"Yugoslav Art From 1900 to 1945" exhibition at the Museum of Yugoslav History

28. March 2014

Museum of Yugoslav History, 6 Botićeva street

March 29 - May 18, 2014

Concept and set up: dr Dejan Sretenović

Curator: Mišela Blanuša

After nearly seven years of the Museum’s building at Ušće being closed down due to the protracted halt in its reconstruction, the exhibition “100 works from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Yugoslav art from 1900 to 1945” is...

March 29 - May 18, 2014

Concept and set up: dr Dejan Sretenović

Curator: Mišela Blanuša

After nearly seven years of the Museum’s building at Ušće being closed down due to the protracted halt in its reconstruction, the exhibition “100 works from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Yugoslav art from 1900 to 1945” is organised with the purpose of bringing out before the public the most relevant works and authors of the Yugoslav and Serbian art from respective period, that are kept as a part of the Museum’s collections. The idea about putting on this exhibition stemmed from the fact that, aside from occasional thematic and monographic exhibitions, the Museum was not able to present its collection in a more thorough way via its permanent display, and its very purpose, which consists in exhibiting the art of 20th c., was altogether suspended for indefinite period of time. The collection is the basic identity card of each and every museological institution and also its primary concern, and permanent display is an ever available resource of production and dissemination of knowledge on art, which implies that the inconceivable neglect of the state vis-à-vis the MoCA’s destiny has had serious repercussions as to both the Museum’s proper functioning and policy of its development, and its social, cultural and educational role. Therefore, showing the selection of works from its depot should somewhat remedy this impossible situation which resulted in years of absence of any representative display of modern and contemporary art in the Serbia’s capital, decreasing the number of museum-goers, and depriving professional audience, art lovers and young generations, of the direct insight into this significant art heritage of our country.

The decision to show only a part of the Museum’s collection, the one which represents the art of the first half of the past century, is taken by and large due to technical reasons, and also due to conviction that this fraction of the collection, since historically the most removed from the immediate experience of today’s spectator, is the least known to the broadest public, and as such it commands special attention. The exhibition could be, as concerns its typology, defined as a demonstrative exhibition of works “from the collection” which, when set out in the space of another museum as a guest exhibition, underscores the presentation of individual works, and as such has no aspiration to affect in any way the narrative of modern art history. Its goal is to bring to the fore the collection as such, specifically that part of the MoCA’s collection which enables our acquainting with the key or typical tendencies that have marked a particular era in Yugoslav and Serbian art.

The exhibition features works by Đorđe Andrejević-Kun, Antun Augustinčić, Jovan Bijelić, Marko Čelebonović, Avgust Černigoj, Marijan Detoni, Petar Dobrović, Lojze Dolinar, Vilko Gecan, Krsto Hegedušić, Rihard Jakopič, Ignjat Job, Milan Konjović, France and Tone Kralj, Frano Kršinić, Mirko Kujačić, Milo Milunović, Petar Palavičini, Milena Pavlović Barilli, Mihailo Petrov, Nadežda Petrović, Zora Petrović, Vasa Pomorišac, Ivan Radović, Marko Ristić, Toma Rosandić, Veljko Stanojević, Eduard Stepančič, Sreten Stojanović, Zlatko Šulentić, Sava Šumanović, Ivan Tabaković, Vane Živadinović Bor etc.

During the exhibition various accompanying programmes are due to take place, including lectures and theme-centred guiding by curators of the Museum of Contemporary Art, and other experts, as well as educational workshops. Please find enclosed the program.

Ticket price is 300 dinars, and the accompanying programmes are free of charge.

The exhibition will be open every day, except on Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Lectures and thematic guide tours:

Sunday, March 30, at 13:00

theme-centred guiding “Drunk Boat“, by Žana Gvozdenović, a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Saturday, April 5, at 13:00

lecture “Collection, context, narrative”, by Dejan Sretenović, the author of the exhibition and a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Saturday, April 12, at 13:00

theme-centred guiding “Social art in Yugoslavia between two wars”, by Mišela Blanuša, a curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art

Wednesday, April 23, at 13:00

lecture on librarian activities “Creative Commons, Copyright and Copyfight”, by Nevenka Antić (Creative Commons Serbia Legal Project Lead)

Saturday, April 26, at 13:00

theme-centred guiding “Image and word in Serbian Avant-garde”, by Aleksandra Mirčić, a curator at the museum of Contemporary Art, and Bojan Jović, a scientific adviser at the Institute for Literature and Art

Saturday, May 3, at 13:00

theme-centred guiding “Intimism in Serbian painting”, by Svetlana Mitić, a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Saturday, May 10, at 13:00

theme-centred guiding “Currents in modern sculpture”, Rajka Bošković, a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Saturday, May 17, at 13:00

theme-centred guiding “Drawing in the Yugoslav art of the first half of the 20th century”, by Žaklina Ratković, a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Educational programmes:

Saturday, April 5, at 13:00

workshop of the Youth Club of the Museum of Contemporary Art, by curator Vesna Milić, and artist Katarina Bunuševac

Sunday, April 6, at 11:00

workshop of the Children’s Club of the Museum of Contemporary Art, and guiding for parents, by curator Vesna Milić, and artist Katarina Bunuševac

Thursday, April 17, at 11:00

“A look at art”, workshop for impaired children and youngsters, by the Museum of Contemporary Art (curator Katarina Krstić), in collaboration with the day-care centre “Stari Grad” (Nikola Dragomirović)

Saturday, April 26, at 13:00

workshop of the Youth Club of the Museum of Contemporary Art, by curator Vesna Milić and artist Katararina Bunuševac

Sunday, April 27, at 11:00

workshop of the Children’s Club of the Museum of Contemporary Art, by curator Vesna Milić, and artist Katarina Bunuševac

Saturday, May 10, at 13:00

workshop of the Youth Club of the Museum of Contemporary Art, by curator Vesna Milić and artist Katarina Bunuševac

Sunday, May 11, at 11:00

workshop of the Children’s Club of the Museum of Contemporary Art, by curator Vesna Milić, and artist Katarina Bunuševac

Thursday, April 15, at 11:00

“A look at art”, workshop for impaired children and youngsters, by the Museum of Contemporary Art (curator Katarina Krstić), in collaboration with the day-care centre “Stari Grad” (Nikola Dragomirović)

Saturday, May 17, at 10:00

seminar of the Teachers Club of the Museum of Contemporary Art, led by curator Vesna Milić