Rujan 8, 2010
Pismo podrške Ješe Denegria
Povjesničar, teoretičar i kritičar umjetnosti Ješa Denegri uputio je pismo podrške Janezu Janši, festivalu Zoom i Muzeju moderne i suvremene umjetnosti. Pismo u cijelosti prenosi kulturpunkt.hr
Performance studies international announcement
PSi, Performance Studies international is the largest organisation for artists and scholars in the field of performance studies in the world. Its membership represents over 43 different nations and some of the world’s major research institutions.
We have come to Croatia for the second time in as many years to hold meetings and research discussions with local artists and scholars and to explore new directions in art and scholarship.
We are here at the invitation of Another Sea. This is an exciting new development for us to be working in partnership with local arts organisations. We want to express our appreciation for the welcome we have received from the city of Rijeka, a city which is becoming a hub for the arts in Europe.
We want to express our support for the artist Janez Jansa, who is not only an important artist in Croatia and the region but also internationally.
There is a particular tradition in the history of art to challenge symbols and to question the meaning of images. As scholars, we have the duty to support the free exchange of ideas and the freedom of expression for all of us, artists and non artists.
Slijed događaja vezan uz predstavu – izložbu Janeza Janše “Život (u nastajanju)”
U ponedjeljak 30. kolovoza smo otvorili u MMSU izlozbu Janeza Janse Zivot (u nastajanju). Samo otvaranje je odlicno proslo pred cca 120-150 posjetitelja. Mediji su snimili otvaranje i sam cin rezanja zastave.
Izlozba se sastoji od pedesetak instrukcija koje se ticu razlicitih aspekata zivota svakoga od nas – npr. Sjeti se svog prvog poljupca i pronadji osobu s kojom zelis podijeliti ovo iskustvo. a sporna instrukcija se pokazala Stidis se svoje nacije. Uzmi skare i odrezi komadic zastave. Uz vecinu ovih instrukcija prilozeni su i rekviziti, a uz spornu uputu prilozeni su zastava i skare.
U srijedu 1. rujna rijecki umjetnik i branitelj (tako se sam predstavlja) podize prijedlog za pokretanje kaznenog postupka protiv Janeza Janse, udruge Drugo more (organizator izlozbe i festivala) i Muzeja moderne i suvremene umjetnosti (prostor u kojem se izlozba odrzava). Krece medijska haranga da su umjetnici pretjerali, prekoracili sve granice, itd. ukratko kriminalizacija izlozbe.
U petak 3. rujna dvije braniteljske udruge (ne znam kako se tocno zovu) i rijecki HDZ svi u razmaku od nekih 45 minuta odrzavaju press konferencije na kojim nas zesto napadaju, a optuzba se prosiruje i na gradonacelnika te se trazi njegova ostavka. Clan HDZ-a pokazuje komad zastave koju je sam (tako bar kaze) uzeo iz MMSU-a. Ovo pokazuje krajnje nepostivanje vlasnistva i odnos prema umjetnickom djelu.
U 3 sata popodne policija dolazi u MMSU napraviti ocevid i uzima uputu i zastavu kao dokaz, te uzima jos jedan rekvizit – pistolj (naravno kazalisni pistolj koji nije oruzje). U to vrijeme privode Janeza Jansu i mene na obavijesni razgovor gdje ostajemo negdje do pola osam. Slijedi daljnje medijsko zahuktavanje, ali ovaj put manje huskacki (unatoc presicama branitelja i HDZ-a ili bas zbog njih).
Od policije nismo uspjeli doznati po cijem nalogu postupaju jer nisu imali nikakv sudski ili tuziteljev nalog nego su provodili istraznu radnju (sta god to znacilo). Uglavnom, nikakav nalog jos nije izdan.
U subotu, 4. rujna, smo sazvali press konferenciju na kojoj su se javnosti obratili umjetnici i teoreticari iz Hrvatske i svijeta (jer smo paraleleno s festivalom radili i konferenijcu PSI – Performance Studies International), a govorili su o integritetu umjetnickog djela.
Negdje popodne je i premijerka komentirala da ne moze biti umjetnost nesto sto poziva na nasilje i destrukciju, da zastava, grb i himna moraju biti svetinja te da podrzava kazneni progron. U centralnom dnevniku objavili da smo Jansa i ja dobili kaznene prijave (sto ce se pokazati neistinito, ali pokazuje u kom smjeru HTV gura pricu – prema krajnjoj kriminalizaciji).
U ponedjeljak, 6. rujna doznajemo iz medija da tuziteljstvo ne podize optuznicu nego je sve vraceno policiji koja nastavlja istragu.
Reactions on Janez Janša’s exhibition Life (Work in progress) on the ZOOM festival in Rijeka, Croatia
The opening of Janez Janša’s exhibition Life (Work in progress) took place at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMSU) Rijeka in the frame of the Zoom festival on Monday, August 30. There were between 20 and 150 guests at the opening. The media covered the whole event including the cutting of the Croatian flag.
The exhibition consists of fifty instructions related to various aspects of life – e.g. Remember your first kiss and find a person to share your experience with. Among them was the following controversial instruction: If you’re ashamed of your nation take the scissors and cut a piece of the flag. Most instructions were accompanied with necessary equipment – e.g. the scissors and the flag.
On Wednesday, September 1, an artist and Homeland war veteran from Rijeka started criminal proceedings against the author of the exhibition, Mr. Janez Janša, the festival and exhibition organizers, Drugo More, and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka (where the exhibition took pace). This was followed by media instigations that artists pushed things too far, in other words the whole exhibition was criminalised.
On Friday, September 3, two press conferences only 45 minutes apart took place. The first was organized by two Croatian Homeland war veterans associations and the second by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) representatives in Rijeka. On both events the exhibition was fiercely attacked and there were even demands for the resignation of the Mayor of Rijeka. One of the HDZ representatives even waved around a piece of the flag that he took (at least that is what he says) from the museum. This in turn demonstrates a total disregard for ownership and lack of respect towards artwork.
At 3 pm the same day, police came to the museum to gather evidence – pieces of the flag and the instructions – but they also took part of the equipment accompanying another instruction – a pistol (not real, a theatre prop). At this point the police brought in Janez Janša and Davor Mišković for an interview and they released us at 7.30 pm. The media instigations continued, although not so fiercely (in spite of or because of the press conferences). The police had no court warrants; they told us they were following investigative procedure (whatever that means).
On Saturday, September 4, Drugo more held a press conference with prominent artists and theoreticians from Croatia and around the world (participants of the Performance Studies International Conference) that addressed the issue of the integrity of artwork. In the afternoon the Prime minister commented that something that promotes violence and destruction cannot be art, that the coat of arms and the flag have to be sacred and that she supports criminal persecution. The TV News reported that charges were pressed against Janša and Davor Mišković (which later turned out to be untrue, but it shows the direction the national television turns this story – towards criminalisation).
On Monday, September 6, we found out, from the media, that the prosecuting authorities are not satisfied with the investigation and are not bringing charges but have sent the case back to the police for further investigation.
