao
umjetnika, ali i kao ljudskog subjekta koji je preživio traumu ratnih dešavanja na ovom prostoru.
Ističući činjenicu da se čitav srpski narod u svijetu posmatra i poistovjećuje sa identitetom
okupatora, Miljanović je svjesno preuzeo taj iskonstruisani – nametnuti identitet, i kroz svoj
umjetnički i lični angažman odlučio da okupira umjetničke – galerijske prostore. Prezentovanje
ovih po dimenzijama promjenljivih i prilagodljivih instalacija, Miljanović je realizovao više puta u
okviru nekoliko izložbenih projekata, među kojima posebno treba pomenuti prvu realizaciju ove
ideje u okviru jednomjesečnog rezidencijalnog boravka u Neue Galleri u Gracu tokom septembra
2007. godine. Tom prilikom je cijeli galerijski prostor popunjen umnoženim siluetama vojnika,
stvarajući jedan pomalo iritantan i napadan osjećaj stvarne okupacije.
Ova sofisticirana umjetnička strategija, nakon završetka projekta I serve art konkretnije se
bazirala na biopolitičkim refleksijama suverenih kapitalističkih tendencija masovne potrošnje.
Izabrani projekat za izložbu Relations (održanu u francuskom gradu Hegenheim u organizaciji
umjetničke organizacije Apollonia European Art exchanges iz Strazbura 2007. godine) pod
nazivom Artwartaising imao je za cilj da ukaže na težnju globalne ekonomije koja kroz razne
vidove monopola i advertaisinga preuzima dominaciju nad tržištem, nad kapitalom, ali i nad
pojedincima – konzumentima, kao njenim krajnjim i osnovnim njenim ciljem ali i žrtvama te
globalne politike. U projektu se Miljanović na ironičan i kritičan način poigrao sa sloganima
poznatih brendova kao što su PEPSI, NIKE, NBA, BALLANTINE itd., uviđajući da je zastarjeli
model vojnog osvajanja prerastao u rukama globalne ekonomije u jednu novu strategiju koja
virtuelno sve više uzima maha.
U osnovi Artwartaisinga nalazi se lik vojnika, jedne usamljene jedinke, lika bez identiteta
podložnog manipulaciji. Ova vizuelno – značenjska matrica, sa stilizovanim likom vojnika,
permanentno i uporno postavljena u nizovima pojavljuje se kao osnovna referenca u svim
radovima. Ovaj segment Miljanovićevog rada u vizuelnom smislu predstavljen je u krajnje
jednostavnom i crno – bijelom kontrastu, iz kojeg proističu različita simbolička tumačenja.
U vremenu poslije nagrade ZVONO i nagradnog boravka u Americi, Miljanovićevi radovi
sve više teže pronalaženju vizuelnih i teorijskih modela kao i načina prenošenja tih modela
u različite kontekste. U tom smislu treba posmatrati i dugo pripremani izložbeni projekat
instruktivnog naziva OKUPACIONA TERAPIJA, koji ispod ove zanimljive sintagme krije veoma
široko polje novog vizuelnog djelovanja.
Zanimljivo je istaći da je novo vizuelno polje izražavanja otvoreno nizom tautoloških radova
koji su po svojoj suštini paralele logičnog i konceptualnog mišljenja nasuprot odnosa između
jezika i vizuelnog. Slijedeći ovu zamisao, Miljanovićev rad Jedna i tri uniforme jasno se referira
na niz Košutovih zamisli Jedna i tri stolice (1965), Jedan i pet satova (1965) ili Jedna boja
i pet pridjeva (1966), prema kojima su umjetnička djela svedena na analitičke propozicije.
Miljanovićevo djelo, shvaćeno na ovaj način, ne opisuje fizičke osobine ili duhovnost predmeta
već priziva formalne definicije umjetnosti i formalne posljedice te definicije. Propozicijama
„uniforme“ odgovaraju tri izraza propozicije i to vizuelni, predmetni i jezički. Uspostavljena
relacija, na kojoj Miljanović insistira, u osnovi je tautološka i svjesno se temelji na ranim
Košutovim radovima koji potenciraju problem razlikovanja koncepta i upotrebljenog materijala,
odnosno, teže razlici između diskurzivne i nediskurzivne pojavnosti. Upravo ta tautološka
paralela, koja insistira na Košutovoj ideji poništavanja razlika između koncepta i materijala ili
diskurzivne i nediskurzivne pojavnosti, omogućila je Miljanoviću da odredi pravu intenciju svog
rada, koji u osnovi ideju bazira na namjeri a ne na instalaciji koja se pred nama pojavljuje. Za
Košuta formalna posljedica definicije pojma umjetnosti je sama umjetnost, odnosno, umjetničko
djelo ne govori ništa drugo nego da je umjetničko djelo i zato je umjetnost tautološka.
Slijed istovrsnih figura vojnika, u radu pod nazivom Praznina ispunjenja takođe je tautološki
slijed koji se direktno referira na ranije monotone nizove crnih figura. U novom slučaju,
instalacija je predstavljena u raskošnoj koncertnoj sali banjalučkog Banskog dvora, naglašen
je dinamičan i periodičan ritam, usaglašen veličinom i bojom izvedenih figura. Izbor materijala,
ovom prilikom, vizuelno dopadljivog i blještavog, na samoj granici kiča, vrlo je intencionalno
artikulisano komplikovanim sklopom mašina i umjetnikovog umijeća.
U ovom tekstualnom slijedu hronološke deskripcije posebno treba pomenuti seriju
fotografija pod nazivom Ispraćaj koja se bavi problemom društvenog statusa muškarca, u
našem izrazito tradicionalonom okruženju. Realizovana serija fotografija predstavlja scene
opraštanja, koje su ekvivalentna paralela ispraćaju u vojsku. Fotografisanim prizorom dominira
potpuno intiman ljudski odnos u trenutku oproštajnog zagrljaja, a uhvaćeni momenat izaziva
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krajnje dirljivu emociju. Prema ustaljenom vjerovanju mladić postaje pravi muškarac tek kada
se vrati iz vojske, a odsluženje vojnog roka smatra se procesom potpunog sazrijevanja, koji je
neodvojivi segment formiranja identiteta svakog muškarca, ne samo na prostoru Bosne već i
u širem balkanskom kontekstu. Otvaranjem ovog novog identitetskog problema o sazrijevanju
muškarca nameće se pitanje, koje je u kontekstu današnjeg vremena u kojem nema vojske i
vojnog roka, na koji način muškarac danas može biti zreo i sposoban, a samim tim i oblikovan
u novim (nevojničkim) uslovima. Postavljanjem ovog problema umjetnik je pronašao novo
polje i nove mogućnosti koje otvaraju raznovrsna usmjerenja, a samim tim i kreiranje pravaca
njegovog vizuelnog djelovanja.
