Exibition Odstupanje (eng: “Exception”) had to be cancelled because of one “controversial” piece that caused an outrage in couple of Serbian nationalistic organizations who stormed the place and torn down the piece in question. I think it’s ok to host the “controversial” piece here where it can’t be torn.
Artist: Dren Maliqi
Face to Face
We all know who Presley is, but who’s the other guy? Here’s what Tim Judah says:
In one village, Donji Prekaz, lived a local tough called Adem Jashari. Several years before he had killed a Serbian policeman and been convicted, but the Serbs were frightened to get him because he would shoot at them from his house. They had tried in January but were forced to retreat. Jashari was a maverick. He hated the Serbs, and although he was one of the KLA’s early recruits, he was no ideological guerrilla. In the words of one source: “He liked to get drunk and go out and shoot Serbs.” In this sense he was a true, dyed in the wool, Drenica kacak.
Tim Judah, Kosovo, War and Revenge
Some years later, Serbian police, with their irrational actions, made a hero out of this local thug.
This year, Serbian nationalists, with their irrational actions made this exibition, who would otherwise go pretty much unnoticed, possibly the most talked about event in Belgrade this year.
It’s all about the point of view.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Generally I condemn the barbaric action undertaken by Obraz, there is nothing more that should be siad about them either that they are making a very bad name for us and should be prosecuted.
But hey, let us be honest, even such fruitful events such as the exhibition of artists from Pristina should be criticized. These artists knew what Jashari means to Serbs and by bringing such a painting to Belgrade is a prococation and an insult to people that have died from Jashari and the rest of the UCK terrorists. To be openminded is a virtue, but would the Albanian public in KiM be so openminded if a similar exhibition took place in Pristina with paintings of Milosevic or Arkan? And I don’t see how would this fact Jashari/Milosevic contribute to reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians.
I hate explaining what artist tried to say, so I won’t even go there.
But this is by no means a provocation. It is provocation only to those that won’t stop to think about it – to me, this portrait is VERY critical of Jashari himself and the society that he became hero in. I wouldn’t be surprised if the artist had problems because of the same poster in Kosovo, coming from Kosovo Albanian nationalists.
Viktore, would you please be so kind and explain me what is the critical in reproducing the portrait of Adem Jashari using the Andy Warhol method? And do you think that any such portrait of Milosevic to be exhibited in Pristina would be accepted merely as a critique on him? And by saying that people won’t stop to think about it, sorry but this is a very lame argument, cause then it could be also said about how boring became the world by constantly mentioning Hitler and the Holocaust. A fact is that Jashari was a terrorist and a war criminal, a fact is that he killed Serbs for which he got a bad reputation among Serbs, a fact is that exhibiting his portrait is a provocation, no matter what the intention of the artist was, as it would be in Jerusalem when such a portrait of Hitler would be exhibited.
Well, like I said, it’s all about point of view. I can’t explain and I won’t because I’m maybe the only one who sees it as a critical portrait.
After all, tearing down the poster is a kind of “artistic statement” too. Now it’s only a question what will in history be remembered as a fact and what will be marked as a mere provocation or propaganda. And “Obraz” thugs are not being too helpfull in this way.
Off course it is a provocation. Artist provoke. But such provocations are meant to start a discussion not cause senseless destruction. And it certainly is a critical piece of work. It speaks of Kosovo as a society which idolizes violent thugs and murderers. What is that if not critical of a society? It could also work if a Serbian artist did something similar with, say, Legija, Mladic or Arkan. In my view, the work would probably have been even more effective if instead of Elvis he had used one of these Serbs alongside Jashari. It would emphasize the point that both our societies have the same problem. The Hitler analogy doesn’t really work as very few Germans see him as a role model. And I have no doubt similar actions by a Serbian artist would cause the same reaction in Kosovo, Croatia or elsewhere but that does not make it right. The government, especially the ministry of culture, the media and all relevant institutions should strongly condemn this act and these people should be identified and arrested. Obraz and the like should be banned. What are they waiting for? For someone to be killed as an expression of their art critiquing?
Viktore, so what is the critical on Jashari in this painting?
Marko, can you tell me the difference between provoking and insulting? And why this painting, or the sole fact that this painting is exhibited in Serbia isn’t insulting?
http://www.warhol.org/education/dovelvis.html
“… By eliminating all vestiges of time or place, the repetitions of Elvis take him out of the past, where the cowboy myth originated, and even out of the west, where the figure resides in popular imagination, and returns it to the privacy of one individual acting out before a mirror. …”
Point of View by David McCarthy, Associate Professor of Art History, Rhodes College, Memphis (plenty more stuff if you follow the URL)
It’s neither insulting nor laudatory – it’s simply a reworking of Warhol and his notionally value-free takes on celebrity, image, surface and reproducibility. I’m not sure I see anything terribly original here, just socio-geographical transposition, but I suspect that Obraz weren’t critiquing artistic merit. Perhaps it’s Dren Maliqi’s anticipation of their response that should be at the core of our interpretation?
The artist could have easily anticipated that it would be interpreted as a provocation – I can understand that. And I am not surprised that not so many people think this is critical to Jasari anbd interpret it as a provocation, an insult or something like that – how could we know what Maliqi tried to say when we don’t even know exactly what Warhol tried to do in the first place – that’s why I can’t explain why for me it’s critically inclined towards Jasari and his society – because it’s not facts, it’s art. We can only assume and have our own personal interpretations of it. Those who see it as a provocation are allowed to do so and discuss like we do here, but they shouldn’t be allowed to destroy it. That’s all.
Cvijus, what exactly is the different of perception of Jashari between Serbs and Albanians? Why would people of one ethnicity see it differently than the people of some other ethnicity? Why would it be more provocative to put his picture up in Belgrade than in Priština? It was in Kosovo that he killed people, not in “Serbia proper”, wasn’t it? Aren’t his victims humans, regardless of their DNA? Besides, it’s just an image!
That’s the questions that this exhibition poses, and that’s one way in how it was successful. Personally, I see the picture in question as a caricature and I do see criticism in it. If those pictures are not taboo in Kosovo, why the hell would they be taboo in Belgrade?
Anyway, would you consider the creator of this image to be misogynistic porn photographer, or would you see criticism by a feminist in it?
Dejan, it is all about reception of certain pieces of art across cultures. Jashari is definitelly considered to be hero for the Albanians, even posthumusly decorated by Rugova. Now, what you say that he killed in Kosovo and not in Serbia propper, I say that if he had the opportunity he wouldn’t hesitate to kill even in Belgrade, because as Judah says above “He liked to get drunk and go out and shoot Serbs”, therefore if he came with a gun to you he wouldn’t ask whether you’re human, but whether you’re a Serb. Given that Andy Warhol by the reproduction of the Monroe picture industrialzed art, gives it a function of creating an idol image of Monroe and introducing it in the industrialized world of arts where every artistic qualities are being lost to the function of capital. Warhol was not critical to Monroe, but to the capitalist society. So, by using the Warhol method did Maliqi try to underline the commercialized image of Jashari in the Kosovar society, since in the selection of Jasharis picture I don’t see any critical notion but is however the stance for which he is mostly beloved by the Albanians. Now, back to reception, Albanians in this picture may see simply the critique on their society, whereas Serbs can see a criminal and a terrorist idealized. For instance this is critical to the personality of the subject.
Cvijus: “Albanians in this picture may see simply the critique on their society, whereas Serbs can see a criminal and a terrorist idealized”
See, that’s the point of this work in my opinion. Don’t ask me to explain stuff to you when you already know what I’m talking about
Cvijus, I agree with you on most counts, but that was my point exactly. See, I’d be afraid of him just as much as I’d be afraid of Legija or Arkan if he were alive, or any other of those “patriots”, just like I’m afraid of Obraz guys when I see them in the street.
It’s, of course, moot discussion on meaning of the picture, but IMHO it’s about putting Jashari in that context that’s supposed to provoke questions. Art, especially modern art, does not have strict interpretation. Artists represent what they see, not necessarily what they think, but how and what they see.
They let you look through their eyes, but keep in mind that they themselves might be looking through somebody else’s eyes.
If Maliqi isn’t just making the statement in principle that iconicity and identity are the same in Pristina as they are in New York and he’s setting out to challenge the viewer, then surely it’s the K/Albanian viewer he’s addressing, to whom I imagine the Jashari image has an epic significance, like the Presley cowboy, that he’s calling into question. Cvijus, you’re blocking out the presence of Elvis in the piece. Maliqi’s picture has the Jashari image subordinated to Elvis’s.
