engleski

Naïve Art in Yugoslavia: the Illusionary Image of Independency in the Cold War Sixties

The phenomenon of naïve art in Yugoslavia in the course of ’60-ies reached the climax of popularity ; it became not only the main item in the cultural interchange with the West European countries, but also the subject of academic interest of the art history and art critique. Some of the major art historians (like Grgo Gamulin) set to develop a theory that would legitimate the naïve art in the context of the world of art dominated by modernist values. Having in mind that Yugoslavian cultural policy after the split with Soviet Union (1948) had been explicitly evolving in the direction of modernism and the embracement of high modernistic paradigm, the question that arises about the ideological role of naïve art might be worth answering. The essential texts written about the naïve art phenomenon during the 60-ies show that the dominant line of argument establishes the naïve art as an a priori ahistorical, original and pure expression of the gifted individual as well as rooted in the local, vernacular culture of the specific region. Although it might seem that this theory force the antagonistic relationship between the naïve art and modernism the close reading reveals exactly the opposite. This concept of naïve art meets all of the main modernistic demands: as being the original expression of the individual artist it meets the demand of authenticity ; as having its own style and aesthetics it meets the demand of autonomy ; and as cultivating the imaginary of a pre-modern, pastoral or rural life and the cult of nature it meets the demand of alterity. Through the dialectical interdependence between the figures of modern and anti-modern, Yugoslav naïve art thus could step into the world art competition ; exactly as being anti-modern in the very modern way, naïve art could represent the specific political position of Yugoslavia. Moreover, precisely in the historical context of the Cold War and specifically the Non-Aligned Movement founded in 1961 by Josip Broz Tito and the other leaders of the Third World states as a group of states which are not formally aligned with any major power bloc, the concept of naïve art as an original, native phenomenon has offered the illusionary image of the political independency and sovereignty of the former Yugoslavia.

Naïve Art; modernism; Yugoslavia; Hlebine; 60-ies; Non-Aligned Movement

nije evidentirano