Miljanovićev virtuelni svijet je prostor reda, rada i odgovornosti, duboko prožet ličnom
istorijom i njegovim promjenama identiteta od vojnika do umjetnika. Gotovo svi njegovi radovi
preispituju pitanja, kao što su: da li lična istorija može da posluži kao motiv, tema, sadržaj i
smisao umjetničkog djelovanja i kako lična iskustva upisati u umjetnički i javni prostor sredine,
nadilazeći sve globalne i geografske uslovnosti. Njegova umjetnost govori nam o načinu na koji
se on kao umjetnik konstituiše i mijenja, ali i o veoma ozbiljnim pitanjima statusa umjetnika u
društvu u kojem živi i djeluje, kao i svim mogućim modelima pozicioniranja umjetničkog rada
u javnoj sferi.
Sarita Vujković
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A radical turn in visual art
(On the example of Mladen Miljanović’s artwork)
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The contemporary art scene of the Republic of Srpska, as shaped in the last few years, is
marked by the phenomenon of Mladen Miljanović, a very active artist (winner of the BELL Award
for 2007 as the best young visual artist in Bosnia and Herzegovina), who has over just a few
years of public presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s art managed to carve out a distinguished,
almost enviable career, and so become an unavoidable figure in many exhibition events of new
art, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in a broader regional context.
This fact can be explained by the revival of the Republic of Srpska’s inert art scene, initiated
by a new generation of mainly young artists, who are unlike their older colleagues aware of
the importance of new technologies and media in the context of contemporary art today. Fully
understanding the limiting circumstances of the environment they live and work in, this new
generation took a pro-active turn towards more up-to-date information sources, followed by
more present-day forms of action, which allowed the formation of an art community nucleus. In
the last years, their activities became visible for the general public through the work of several
artist associations (Protok, Flow, and Tačka, Dot or Period), but also through individual solo
projects, extremely courageous, radical and artistically mature, among which the art projects
of Mladen Miljanović can be singled out for their initiative for issue-related engagement.
If we go back to the past, to the traumatic period of the war, sanctions and economic crisis
a decade ago, we will notice a discontinuity, when in the 1990’s the contemporary art scene
melted away, which left a deep trace in the fine and visual arts of the region. This local
map, where paradigmatic processes of discontinuity are easily perceivable, shows visibly that
communication with other environments was not very frequent, while living conditions under
cultural and economic sanctions most certainly did not work in favour of art and creative
work.
This makes it easy to understand why the radical turn in art, which overcame all stylistic,
media and other divisions at the turn of the 20th century, went unnoticed for a long time by
both the leading institutional and non-institutional art circles. Some authentic art phenomena
went unnoticed because the existent curating resources and the art scene mechanisms were
not sufficiently open to make them accessible or permanently visible. This unbridgeable
discontinuity in the art practices in the region is perceivable primarily in its relation to the
newly created social and political context, making it rather difficult for the young generation of
artists to find their feet.
The opening of the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka in 1998 and the renaming of the former
Art Gallery into the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska in 2004 created the
right institutional conditions, and partly also the production conditions, which became a kind of
infrastructure in the system of art which was just being created.
Only with the appearance of a group of self-aware and media-trained artists in the last few
years did institutional art get its radical alter ego, recognised in a generation of young people
who, although trained in the rather modest conditions of the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka,
are familiar and keep up with the current trends. Aware of the issues troubling the region
in which they developed as artists and the educational institution where they received their
training, many of them continued studies in other different environments; however, unlike their
older colleagues coming from this region, who in the previous decades left to receive education
in various cities across the former Yugoslavia or abroad and remained there permanently,
these young people return, realising their options are equally limited here as well as there. In
view of the current options, we can see these common social circumstances primarily as an
aggravating factor, which has been used and transformed by this new group of young artists
into a driving force behind their individual artwork.
It is exactly this driving force of individual artistic creative work, seen as the mutual
transformation of an individual and society, which is recognisable and embedded in Mladen
Miljanović’s art projects. Basically, his work is founded on previously defined guidelines, which
in most cases explore the identity of a place and personal past. Accentuating these significant
aspects is visible in Miljanović’s earliest works, created during his senior year in university.
What singles them out in comparison with the works of his peers is a certain contemplative
dimension building the painting on the relation between artistic, social and individual contexts.
These intertextual relations, observed in the first series of his paintings, or more precisely
cartographic maps, which show imaginary plans of military attacks, reveal a new relation
towards art, the experienced past, but also the current reality, i.e. the current situation in art.
Beside this undeniable war connotation, in the map key, which goes with the painting and is
the only guide for interpreting the meanings, Miljanović opens a new, jovial aspect of approach
to art, resulting from a paradoxical case of mistaken concepts. Eventually, we realise we have
been in delusion the whole time – it is not a plan of military attack we have before our eyes,
but simply an invasion of colours against a canvas.
A few years later he would return to this topic in a similar way, painting a number of maps
of different international museums and schematic presentations of the invasion of their art
space. These works do not exhibit only a different painting approach, but also a changed
relation towards museums as something institutional, historical and hierarchical. Certainly, the
idea behind his interpretation is new, real and alive, and as such, it contradicts those deeply
ingrained beliefs, whether they be a consequence of one’s reaction to museum collecting, the
policies behind curating practices or the actual life around us.
Linking the military with art as universal and permanent spheres, harmonised and lived
through in the artist’s personal experience (first, he spent a period of time in the war, next he
entered a military school and finally an art academy), is the single most important moment
of Miljanović’s coming of age as an artist, but also as a person, accompanied by evident
sublimation of experience.
The majority of his works are based on the project I Serve Art, a radical art action – a
performance which he carried out from October 2006 to July 2007, during which he spent nine
months living and working in isolation – “serving art”, an allusion to the conditions of national
service and his own experience of doing national service.
After graduating from the Army Reserve Officers’ School, when he chose to join the army,
the military school was disbanded, and the armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina radically
reduced. These sudden new circumstances led the young man to change his choice of
occupation and enrol in the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, after which this educational
institution moved to the premises of the former military barracks. The situation he faced
created a positive charge and connections between the young artist’s personal history and the
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history of the space he was now spending time in, and this had a major impact on the course
of his schooling, the forming of the ideas underlying his work, as well as the direction and
manner of his artistic activities.
Inside the space previously signifying military power Miljanović literally restaged the ritual
of full military control over an individual, in this case over himself, to the upper limits of
his physical staying power. During this voluntary, complete isolation, a feat he succeeded
in accomplishing, by analysing his own identity he created a new virtual world, drawing the
attention of the media and general public, and he used his isolation space to create a new
kind of public identity and public presence. His project assumed a certain form of a spectacle
(in the sense of Baudrillard) and proceeded like a combination of the popular Big Ben, military
service and a zoo – as he likes to put it, using all the media available (web, tv, e-mail, video
links, newspapers).
During this nine-month performance, he daily carried out strategies conceived and created
in advance, various previously set artistic actions which produced a series of photographs ,
centered around his persona standing “at attention”, with his back turned to the lens. The view
of the lens and the view of the object photographed, in this case the artist himself, take the
same direction and are in an absolutely hierarchically equal order, which semantically responds
to this military space. At first glance, these identical black-and-white portraits of the artist,
taken every day during his nine-month stay there, where the passing of time is measured only
by the growing hair of the subject presented and his withdrawal into unlimited space and time,
do not bear a tendentious message. With this apparently passive position, the artist expresses
his awareness of the imperfections and complexity of the given social space and time, in the
context of the current problems of transition, basing them on the momentary position of
isolation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a social locus.
This socially engaging intitiative, followed by a specific presentational concept, raised the
issues of some important aspects of how art scene in this environment operates. Month after
month his work became more serious and deliberate, eventually growing into a serious artistic
strategy and concept once he left the barracks.
Miljanović’s artistic-military reactions after he left the barracks grew into a sophisticated
artistic strategy and became based more concretely on biopolitical reflections of the prevalent
capitalistic trends of mass consumption. A series of his new projects has the aim to invade
artistic, i.e. exhibition spaces.
Basically, the idea of invasion came from several fields of his work as an artist, but also as
a human subject who survived the trauma of war in the region. Emphasising the fact that
the whole body of the Serbian nation is viewed and identified by the world as an aggressor,
Miljanović consciously assumed this constructed-imposed identity, and decided to invade
art spaces and galleries by means of his artistic and personal engagement. Miljanović has
presented these installations, whose dimensions make them adaptable and easy to change,
several times in several exhibition projects, among which the first realisation of this idea, which
took place during his one-month residential stay at Neue Gallerie in Graz in September 2007,
is particularly worth a mention. On that occasion the whole gallery was filled with multiplied
silhouettes of soldiers, creating a slightly irritating and overwhelming feeling of an actual
invasion.
After the completion of the project I Serve Art, this sophisticated artistic strategy was more
specifically based on biopolitical reflections of the dominant trends of mass consumption.
The goal of the project selected for the exhibition Relations (held in the French city of
Hegenheim and organised by the art organisation Apollonia, echanges artistiques europeens
from Strasbourg in 2007) entitled Artwartaising was to draw attention to the aspirations of the
global economy, which uses different kinds of monopolising and advertising to take over the
markets, assets, but also individuals – consumers, as its basic and its final goal, who are also
the victims of this global policy. In this project Miljanović plays with the slogans of well-known
brands, such as Pepsi, Nike, NBA, Ballantine etc., in an ironic and critical way, seeing that the
outdated model of military invasion has grown at the hands of the global economy into a new
strategy, which virtually makes speedy headway.
At the base of Artwartaising we see the image of a soldier, a lonesome individual, a person
without identity, susceptible to manipulation. This visual-semantic matrix with a stylised soldier
figure, set in series in a permanent and persistent manner, appears as the basic reference
in all the works. This segment of Miljanović’s work is in the visual sense presented using an
absolutely simple black-and-white contrast, leading to various symbolic interpretations.
In the period after the BELL Award and his prize trip to the U.S., Miljanović’s works increasingly
strove towards discovering visual and theoretical models, as well as ways to convey those
models into different contexts. In that light we should also observe the exhibition project
which took long to prepare and whose title is instructive – Occupational Therapy, which under
the umbrella of this interesting syntagma hides a very broad range of new visual activity.
It is interesting to note that a series of tautological works opens this new visual field of
expression, and these works are essentially parallels of logical and conceptual thinking as
opposed to the relation between language and the visual. Staying on the track of this idea,
Miljanović’s work One and Three Uniforms is a clear reference to a range of Košut’s ideas –
One and Three Chairs (1965), One and Five Clocks (1965), or One Colour and Five Adjectives
(1966), according to which artworks are reduced to analytical propositions. Miljanović’s work,
seen in this way, is not a description of physical properties or spirituality of the objects; it
rather invokes formal definitions of art as well as the formal consequences of such definition.
Three expressions of the proposition correspond to the propositions of “uniform” – visual,
subject-related and linguistic. The established relation, which Miljanović insists on, is basically
a tautological one, and it is consciously founded on Košut’s early works, which insist on the
problem of differentiating the concept and the material used, that is, they strive after the
difference between discursive and non-discursive manifestation. This very tautological parallel,
which insists on Košut’s idea of annulment of differences between the concept and materials,
or between discursive and non-discursive manifestation, has made it possible for Miljanović
to determine the actual intention of his work, which fundamentally bases the idea on the
intention, not on the installation we see in front of us. For Košut, the formal consequence of
the definition of the notion of art is art itself, that is, an artwork does not say anything else
except that it is an artwork, which is why art is tautological.
A series of homogeneous soldier figures in the work entitled Emptiness of Fulfilment is
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another tautological series which directly relates to the earlier monotonous series of black
figures. In this new case, the installation was presented in the splendid concert hall of Banja
Luka’s Banski Dvor, putting an accent of the dynamic and periodic rhythm, harmonised by
means of the size and colour of the created figures. The choice of material, which is this time
visually appealing and shiny, almost bordering kitsch, is articulated in a highly intentional
manner with a complicated system of machines and the artist’s artistry.
In this textual course of chronological description, also worth mentioning is the series of
photographs entitled Send-Off Party. It deals with the issues of the social status of men in
our local surroundings, which is rather traditional. The produced series of photographs shows
farewell scenes, which are a parallel equivalent to sending a young man away to do national
service. The photographed scenes are dominated by a highly private relation between people
at the moment of a farewell hug, and the moment captured provokes a truly touching emotion.
