As soon as I open my eyes I see a film: Experiment in the art of Yugoslavia in the '60s and '70s

"As soon as I open my eyes I see a film: Experiment in the art of Yugoslavia in the '60s and '70s" is a research project and exhibition dealing with experimental strategies in the visual arts in the common cultural space of the former Yugoslavia. The new Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw has chosen to begin its exhibition program with such a subject for a twofold reason. First, its principal mission is to research and map the art scene of the region known variously as Eastern Europe, Central Europe, the former Eastern Bloc or, most recently, 'new Europe.'

Secondly, the developments of the visual arts in Yugoslavia in the 60's and 70's were not exempt from the radical redefinitions of art practice characteristic of this ever-fascinating period in history. In an attempt to be more responsive to the world, art embarked on a journey into reality beyond the confines of the studio and the gallery.

Yugoslavia, a unique sociopolitical entity, itself an experimental federation bound by internationalism, became a fertile ground for a completely new art practice. The trigger for the exhibition was a reflection on the phenomena of experimental film developed in the amateur cine-clubs in '60s Zagreb, Beograd and Split. Experiments in film and art, and the interaction between those fields of practice, provided a new standpoint for examining radical changes in artistic expression and behaviours. A quotation from artist Tomislav Gotovac has been chosen as the title of the exhibition to underline his pioneering role in the mutual permeation of art and film and the development of experimental filmic strategies and new formats in visual art, as well as for his awareness of the non-metaphorical and anti-narrative character of contemporary artistic language.

The exhibition strives to present an overview of that new radicalization of visual codes, and of the emergence of new artistic forms in '70s Yugoslavia - from video to the use of the artist's body, from the redefinition of exhibition strategies and concepts to intervention in public spaces, through to the final abandonment of the borders between art and life.

Artists: Marina Abramovic, Dimitrije Basicevic Mangelos, Crveni Peristil, Attila Csernik, Radomir Damnjanovic Damnjan, Braco Dimitrijevic, Nusa & Sreco Dragan, Ivan Ladislav Galeta, Gorgona Group, Tomislav Gotovac, Group of Six Artists, Zlatko Hajdler, Sanja Ivekovic, Julije Knifer, Ivan Kozaric, Vladimir Kristl, Dusan Makavejev, Ivan Martinac, Dalibor Martinis, Slavko Matkovic, Slobodan Era Milivojevic, OHO, Mihovil Pansini, Nesa Paripovic, Zivojin Pavlovic, Vladimir Petek, Ivan Picelj, Bogdanka Poznanovic, Vojislav Rakonjac, Vjenceslav Richter, Milan Samec, Aleksandar Srnec, Mladen Stilinovic, Laszlo Szalma, Balint Szombathy, Rasa Todosijevic, Goran Trbuljak, Sava Trifkovic, Josip Vanista, Ante Verzotti.

As soon as I open my eyes I see a film.

April 24 – June 21, 2008

Curator: Ana Janevski

Exhibition architecture: Monika Sosnowska

Collaboration: Tomasz Fudala

The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland