RECENTCROATIAN VIDEO AND EXPERIMENTAL FILM
Video art emerged in this part of the world - the western region of southeast Europe - during the
1960s and was connected with the activities of galleries of modern art in urban centers, which were
concentrating largely at that time on classic presentations of the visual arts. At first there were
intermittent, even timid showings of video art by visual and, somewhat more rarely, film artists. A
particularly important factor was the GEFF Festival (Genre Experimental Film Festival) held in Zagreb
throughout the 1960s and the early 1970s. It was only after the subsequent expansion of various reviews and
festivals of experimental film and the institutionalization of media arts that Croatian artists, too, were
encouraged to make creative efforts in producing video work. Perhaps the key encouraging factor was the
inclusion of several Croatian artists (Gotovac, Galeta, and Vladic from the neighboring republic) in the
selection of the American Art Federation, which presented a circulating international package of experimental
film and video. Audiences from various continents saw this conceptual package, making it possible for the
first time for a large number of viewers to come to know work from these regions. There was a lack of the
essential institutional support in funding this work in a systematic way and it is only recently that State
and city cultural centers and independent production companies have shown practical interest in this work.
The role of the Croatian Film League has been particularly important and it has backed an extraordinarily
large number of independent and experimental videos and alternative films. A major contribution to these
activities and the increase in the number of media artists has been made by The Centre for Multimedia Research
of the SC in Zagreb with its screenings and promotions, and by the annual International Festival of New Film
and Video held in Split, and the media activities of the Art Workshop Lazareti in Dubrovnik. For ten years
now it has been possible to take courses in media arts, experimental film and video, digital photography and
the like at Croatian art academies. The frequent visits by media artists from America and Europe, and even
from the Far East, provide a sound insight into the level of creativity, which to a considerable extent also
raises the artistic level of work by domestic authors. At present, foreign financial institutions are giving
support to video and experimental film authors, unlike the situation earlier when exclusively film authors
were considered, largely those making feature or documentary films. Various successful participations in
international festivals, starting with London in 1979 and then Rotterdam, Lodz, Copenhagen, Paris, Cologne,
Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, and so on, lead domestic institutions to provide greater support to video work. It
really took time for exceptional individuals such as Sanja Ivekovic, Dalibor Martinis, Breda Beban, Hrvoje
Horvatic, Goran Trbuljak, working tirelessly under their own steam, almost illegally to produce work that
later attracted international attention and recognition.
Three recent programs of art video and experimental film consisted of the work of three generations,
from pioneers such as Gotovac, Faktor, Trbuljak, Martinis and others, through the middle generation to the
youngest, largely made up of students from art academies in Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb.
The first program is dedicated to the clearly conceived issue of space and consists largely of post
structural video works and films. The work in this group is no longer imbued with “mythopoetic” elements, as
the prominent American theoretician Paul Adams Sitney established so precisely so long ago in relation to
experimental films from these regions; it is more oriented to the examination and analysis of simple
conceptual patterns. Almost all the video works in the second program have emerged from the artists'
concentration on the relations between time, movement and the acoustic relations of water, and on
self-portraits and performances. These works show a pronounced aesthetic level and poetics in the search for
identity. Along with the symbolic, there is also the presence of the ecologically admonishing element in this
group of work by largely young artists.
The third program is made up of work by exceptionally active artists of the middle generation (some
of whom were forced to leave the country in times of political and other conflicts in these regions since, due
to the situation, they lacked conditions for normal work and personal creative development). They spent a
large part of their time abroad in furthering their training (at, for example, the Rijks Akademie, the St
Martin's School of Art, and the like) and showing their video work in various well-known media institutions
and galleries, and taking part in festivals held in cities such as New York, Amsterdam, Cologne, and London.
Their work shows a shift of sorts from customary narration and dramaturgy, or they emerge in an unusual mode,
akin to the documentary. These are the very personal stories of authors encountering surprising rhythms and
events in major urban centers, and their reflections on current, contemporary events that can be shocking.