According to traditional beliefs, a young man really becomes a man only after he returns from
the army, while doing national service is considered a process after which he is fully mature; it
is an inseparable segment in the forming of every man’s identity, not only in Bosnia, but also
in the broader context of the Balkans. Addressing this new issue related to identity about the
maturing of men poses the question, in the context of our time, when we no longer have the
military or national service, of the way in which a man can be mature and capable these days,
which also means being shaped in new (non-military) conditions. By addressing this issue, the
artist has discovered a new domain and new possibilities, which open various orientations, and
with this also the creation of directions for his visual work.
Miljanović’s virtual world is an area of order, work and responsibility, deeply imbued with
his personal history and change of identity from a soldier to an artist. Almost all his works
consider such issues as: can one’s personal history be used as a motif, topic, contents and
sense of artwork, and how can personal experiences be inscribed in the artistic and public
space of an environment, overcoming all global and geografical conditions? His art tells us of
the way in which he is constituted and changes as an artist, but also of the very serious issues
of the artist’s status in the society he lives and works in, as well as of all potential models of
positioning artwork in the public domain.
Sarita Vujkovic
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OKUPACIONA TERAPIJA / OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
ISPRAĆAJ / FAREWELL
UDAS galerija / UDAS gallery
ulica Sime Miljuša 3, naselje Starčevica
Sime Miljuša street 3, Starčevica
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ISPRAĆAJ
FAREWELL
fotografija / photograpy
70 cm x 50 cm
2000 / 2008
- Rad koji je paradoks ili ne mom ispraćaju u vojsku (2000) i tradiciji vezanoj za nju. Na fotografijama se nalaze članovi
porodice i prijatelji sa kojima sam se pozdravljao kada sam odlazio na služenje vojnog roka. Sada sam ponovio taj ritual
koji sam dokumentovao fotografijom postavljajući ga u jednaku ravan sa onim događajem 2000-te.
- A work which is a paradox, or perhaps not, of the occasion when the family saw me off before doing my national
service (2000) and the related traditions. The photographs show members of my family and friends as we say goodbye
before my departure. Now I restaged the ritual, documenting it with photographs and making it equal with the 2000
event.
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Ispraćaj 1
Farewell 1
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Ispraćaj 3
Farewell 3
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Ispraćaj 5
Farewell 5
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OKUPACIONA TERAPIJA / OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Amajlije / Amulet
Kulturni centar Banski dvor / Cultural center Banski dvor
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AMAJLIJA
AMULET
instalacija / installation
različite veličine / various sizes
2008
- Serija malih radova na kojima se nalaze već prepoznatljive siluete vojnika koji su predstavljeni kao sveti predmeti /
amajlije. Oni liječe od bolesti, štite porodice od nesreća, čuvaju djecu, donose sreću, novac, moć...sve.
Njihova djelotvornost je nevjerovatna, kao i njihova snaga. Ovakav vid predstavljanja proglašavanja raznih predmeta
djelotvornima i čudotvornima je nešto što je sujevjerje koje je duboko usađeno u našem društvu. I meni je baka nakon
bola u stomaku očitavala (šaporila) neke čudne riječi nakon kojih bi me prestajao bol ili bi se manje bojao. Mnoštvo
različitih religija nosi sa sobom i mnoštvo različitih sujevjerja, najčešce takvi oblici zaokupiraju i pomute razum riječima
kao sto je sreća, ljepota, zdravlje, i novac.
Moje amajlije, u širokom spektru nude za svakog po nesto. Od država, entiteta, gradova, institucija, mjesnih zajednica,
porodica i pojedinaca oni štite sve. Oni su obučeni za to.
- This is a series of small works, which contain the recognizable silhouettes of soldiers presented as sacred objects /
amulets. They cure diseases, protect families from accidents, safeguard children, bring good fortune, money, power…
everything.
Their effectiveness is amazing, and so is their strength. This kind of proclaiming different objects effective and
miraculous is superstition that is deep-rooted in our society. For example, if I had a stomachache, my grandmother would
say some strange words (conjure), after which the pain stopped or I would feel less afraid. Many different religions have
in them many different kinds of superstition, and most frequently those things blur one’s mind with words like happiness,
beauty, health and money.
My amulets come in such a broad range that everyone can find something for themselves. They protect everything –
states, entities, cities, institutions, communities, families and individuals.
They were trained for it.
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Ha-majlija
H-amulet
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Amajlija
Amulet
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Amajlija X
Amulet X
Amajlija x2
Amulet x2
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Amajlija?
Amulet?
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Amajlija 0-24
Amulet 0-24
Amajlija Amulet -
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Amajlija...
Amulet...
Amajlija i djavo
Amulet and Devil
Amajlija se vraća
Amulet comeback
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Amajlija donosi...
Amulet brings...
Amajlija xx
Amulet xx
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PREUZIMANJE
ASSUMPTION
akril na platnu / acrilic on canvas
190 x 220 cm
2008
detalji instalacije
details of installation
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1
2
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instalacija
installation
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PREUZIMANJE ODGOVORNOSTI
ASSUMPTION OF REPONSIBILITY
video / video
trajanje / duration: 04 min 19 sec
godina produkcije / year of production: 2008
- Video koji predstavlja umjetnika kao teroristu, pod maskom koji neprestano ponavlja jednu rečenicu. Moje ime je
Mladen Miljanović, ovaj rad sam napravio u bivšoj kasarni Vrbas, bio sam poručnik, sada sam umjetnik. Dok nesinhrono
ponavljam tu rečenicu maska me sve više steže i svrbi stvarajući nervozu i uznemirenost.
- This video shows the artist as a terrorist with a mask on and constantly repeating the same sentence. My name is
Mladen Miljanovic, I made this work in the former barracks Vrbas, I used to be a lieutenant, now I’m an artist. As I repeat
this sentence nonsynchronously, the mask presses and itches my face, making me nervous and anxious.
prizori iz videa
video stills
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1
2
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3
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OKUPACIONA TERAPIJA / OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Mehanizmi / Mechanism
Muzej savremene umjetnosti Republike Srpske
Museum of contemporary art Republic of Srpska
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LIVADE IGNORISANJA
MEADOVS OF IGNORANCE
fotografija / photography
90 x 60 cm
2008
“Ignore”
“Ignore”
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“Where”
“Where”
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“Not guilty”
“Not guilty”
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ZAKLETVA NEZAVISNOJ UMJETNOSTI
OATH TO INDEPENDENT ART
dvokanalna video instalacija / two chanel video installation
trajanje / duration: 03 min 37 sec
godina produkcije / year of production: 2008
TEKST ZAKLETVE:
- Ja nezavisni umjetnik svečano se obavezujem da ću biti zavisnik umjetničkog ustavnog poretka, braniti ga od cjelokupnog
umjetničkog sistema, da ću čuvati i graditi nejednakost umjetničkog djelovanja. Uvijek ću svjesno i disciplinovano, moliti
i prositi za izložbe i projekte, ali i poštujući milostinju: krvavo stečenu linijom nepotizma, pošteno zarađenu lobiranjem
gradonačelnika, lukavo izvučenu od umjetničkih fondacija, znojem zalivenu preporuku za grant i jeftino otkupljeni rad za
kolekciju ambasadora. I iz tih razloga, biću spreman pokloniti i posljednje umjetničko djelo da dobijem izložbu u velikom
svjetskom centru. Tako mi ministar pomogao.