Did Maliqi anticipate the picture being exhibited in Belgrade? Or was it the exhibition rather than the picture that was intended to confront Belgrade?
Just to be cynical – have the pictures sold?
Elvis Pressly wasn’t a murderer nor racist. He was a man idolized for his voice and style – true valued talent. Jashari is idolized for killing and hating Serbs which is what many Albanians felt even before the war, and even before Milosevic. This is an insult to Serbs – especially those who’ve suffered and have had relatives killed by Albanians. It was the Albanians who initiated the war and killings in Kosovo – men like Jashari were the start of the war.
For all those Belgrade Serbs praising the idolization of Jashari and how its not insulting – I’d like to see you cowards live in parts of Kosovo where Serbs are threatened by their neighbors everyday. You simply don’t know what its like to be ethnically cleansed or threatened in your own homes or neighborhoods with ethnic violence. Because Serbs are the majority in Belgrade, you aren’t killed for being Serbs. However, if minorities such as Albanians would be greater in number than Serbs there you’d start know what it was like for Kosovo Serbs, Croatian Serbs or Bosnian Serbs. You guys are clueless. The only way for you to understand would be to live in Kosovo for a year among the Serbs.
I think there’s a lot of confusion here. This is not a discussion about Jashari. What the man did is up to historians, courts and police to determine, but from what I heard it was nothing good. Images of this man can certainly be offensive to some people, but I cannot believe that we need to explain the symbolic language of art here.
The fact is that this man, whatever he did, IS idolized in Kosovo. It is an ironic comment that his status is compared to the great Elvis. The artist did not make him into an idol, he is pointing out a certain phenomenon which exists in Kosovo. The same phenomenon exists in Serbia where Legija or Mladic are idolized by a significant percentage of Serbs.
I cannot believe that people still fail to see the main issue here. Sure, the art may be bad, offensive or in bad taste and off course people have the right to criticize, discuss it or protest against it. But physical attacks and destruction especially by organizations whose actions have so far shown that they have no moral authority whatsoever and who idolize the Serbian “Yasharis” I’ve mentioned is something that we must be firm against. They have no problem with killers and killing as such. They even support it if it’s in line with their beliefs. It is exactly what the artist was trying to point out, only in his own environment.
And Ida, you are right, it is very difficult for Serbs who live in Kosovo, and who lived in Croatia and Bosnia, and it was also very difficult for Albanians and Croats and Muslims when they were killed and persecuted by the Serbian army, police and paramilitaries. No nation had it easy during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Killers, regardless of nationality and religion should not be idolized. But it’s those people who destroyed the painting that idolize killers not the artist and the curators.
Thanks for your comment, Marko, I believe it sums it all up.
There are videos of the attack on Youtube so anyone who is curious to see what happened can do so. click to see videos of the attack
Sorry for not dropping in on this one sooner! I think Marko has hit the nail on the head. A friend of mine went (well tried to go) and saw a little bit before some plain clothes DBovac closed it down.
From what I understood this exhibition was about cult of personality, idols, call them what you want, as Marko pointed out.
I actually have a very big problem with pointless hero worship, so this type of exhibition is right up my street in some way.
On the other hand, although I almost never belong to the ‘its not time’ brigade, on this issue I have to say that the timing was probably the worst it could ever be. Probably this exhibition was planned some months in advance and there was no real way of knowing (lets face it only in the last few weeks have we realised that this announced Kosovo independence isnt another false alarm) that we would be smack bang in the middle of a Serbian political crisis regarding elections, EU and Kosovo.
Of course the irony is that the OBRAZ fools outside were holding up a banner of their hero, mythical cult leader, murderer of Serbia’s elected Prime Minister and countless others.
But get this when you really think about it – the concept / principle if the OBRAZ idiots did truly understand the exhibition, they would still want to destroy it. After all it is the OBRAZ types that NEED heroes. And Serbs aint the only ones with this problem.
Dren Maliqi is an Artist, and an artsit can do “art”, in the end Jashari and Presley are two different things, different like Belgrade and Pristina, like Serbia and Kosovo, Like Yugoslavia and Usa. By the way i think that the work of Maliqi is hard for serbians, but in art everything is possible and everithing can “sucks” depends by Taste ( In Italian GUSTO ) lets forget about it