Ivan Paic
MM Centre SC
RECENTNI HRVATSKI VIDEO I EKSPERIMENTALNI FILM
Nastanak video umjetnosti na (ovim prostorima) zapadnom podrucju juogistoka Europe javlja se 6o-ih godina i
nadovezuje se na aktivnosti iskljucivo, galerija modernih umjetnosti u urbanim sredinama, koje se tada bave
uglavnom prezentiranjem klasicnih postava likovnih umjetnosti. Isprva bilježimo tek povremena, sramežljiva
pojavljivanja video radova likovnih i nešto rijede filmskih umjetnika. Narocito je važna pojava i realizacija
GEFF festivala( Genre Experimental Film Festival) održavanih u Zagrebu, 60—ih i ranih 70-godina Tek naknadnom
ekspanzijom raznih smotri i festivala eksperimentalnog filma te institucionaliziranjem medijskih umjetnosti i
hrvatski umjetnici bivaju ohrabreni u kreativnom nastojanjima unutar stvaranja video radova. Možda je kljucan
i pozitivno provokativan te izrazito ohrabrujuci moment , uvrštavanje nekoliko hrvatskih umjetnika (Gotovac,
Galeta, te Vladic iz susjedne republike) u selekciju Americke federacije za umjetnost koja predstavlja
cirkulirajuci medunarodni paket eksperimentalnog filma i videa. Taj konceputalni paket vidjeti ce publika
raznih kontinenata i prvi puta ce nešto veci broj gledatelja se upoznati sa radovima iz ovih podrucja.
Institucionalna , neophodna pratnja u financiranju radova sistematski nedostaje gotovo do nedavno, tek u
posljednje vrijeme najviše državne , gradske kulturne i nezavisne producentske kuce , (posebno je ovdje važno
naglasiti ulogu Hrvatskog filmskog saveza) , sa iznimno velikim uspjehom produciraju radove ovog posebnog
medijskog podrucja i to visokim brojem videa radova i alternativnog filma. Važan doprinos umjetnickom
djelovanju i povecavanju broja medijskih umjetnika redoviti je prikazivalacki rad Centra za multimedijska
istraživanja SC te takoder šestogodišnja aktivnost Medunarodnog festivala novog filma i videa iz Splita i
medijska djelatnost Art radionice Lazareti iz Dubrovnika. Od prije desetak godina na hrvatskim likovnim
akademijama moguce se studijski opredijeliti za medijske umjetnosti, eksperimentalnog filma, videa , digitalne
fotografije i tome sl. Ucestalim gostovanjima medijskih umjetnika iz Amerike i Europe pa cak i sa Dalekog
istoka, dobiva se uvid u stvaralacki nivo, što u velikoj mjeri podiže i umjetnicku razinu domacih autora. U
sadašnjem momentu to se od strane financijskih institucija, poima kao normalan odnos i pruža se podrška
autorima u njihovom nastojanjima, a ne samo, kao što se to dogadalo ranije, iskljucivo fimskim autorima,
uglavnom vezanim za igrani ili dokumentarni film. Razna uspješna sudjelovanja na medunarodnim festivalima u
Londonu 1979. , pa potom Rotterdamu, Lodzu, Copenhagenu, Parizu, Koelnu, Karlsruheu, Frankfurtu uvjerava i
ohrabruje domace institucije u pravcu vece podrške u nastanku video radova. Trebalo je i zaista je prošlo
mnogo vremena dok su izuzetni pojedinci poput Sanje Ivekovic, Dalibora Martinisa, Brede Beban , Hrvoja
Horvatica , Gorana Trbuljaka, neumorno i vlastitoj režiji gotovo ilegalno producirali kasnije medunarodno
percpirane i priznate radove.
Tri recentana programa umjetnickog videa i eksperimentalnog filma sastavljena su od umjetnika tri generacije,
pionira poput Gotovca, Faktora, Trbuljaka, Martinisa i dr pa preko umjetnika srednje dobi i najmladih ,
uglavnom studenata likovnih akademija iz Splita, Dubrovnika i Zagreba.