OATH TEXT:
- I an independent artist, gravely compel to depend on artistic constitutional order, to defend it from entire artistic
system, that I will protect and build diversity of artistic influence. I will always be conscious and disciplined in imploring
and begging for exhibitions and projects, but at the same time respecting charity: made in blood line of nepotism,
honorably gained by lobbying mayor, cunningly taken from art foundations, grant recommendation suffused by sweat
and piece of art cheaply both for ambassador collection. From those reasons, I will be ready to give away last piece of
my art to get exhibition in great world center. So help me minister.
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prizori iz videa
video stills
1
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2
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ČUVARKUĆA
HOUSELEEK
fotografije akcije / photographs of action
70 x 50 cm
2008
- Za ovu izložbu sam ukrao čuvarkuće (biljaka za koju se vjeruje da čuva kuće, porodice i zdravlje) sa dva mjesta.
- Njihova djelotvornost je potpuna samo ako se kradu od nekoga.
- Nakon krađe i presađivanja vlasnik ili domaćin takođe postaje potencijalna meta “kradljivca”
- Svrha čuvarkuća na ovoj izložbi jeste da zaštite, izliječe i sačuvaju: umjetnika, njegove radove, posjetioce izložbe,
muzej, umjetnost...
- For this exhibition I stole houseleek (a plant believed to protect homes, families and their health) from two different
spots.
- It works only if stolen from somebody else.
- After stealing and putting the plant in the ground again, the new owner or host also becomes a potential target for
“thieves”.
- The purpose of the plant in this exhibition is to protect, cure and safeguard: the artist, his works, the exhibition viewers,
the museum...
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foto akcije
photo of action
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3
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PRAZNINA ISPUNJENJA
EMPTINESS OF EXECUTION
instalacija /installation
7x5m
2008
detalji instalacije
details of installation
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3
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RAZUMIJEVANJE TIJELA
BODY UNDERSTANDING
video / video
01 min 42 sek
2008
prikaz instalacije
preview of installation
prizori iz videa
video stills
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
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BAD RESOLUTION FUCK
BAD RESOLUTION FUCK
video / video
trajanje / duration: 04 min 19 sec
godina produkcije / year of production: 2008
- Video i audio ne korespondiraju na vidljivom nivou.
- Takvo djelovanje u pojedinim periodima istorije kod ličnosti
koje su predvodile ili inicirale (ili još uvjek iniciraju) razaranje
predsatvljalo je (ili predstavlja) orgazmičan užitak uništavanja
tuđih života.
- Audio je komponenta čija dijametralna kontekstualna suprotnost
postavlja rad u destabilizujući položaj. Kada se u radu ukrštaju ta
dva elementa, to nije njihova sinteza koja bi trebala da ih spoji
u jedno. To je dekonstruktivno suprostavljanje koje uključuje
treće, nešto što u radu destabilizuje to manipulatorno dvoje.
- The video and audio do not correspond on a visible level.
- Such actions in certain periods in the lives of the people who
led or initiated (or still initiate) devastation represented (or
represent) an orgasmic pleasure in destroying human lives.
- The audio is an element whose diametrically contextual
opposition puts the work in a destabilising position. When those
two elements encounter in the work, we do not have a case of
synthesis meant to merge them into one. It is a deconstructive
opposition involving a third aspect, something which destablises
the two manipulative elements in the work.
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prizor iz videa
video still
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OCCUPO
OCCUPO
fotografije intervencija / photographs of interventions
60 x 40 cm
2008
- Predsatvljena intervencija sadrži i transformiše metode kao što su umjetnost intervencije, angažovana umjetnost
aktivističkog karaktera, umjetnost in situ(1), kolektivno stvaranje ili različiti umjetnički “manierae”, razvijeni u
neumjetničkom okviru, zavisni od materijalnog svijeta i konkretnog okruženja. U ovom slučaju intervencija obuhvata
kreacije usidrene u okolnostima koje se prepliću sa stvarnošću.
(1)Umjetnost in situ definiše se u odnosu na mjesto gdje dočekuje i gdje izlaže, za koje je posebno stvorena. Uglavnom kratkog daha, ona ne predstavlja
toliko element dekora, koliko estetski predlog kritičke prirode.
- The presented intervention contains and transforms methods such as art of intervention, engaged art with an activist
character, art in situ (1), collective creation or different artistic “manierae”, developed in a nonartistic frame, dependent on
the physical world and concrete surroundings. In this case, intervention comprises creations anchored in circumstances
entwined with reality.
(1) Art in situ is defined regarding the meeting place and the exhibiting place, the place it is specifically made for. Mostly short-lived, this kind of art
represents not so much an element of décor, as an aesthetic proposal critical in nature.
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Graz 4
Graz 4
Filadelfija 2
Philadelphya 2
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Njujork 2
New York 2
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MEHANIZMI ODNOSA
MEHANISM OF RELATION
instalacija / installation
promjenljive dimenzije / variable dimensions
2008
detalji instalacije
details of installation
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1
2
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instalacija
installation
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RE-PRODUKCIJA
RE-PRODUCTION
instalacija / installation
promjenljive dimenzije / variable dimensions
2008
detalj instalacije
detail of installation
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instalacija / installation
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MY SHINY DISCO WAR
BLISTAVI DISKO RAT
audio vizuelna instalacija / audio visual installation
promjenljive dimenzije / variable dimensions
2008
“My Shiny Disco War” je paradoksalna audio vizuelna instalacija koja predstavlja inverzan kontekstualni pristup prema
fenomenu popularne disko kulture. Ikonički prikaz vojnika i naoružanja se projektuje na disko kuglu koja reflektuje
odraze istih po čitavom prostoru. Boje vojnika i oružja neprestano mjenjaju kolorit te stvaraju dinamiku u prostoru čije
kretanje prati zvuk. Audio je kompozicija koja je komponovana od različitih zvukova: pucnjeva, tenkova i eksplozija koje
zamjenjuju basove. Militaristička ekvivalentnost disku kao pop-kulturnom fenomenu postavlja pitanje rata kao trenda
koji evoluira kroz vrijeme.
