New Art in Serbia – people, groups, phenomena – 1970–1980, MSU, 1983

This exhibition for the first time historised, processed and took a comprehensive look at the ‘New Art Practice’, the art of the 1970s. Although the exhibition was too close in time to fully review the new art forms, it was yet another indication that the Museum of Contemporary Art was ready to present new and radical trends in art. The exhibition was intended to contribute to the better understanding of a very complex development in the art of the 1970s. The Group of Six Artists was represented at the show. Museum Curator Jadranka Vinterhalter analysed their work.

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Lokalizacja:
- Belgrade, Serbia
Początkowy rok wydarzenia :
- 1970
Główni aktorzy :
Wydarzenie z :
- Group of Six Artists

First Open Atelier at Sikora's Apartment

The 1. Open atelier took place in Rudolf Sikora’s apartment on 19^th November 1970. It was a joint exhibition of both younger and older artists who wanted to react to the new conditions under normalisation. In total, 19 artists exhibited their works at the flat at 32 Tehelná street. These artists gathered to both protest against the official socialist realism paradigm and to demonstrate artistic freedom. The very next day, Rudolf Sikora was interrogated by the state security apparatus, the ŠtB.

Open atelier was never repeated until 1989. Exactly 19 years after its very opening, 19 November 1989, Rudolf Sikora played an instrumental role at the establishment of the Public Against Violence movement, when he spoke at the gathering of about 500 citizens at Umelecká beseda.

The Open atelier represented the platform for an alternate way of exhibition. It endeavoured to avoid the official line of thought both administratively and conceptually. The Open atelier has to a ajor extent outlined Sikora’s future development as well, since he could not openly exhibit and was regularly interrogated by ŠtB since then.

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Lokalizacja:
- Bratislava, Slovakia
Początkowy rok wydarzenia :
- 1970
Główni aktorzy :
- Koller, Július
- Sikora, Rudolf
Wydarzenie z :
- Collection of Rudolf Sikora

Out of town, I.-III. by Rudolf Sikora

The first of Sikora’s photographic artwork was a cycle Out of town (1970), which was done at the request of the artist Milan Adamčiak in the time of a Christmas retreat. With a help of huge patterns and a sieve, he “painted” with a red pigment a way out of town, using 5-meter-sized direction marks in a clean white snow. The day after, Sikora completed the idyllic country view with some other signs – smog on the horizon and blocks of flats. This has become the underlying basis for his ecological-civilizational topics, which have been present throughout his career.

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Lokalizacja:
- Bratislava, Slovakia
Początkowy rok wydarzenia :
- 1970
Główni aktorzy :
- Sikora, Rudolf
Wydarzenie z :
- Collection of Rudolf Sikora

Tamás Szentjóby: Parallel-course Study Track, July 1, 1971 (Initiation ritual)

Tamás Szentjóby: Parallel-course Study Track, July 1, 1971 (Initiation ritual. Designed and moderated by Tamás Szentjóby and János Baksa-Soós. Contributors: Eleni Taxidu, Zója Karandata, Gábor Bene)

As part of his project Parallel-course Study Track, Tamás Szentjóby realized his action entitled A-B happening at the Chapel Studio in Balatonboglár. Regarding his concept, the term “parallel-course” had multi-layered references. On the one hand, it reflected on the activities of avantgarde artists parallelly and at the same time opposing the socialist regime. On the other hand, the parallel aspect referred to the parallel attitudes of Eastern and Western avantgarde artists, as well. Szentjóby also used the term to describe his self-established “pedagogical system” operating in parallel with the official educational institutions, which provided the frameworks of new artistic strategies inspired by the attitude of fluxus and the new leftist ideas he regarded as exemplars, like the activity of Joseph Beuys and Robert Filliou. The A-B happening as an initiation ritual reflected on the sacral space of the chapel and its environment in term of initiating the chapel for avantgarde art. The act of breathing in and out as part of the happening could be regarded as a symbol of the system’s operation as both a reciprocal and a power relation.

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Lokalizacja:
- Balatonboglár, Hungary
Początkowy rok wydarzenia :
- 1971
Główni aktorzy :
- Baksa Soós, János
- Szentjóby, Tamás
Wydarzenie z :
- Artpool Balatonboglár Chapel Studio

Acquisition of the book manuscript on the "Aktual" group activities by the Museum of Czech Literature

In March 1971, two manuscripts of unique books describing the events of Aktual, created by a Czech artist, musician and performer Milan Knížák, were bought by the Literary Archive of the Museum of Czech Literature (LA PNP). The books, containing scripts of happenings organised by a nonconformist art group Aktual in 1962–1969 as well as manuscripts and typescripts with illustrations and photographs, were sold to LA PNP by Knížák himself after a deal with its employee, PhDr. Jaromír Loužil. This acquisition was interesting for PNP mainly because it documents the artistic and literary effort in the 1960s. By similar purchases, PNP not only gained materials created by “unofficial” authors, but at the same time financially supported them.

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Lokalizacja:
- Strahovské nádvoří 1, 118 38 Praha 1 - Hradčany, Czech Republic
Początkowy rok wydarzenia :
- 1971
Główni aktorzy :
- Knížák, Milan
- Museum of Czech Literature
Wydarzenie z :
- Milan Knížák Collection at the Museum of Czech Literature