Prvi je program posvecen poimanju postora, koncepcijski je jasno osmišljen i u njemu se nalaze uglavnom
poststrukturalisticki video radovi i filmovi. Radovi u ovom sklopu više nisu protkani “mitopoetskim”
elementima, kao što je to veoma davno i precizno ustanovio prominentni amerciki teoreticar Paul Adams Sitney,
za eksperimentalne filmove nastale na ovim prostorima, vec su vise usmjereni na ispitavanje i razradu
jednostavnih koncepcijskih predložaka. U drugom programu su gotovo svi video radovi nastali koncentriranjem
umjetnika na odnose vremena , kretanjima i akustickim relacijama vode i autoportreta i performancea . Radovi
su izraženog medijskog ispitivanja, estetski povišene i naglašene poeticnosti te potrage za identitetom. Uz
simbolicki, prisutan je ekološki upozoravajuci element uglavnom umjetnika mlade generacije.
U trecem programu, su izrazito aktivni umjetnici srednje generacije, (neki od njih su bili prisiljeni
napustiti zemlju u vremena politickih i drugih konflikata unutar ovih podrucja, jer s obzirom na okolnosti,
nisu imali ama baš gotovo nikakve uvjete na normalan rad i osobno kreativno razvijanje). Veliki dio svog
vremena proveli su educirajuci se (npr. Rijks Akademie, St. Martin School of Art i td.) i prikazujuci svoje
video radove u raznim , uglavnom renomiranim medijskim institucijama i galerijama ,i sudjelovali na
festivalima u gradovima poput New Yorka, Amsterdama, Koelna, Londona itd. Njihovi su radovi stanoviti odmak od
uobicajene naracije i dramaturgije, ili se ona pojavljuje na neobican nacin, povezana s dokumentaristikom. To
su veoma osobne price autora suocenih sa iznenadujucim ritmovima i dogadajima u velikim urbanih sredinama,
odnosno njihovi refleksi na kurentna, suvremena, ponekad i šokantna zbivanja.
Ivan Paic
MM Centar SC
MM Centar SC
Savska cesta 25
HR-10 000 Zagreb
tel (01) 4593557
fax (01) 4593552
E-mail: mmcentar@sczg.hr
http://www.sczg.hr
http://www.hfs.hr
RECENTCROATIAN VIDEO AND EXPERIMENTAL FILM
Video art emerged in this part of the world - the western region of southeast Europe - during the
1960s and was connected with the activities of galleries of modern art in urban centers, which were
concentrating largely at that time on classic presentations of the visual arts. At first there were
intermittent, even timid showings of video art by visual and, somewhat more rarely, film artists. A
particularly important factor was the GEFF Festival (Genre Experimental Film Festival) held in Zagreb
throughout the 1960s and the early 1970s. It was only after the subsequent expansion of various reviews and
festivals of experimental film and the institutionalization of media arts that Croatian artists, too, were
encouraged to make creative efforts in producing video work. Perhaps the key encouraging factor was the
inclusion of several Croatian artists (Gotovac, Galeta, and Vladic from the neighboring republic) in the
selection of the American Art Federation, which presented a circulating international package of experimental
film and video. Audiences from various continents saw this conceptual package, making it possible for the
first time for a large number of viewers to come to know work from these regions. There was a lack of the
essential institutional support in funding this work in a systematic way and it is only recently that State
and city cultural centers and independent production companies have shown practical interest in this work.
The role of the Croatian Film League has been particularly important and it has backed an extraordinarily
large number of independent and experimental videos and alternative films. A major contribution to these
activities and the increase in the number of media artists has been made by The Centre for Multimedia Research
of the SC in Zagreb with its screenings and promotions, and by the annual International Festival of New Film
and Video held in Split, and the media activities of the Art Workshop Lazareti in Dubrovnik. For ten years
now it has been possible to take courses in media arts, experimental film and video, digital photography and
the like at Croatian art academies. The frequent visits by media artists from America and Europe, and even
from the Far East, provide a sound insight into the level of creativity, which to a considerable extent also
raises the artistic level of work by domestic authors. At present, foreign financial institutions are giving
support to video and experimental film authors, unlike the situation earlier when exclusively film authors
were considered, largely those making feature or documentary films. Various successful participations in
international festivals, starting with London in 1979 and then Rotterdam, Lodz, Copenhagen, Paris, Cologne,
Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, and so on, lead domestic institutions to provide greater support to video work. It
really took time for exceptional individuals such as Sanja Ivekovic, Dalibor Martinis, Breda Beban, Hrvoje
Horvatic, Goran Trbuljak, working tirelessly under their own steam, almost illegally to produce work that
later attracted international attention and recognition.