“My Shiny Disco War” is an paradoxical audio-visual installation which uses an inverted contextual approach to the
phenomenon of disco culture. Iconic images of soldiers and weapons are projected onto a disco ball that reflects the
images all over the space. The colors of soldiers and weapons are constantly changing, creating a sense of dynamics
within the space. The audio footage is a piece comprised of a variety of sounds: gunshots, sounds of tanks and
explosions (which substitute the bass). The militaristic equivalent of disco, as a pop-culture phenomenon, triggers the
issue of war as an ever-evolving trend.
prikaz instalacije
preview of installation
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prizori iz projekcije
projection stills
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MEHANIZMI
MEHANISM
instalacija / installation
120 x 80 cm
2008
detalj instalacije
detail of installation
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instalacija / installation
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KILL
KILL
instalacija / installation
promjenljive dimenzije / variable dimensions
2008
- KILL je paradoksalna instalacija koja predstavlja izmjenjeni test vida.
- U ovom slučaju njegov kontekst se preoblikuje i predstavlja kao test vida za prijem u vojnu službu.
- Jedan od evidentnih nivoa na kome rad kristališe svoju komunikaciju sa posmatračem jeste njegov položaj tijela, i i
dolazak do nivoa percepcije rada.
- Rad je predsatvljen kao minijaturna svijetleća reklama u maloj drvenoj kutiji.
- KILL is a paradoxical installation showing an altered form of eye test.
- In this case, its context is reshaped and represents the test of vision conducted on individuals who want to join the
military.
- One of the evident levels on which the work specifies its communication with the viewer is the body posture, and
reaching the level of perception of the artwork.
- The work is presented as a miniature neon sign in a little wooden box.
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detalj instalacije
detail of installation
instalacija / installation
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DANAS POSTAJEM PRAVI UMJETNIK
TODAY I BECOME REAL ARTIST
performans / performance
2008
-
U prostoriji je sto, stolica, televizor, vino, šljem, fotografija nalijepljena na zid u prirodnoj veličini figura.
Na stolu se nalazi televizor, šljem i vino.
Na fotografiji se nalazi umjetnik sa roditeljima na dan kada je položio vojničku zakletvu.
Snimak sa oproštajnog veselja pred odlazak u vojsku se prikazuje na televizoru.
Umjetnik pije vino iz šljema kojim poslije interveniše po fotografiji.
Performans traje dok na fotografiji figura umjetnika u uniformi ne postane izbrisana.
In the room there is a table, a chair, a TV, wine, a helmet, a photograph stuck to the wall, showing life-size people.
On the table there is a TV, a helmet and wine.
The photograph shows the artist with his parets on the day he took the military oath of allegiance.
The recording of the send-off party preceding the national service being shown on television.
The artist drinking wine from the helmet, which he then uses to intervene in the photograph.
The performance will continue until the figure of the artist in uniform on the photograph is erased.
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IDENTIFIKACIJA
IDENTIFICATION
instalacija / installation
promjenljive dimenzije / variable dimensions
2008
detalj instalacije
detail of installation
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2
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JEDNA I TRI UNIFORME
ONE AND THREE UNIFORMS
instalacija / installation
promjenljive dimenzije / variable dimensions
2008
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prikaz instalacije
preview of installation
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OKUPACIONA TERAPIJA / OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
BIOGRAFIJA
BIOGRAPHY
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Mladen Miljanović
Rođen 1981 u Zenici, srednju školu završio u Doboju. Nakon srednje škole odlazi u vojsku i završava
školu rezervnih oficira gdje kasnije obučava 30 vojnika. Nakon završetka vojne službe upisuje
Akademiju umjetnosti u Banjaluci, smjer slikarstvo. Nakon završetka Akademije počinje da radi
kao asistent na predmetima Intermedijalna istraživanja i Teorija prostora. Miljanović se takođe bavi
socijalnim i terapeutskim aspektima umjetnosti te je inicijator “Hepenning Balkana” radionice osoba
sa onesposobljenjem.
Mladen Miljanović je jedan od najmlađih predstavnika “ratne generacije” bosansko-hercegovačkih
umjetnika koji svoj umjetnički rad temelji na vlastitom egzistencijalnom iskustvu: s jedne strane to
je iskustvo odrastanja u vrijeme rata i nakon njega u razorenoj, osiromašenoj, etnički i teritorijalno
podijeljenoj, spolja izolovanoj zemlji; s druge strane, na formalnom obrazovanju (u jednoj fazi svoga
školovanja pohađa Školu rezervnih oficira). Posljedice rata (rad sa invalidima rata) i stečeno znanje u
vojnoj školi (korišćenje obesmišljenog vojnog “slikovnog vokabulara” u novom, umjetničkom kontekstu),
čine osnovno referencijalno polje Miljanovićevog djelovanja kao umjetnika.
Dva potpuno različita iskustva (polaznika Vojne škole i studenta Akademije umjetnosti), igrom slučaja,
ukrštaju se na jednom mjestu - banjalučki Univerzitet se nakon rata useljava u bivšu vojnu kasarnu
Vrbas. Akademija umjetnosti smještena je u jednoj od zgrada kasarne. Njegov rad in situ proizilazi
iz reakcije na fizičku i funkcionalnu prošlost mjesta, na genius loci. “Povlačenjem paralele između
prošlosti prostora i njegove transformacije u dijametralno različitu funkciju danas, preuzimam ulogu
medijatora u procesu konstruktivne dekonstrukcije koji (proces) se dešava između dvije realnosti.”
Imajući u vidu njegov ukupni angažman, strategije i metode rada, može se zaključiti da Miljanoviću
umjetnost nije cilj nego sredstvo suočavanja sa negativnom prošlošću i praktične afirmacije stava
“make art, not war”.
“Koristim umjetnost kao sredstvo sublimacije negativnih oblika prošlosti, uzimajući performans,
instalaciju, sliku, fotografiju, kao medije kroz koje se redefinišu oblici društvene traume.”