Three recent programs of art video and experimental film consisted of the work of three generations,
from pioneers such as Gotovac, Faktor, Trbuljak, Martinis and others, through the middle generation to the
youngest, largely made up of students from art academies in Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb.
The first program is dedicated to the clearly conceived issue of space and consists largely of post
structural video works and films. The work in this group is no longer imbued with “mythopoetic” elements, as
the prominent American theoretician Paul Adams Sitney established so precisely so long ago in relation to
experimental films from these regions; it is more oriented to the examination and analysis of simple
conceptual patterns. Almost all the video works in the second program have emerged from the artists'
concentration on the relations between time, movement and the acoustic relations of water, and on
self-portraits and performances. These works show a pronounced aesthetic level and poetics in the search for
identity. Along with the symbolic, there is also the presence of the ecologically admonishing element in this
group of work by largely young artists.
The third program is made up of work by exceptionally active artists of the middle generation (some
of whom were forced to leave the country in times of political and other conflicts in these regions since, due
to the situation, they lacked conditions for normal work and personal creative development). They spent a
large part of their time abroad in furthering their training (at, for example, the Rijks Akademie, the St
Martin's School of Art, and the like) and showing their video work in various well-known media institutions
and galleries, and taking part in festivals held in cities such as New York, Amsterdam, Cologne, and London.
Their work shows a shift of sorts from customary narration and dramaturgy, or they emerge in an unusual mode,
akin to the documentary. These are the very personal stories of authors encountering surprising rhythms and
events in major urban centers, and their reflections on current, contemporary events that can be shocking.
Ivan Paic
MM Centre SC
RECENTNI HRVATSKI VIDEO I EKSPERIMENTALNI FILM
Nastanak video umjetnosti na (ovim prostorima) zapadnom podrucju juogistoka Europe javlja se 6o-ih godina i
nadovezuje se na aktivnosti iskljucivo, galerija modernih umjetnosti u urbanim sredinama, koje se tada bave
uglavnom prezentiranjem klasicnih postava likovnih umjetnosti. Isprva bilježimo tek povremena, sramežljiva
pojavljivanja video radova likovnih i nešto rijede filmskih umjetnika. Narocito je važna pojava i realizacija
GEFF festivala( Genre Experimental Film Festival) održavanih u Zagrebu, 60—ih i ranih 70-godina Tek naknadnom
ekspanzijom raznih smotri i festivala eksperimentalnog filma te institucionaliziranjem medijskih umjetnosti i
hrvatski umjetnici bivaju ohrabreni u kreativnom nastojanjima unutar stvaranja video radova. Možda je kljucan
i pozitivno provokativan te izrazito ohrabrujuci moment , uvrštavanje nekoliko hrvatskih umjetnika (Gotovac,
Galeta, te Vladic iz susjedne republike) u selekciju Americke federacije za umjetnost koja predstavlja
cirkulirajuci medunarodni paket eksperimentalnog filma i videa. Taj konceputalni paket vidjeti ce publika
raznih kontinenata i prvi puta ce nešto veci broj gledatelja se upoznati sa radovima iz ovih podrucja.