Eng
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Born in Zenica in 1981, completed the secondary school in Doboj. After the secondary school he
attended the Reserve Officer School where he earned the rank of sergeant. As a sergeant he trained
30 privates. After completion of the military term he enrolled at the Academy of Arts (Department of
Painting) in Banja Luka. After completed Art Academy started to work as assistant at the Inter-media
and Spatial Theory Department. Miljanović also deals with the social and therapeutic aspects of art,
being the initiator of the workshops for the disabled.
Mladen Miljanović has based his art work upon his own life experience: on one hand it is the
experience of growing up during the war and after war in the destroyed, impoverished, ethnically
and territorially divided, and externally isolated country; on the other hand it is his formal education
(at one stage of his education he attended the Reserve Officer School). The consequences of the war
(work with the war invalids) and knowledge gained in the military school (use of senseless military
“image vocabulary” in the new, art context), make the basic field of reference of Miljanović’s work as
an artist.
Two completely different experiences (attendee of the Military school and student of the Academy
of Arts) intercross, by chance, at one spot - after the war Banja Luka University moved into the former
Vrbas military barracks. The Academy of Arts is located in one of the barracks buildings. His work
in situ arises from the reaction to the physical and functional past of the place, to genius loci. “By
making the parallel between the past of the place and its transformation into the diametrically different
function today, I take on the role of the mediator in the process of the constructive deconstruction that
(the process) is taking place between the two realities.”
Considering his entire engagement, strategy and work methods, it can be concluded that for
Miljanović the art is not a goal but the means of confrontation with the negative past and practical affirmation
of the attitude “make art, not war”.
“I use art as the means of sublimation of the negative forms of the past, taking performance, installation,
image, photograph as media through which the forms of the social trauma are being redefined”.
Selektovane samostalne izložbe:
-
“Okupaciona terapija” Muzej savremene umjetnosti RS, KC Banski dvor, galerija UDAS - Banja Luka (BiH)
“I serve art” Umjetnička galerija BiH - Sarajevo (BiH)
“Occupo” Neue Galerie – Graz (Austria)
“Relations”, FABRIKculture – Hegenheim (France)
“I serve art”, Bivša kasarna «Vrbas» Akademija umjetnosti Banja Luka (BiH)
Selektovane grupne izložbe:
2008
- “Busan bijenale” Internacionalna izložba video umjetnosti - Busan (Južna Korea)
- ”Umetnik građanin / Umetnica građanka” 49. Oktobarski salon - Beograd (Srbija)
- “Hotel MariaKapel” a portrait by Katie Jane - Horn (Holandija)
- “Örebro” International Video Art Festival, Örebro (Švedska)
- “Spa Port” Internacionalna godišnja izložba savremene umjetnosti - Banja Luka (BiH)
- “Medjuprostor” Muzej savremene umjetnosti RS - Banja Luka (BiH)
- “Boys and their toys” SC gallery, Zagreb, (Hrvatska)
- “Moja zemlja Štaglinec” serija performansa na imanju Vlaste Delimar – Koprivnica (Hrvatska)
- “Joint exhibition of young visual artist awards winners’’, galerija Magacin - Beograd (Srbija)
- “Medjuprostor” Kulturni centar Beograda - Beograd (Srbija)
- “Vojna in Mir-Spomini in spomeniki” galerija Rika Debenjak- Kanal (Slovenija);
2007
- “Relations”, FABRIKculture – Hegenheim (Francuska)
- “Strategies of conforment in the age of biopolitics”, Corcoran, galerija Brakeground Amsterdam
(Holandija)
- “Retrospektrum” Umjetnička galerija BiH – Sarajevo (BiH)
- Izložba finalista za godišnju nagradu ZVONO (2007), Muzej savremene umjetnosti RS - Banja Luka (BiH)
- “Medjuprostor” Muzej savremene umetnosti Vojvodine - Novi Sad (Srbija)
- “Strategies of conforment in the age of biopolitics”, Corcoran, Salon Muzeja savremene umetnosti Beograd
(Srbija)
2006
- Istočni susjedi, kulturni centar Babel (Utrecht, Holandija)
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Kontinentalni doručak, Muzej savremene umjetnosti RS (Banja Luka)
izložba finalista za godišnju nagradu ZVONO (2006), KC Banski dvor (Banja Luka)
Real Presence, internacionalna izložba studenata Likovnih akademija (Beograd)
(o)graničenja, mladi umjetnici iz BiH, galerija studentskog centra (Zagreb)
2005 - Halo bing, kako brat, Umjetnička galerija BiH (Sarajevo)
Nagrade:
- 2007 “Zvono” nagrada za najuspješnijeg mladog vizuelnog umjetnika BIH
- 2007 Nagrada Rotary kluba
- 2006 Nagrada Muzeja savremene umjetnosti Republike Srpske za najbolje radove na godišnjoj izložbi studenata
Akademije umjetnosti u Banja Luci
Rezidencijalni boravci i grantovi:
- 2008 ISCP centar - New York (USA)
- 2007 Neue Galerie Graz, Graz - (Austria)
- 2007 Kultur Fabrik, Hegenhaim (Francuska)
Izbor prezentacija i predavanja:
-
2008
2008
2008
2006
ISCP, New York - USA
LMCC, New York - USA
“Fnac” Stasbourg - Francuska
“Real presence” - Beograd - Srbija
Eng
Selected solo exhibitions:
-
“Occupational therapy” Museum of Contemporary Art of RS, KC Banski Dvor, UDAS gallery, Banja Luka (BiH)
“I serve art`` National Gallery of BiH, Sarajevo (BiH)
“Occupo” , Neue Galerie Graz, Graz (Austria)
“Relations”, FABRIK culture – Hegenheim (France)
“I serve art`` ex military base Vrbas, Banja Luka (BiH)
Selected group exhibitions:
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2008
- “Busan biennial” International exhibition of video art - Busan (South Korea)
- 49, October Salon, “Artist-Citizen”, 2008, Belgrade (Serbia)
- “Hotel MariaKapel” a portrait by Katie Jane, Horn (Nederland)
- “Örebro International Video Art Festival (Sweden)
- “Boys and their toys`` SC gallery, Zagreb (Croatia)
- “Spa Port” International exhibition of contemporary art - Banja Luka (BiH)
- “My land Staglinc`` on property of Vlasta Delimar, Koprivnica (Croatia)
- “Joint exhibition of young visual artist awards winners’’, gallery Magacin – Belgrade (Serbia)
- “Interspace`` Cultural Center of Belgrade, Belgrade (Serbia)
- “Vojna in Mir-Spomini in spomeniki” gallery Rika Debenjak-Kanal (Slovenia)
2007
- “Strategies of conforment in the age of biopolitics”, Brakeground Gallery, Amsterdam (Nederland)
- “Retrospektrum“ National Gallery of BiH, Sarajevo (BiH)
- “Corcoran”, salon - Museum of Contemporary arts Belgrade (Serbia)
- “Interspace”, Museum of Contemporary arts Vojvodina, Novi Sad (Serbia)
- “Dialogue” exhibition, Hegenhaim-Basel (France)
2006
- “Eastern neighbors”, Cultural Center Babel, Utrecht (Nederland)
- “Continental Breakfast”, Museum of Contemporary Art of RS, Banja Luka (BiH)
- finalists of “ZVONO” annual Award, KC Banski dvor, Banja Luka (BiH)
- “(l)imitations”, young artists from BiH, Student Center Gallery, Zagreb (Croatia)
- Real Presence, internacionalna izložba studenata Likovnih akademija (Beograd)
2005 - “Hello Bing, how’s the brother”, National Gallery of B&H, Sarajevo (BiH)
Awards:
- 2007 “Zvono” award for best young artist in BIH
- 2007 Award of Rotary club
- 2006 Award of the Museum of Contemporary Art RS in Banja Luka for the best works at the annual final
exhibition of the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka
Residencies and grants:
- 2008 ISCP centar - New York (USA)
- 2007 Neue Galerie Graz, Graz - (Austria)
- 2007 Kultur Fabrik, Hegenhaim (Francuska)
Selected presentations and artist talks:
-
2008
2008
2008
2006
ISCP, New York - USA
LMCC, New York - USA
“Fnac” Stasbourg - Francuska
“Real presence” - Beograd - Srbija
e-mail: iserveart@gmail.com
mob. +387 65 670 928
Adresa / Address:
Jovana Raškovića 153a
78 000 Banja Luka Republika Srpska
Bosna i Hercegovina
www.mladenmiljanovic.com
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Umjetnik se zahvaljuje
Izrazio bih zahvalnost svima koji su učestvovali na realizaciji ove izložbe, za njihovo vrijeme,
znanje, trud i dobru volju.
Najprije se želim zahvaliti roditeljima koji su mi pomogli i pokazali kako da budem istrajan
u životu, zatim mojoj vjerenici Borjani Mrđi koja me je bezuslovno podržavala da realizujem
radove i izložbu ovakvom kakva jeste. Zahvaljujem se porodici Mrđa, Ljiljani Labović Marinković,
Sariti Vujković, Lani Pavlović, Branki Šestić, Mladenu i Nenadu iz tehničke službe MSU RS.
Zahvaljujem se Miloradu Petriću, Slobodanu Vidoviću, Sonji Briski Uzelac, Dunji Blažević i Nenadu
Maleševiću. Zahvaljujem se Ljiljani Radovanović, Željki Volašu, Ljubomiru Sukari, Lazi Babiću,
Srdjanu Kosiću, Dajanu Špiriću, Renatu Rakiću, Dragani Malešević, Ratomiru Miljanoviću, Siniši
Popoviću, Sandri Popović, Vladi Popoviću, Ljubi Popović, porodici Dačića, Mirjani Miljanović i
Dragici Miljanović.
Zahvaljujem se kumu Ljubi Ignjatoviću, Slobodanu Ignjatoviću, Peri Bukejloviću, Neni
Bukejlović, Goranu Miljanoviću, porodici Bože Bukejlovića, Nenadu Filipoviću, Saši Živanoviću,
Zoranu Živanoviću, Dejanu Starčeviću, Mladenu Stevanoviću i Branki Tubić, Ljiljani Perin, Mirku
Zečeviću i Branku iz Dželeta.
Zahvaljujem se Akademiji umjetnosti Univerziteta u Banja Luci i kolegama, Metromediji, Atlantik
bb, Dželeto i SCCA Sarajevo.
Izložbu posvećujem sjećanju na Daru Ignjatović.
Artist’s acknowledgements
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I would like to express my thanks to all those who took part in preparing this exhibition, for
their time, knowledge, efforts and good will.
First, I would like to thank my parents for helping and teaching me to be persistent in life,
and second, to Borjana Mrđa, my fiancee, for her unreserved support in organising the works
and making the exhibition as it is. I thank Ljiljana Labović Marinković, Sarita Vujković, Lana
Pavlović, Branka Šestić, Mladen and Nenad from MSU RS. I am grateful to Milorad Petrić,
Slobodan Vidović, Sonja Briski Uzelac,Dunja Blažević and Nenad Malešević. I thank Ljiljani
Radovanović, Željko Volaš, Lazo Babić, Ljubomir Sukara, Srdjan Kosić, Dajan Špirić, Renato
Rakić, Dragana Malešević, Ratomir Miljanović, Siniša Popović, Sandra Popović, Vlado Popović,
Ljuba Popović, Dačić family, Mirjana Miljanović and Dragica Miljanović.
I thank godparent Ljubo Ignjatović, Slobodan Ignjatović, Pero Bukejlović, Nena Bukejlović,
Goran Miljanović, Božo Bukejlović family, Nenad Filipović, Saša Živanović, Zoran Živanović,
Dejan Starčević i Mladen Stevanović, Branka Tubić, Ljiljana Perin, Mirko Zečević and Branko
from Dzeleto.
I thank Art academy Universiti of Banja Luka and colegues, Metromedia, Atlantik bb, Dželeto
and SCCA Sarajevo.
I dedicate this exhibition to the memories of Dara Ignjatović.
Organizacija izložbe / Organisation of exhibition:
``UDAS``
galerija
Projekat podržali / With support of:
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Izdavač/Editor
Muzej savremene umjetnosti Republike Srpske
Museum of contemporary art of Republic Srpska
Trg srpskih junaka 2
Banja Luka
mail: galrs@inecco.net
tel: ++387 215 364; faks: ++387 51 215 366
Za izdavača/For editor
Ljiljana Labović Marinković, direktor
Izdanje/Edition
38.
Godina izdanja/Year of publish
2008.
Tekstovi/Texts
Sonja Briski Uzelac
Sarita Vujkovic
Nenad Malešević
Prevod/Translation
Svetlana Mitić
Fotografija/Photo
Nenad Malešević
Borjana Mrdja
Mladen Miljanović
Darko Miljanović
Renato Rakić
Dizajn/Design
Mladen Miljanović
Štampa/Print
ATLANTIK BB
Banja Luka
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Tiraž/Print run
750
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