Institucionalna , neophodna pratnja u financiranju radova sistematski nedostaje gotovo do nedavno, tek u
posljednje vrijeme najviše državne , gradske kulturne i nezavisne producentske kuce , (posebno je ovdje važno
naglasiti ulogu Hrvatskog filmskog saveza) , sa iznimno velikim uspjehom produciraju radove ovog posebnog
medijskog podrucja i to visokim brojem videa radova i alternativnog filma. Važan doprinos umjetnickom
djelovanju i povecavanju broja medijskih umjetnika redoviti je prikazivalacki rad Centra za multimedijska
istraživanja SC te takoder šestogodišnja aktivnost Medunarodnog festivala novog filma i videa iz Splita i
medijska djelatnost Art radionice Lazareti iz Dubrovnika. Od prije desetak godina na hrvatskim likovnim
akademijama moguce se studijski opredijeliti za medijske umjetnosti, eksperimentalnog filma, videa , digitalne
fotografije i tome sl. Ucestalim gostovanjima medijskih umjetnika iz Amerike i Europe pa cak i sa Dalekog
istoka, dobiva se uvid u stvaralacki nivo, što u velikoj mjeri podiže i umjetnicku razinu domacih autora. U
sadašnjem momentu to se od strane financijskih institucija, poima kao normalan odnos i pruža se podrška
autorima u njihovom nastojanjima, a ne samo, kao što se to dogadalo ranije, iskljucivo fimskim autorima,
uglavnom vezanim za igrani ili dokumentarni film. Razna uspješna sudjelovanja na medunarodnim festivalima u
Londonu 1979. , pa potom Rotterdamu, Lodzu, Copenhagenu, Parizu, Koelnu, Karlsruheu, Frankfurtu uvjerava i
ohrabruje domace institucije u pravcu vece podrške u nastanku video radova. Trebalo je i zaista je prošlo
mnogo vremena dok su izuzetni pojedinci poput Sanje Ivekovic, Dalibora Martinisa, Brede Beban , Hrvoja
Horvatica , Gorana Trbuljaka, neumorno i vlastitoj režiji gotovo ilegalno producirali kasnije medunarodno
percpirane i priznate radove.
Tri recentana programa umjetnickog videa i eksperimentalnog filma sastavljena su od umjetnika tri generacije,
pionira poput Gotovca, Faktora, Trbuljaka, Martinisa i dr pa preko umjetnika srednje dobi i najmladih ,
uglavnom studenata likovnih akademija iz Splita, Dubrovnika i Zagreba.
Prvi je program posvecen poimanju postora, koncepcijski je jasno osmišljen i u njemu se nalaze uglavnom
poststrukturalisticki video radovi i filmovi. Radovi u ovom sklopu više nisu protkani “mitopoetskim”
elementima, kao što je to veoma davno i precizno ustanovio prominentni amerciki teoreticar Paul Adams Sitney,
za eksperimentalne filmove nastale na ovim prostorima, vec su vise usmjereni na ispitavanje i razradu
jednostavnih koncepcijskih predložaka. U drugom programu su gotovo svi video radovi nastali koncentriranjem
umjetnika na odnose vremena , kretanjima i akustickim relacijama vode i autoportreta i performancea . Radovi
su izraženog medijskog ispitivanja, estetski povišene i naglašene poeticnosti te potrage za identitetom. Uz
simbolicki, prisutan je ekološki upozoravajuci element uglavnom umjetnika mlade generacije.
U trecem programu, su izrazito aktivni umjetnici srednje generacije, (neki od njih su bili prisiljeni
napustiti zemlju u vremena politickih i drugih konflikata unutar ovih podrucja, jer s obzirom na okolnosti,
nisu imali ama baš gotovo nikakve uvjete na normalan rad i osobno kreativno razvijanje). Veliki dio svog
vremena proveli su educirajuci se (npr. Rijks Akademie, St. Martin School of Art i td.) i prikazujuci svoje
video radove u raznim , uglavnom renomiranim medijskim institucijama i galerijama ,i sudjelovali na
festivalima u gradovima poput New Yorka, Amsterdama, Koelna, Londona itd. Njihovi su radovi stanoviti odmak od
uobicajene naracije i dramaturgije, ili se ona pojavljuje na neobican nacin, povezana s dokumentaristikom. To
su veoma osobne price autora suocenih sa iznenadujucim ritmovima i dogadajima u velikim urbanih sredinama,
odnosno njihovi refleksi na kurentna, suvremena, ponekad i šokantna zbivanja.
Ivan Paic
MM Centar SC
MM Centar SC
Savska cesta 25
HR-10 000 Zagreb
tel (01) 4593557
fax (01) 4593552
E-mail: mmcentar@sczg.hr
http://www.sczg.hr
http://www.hfs.hr