YOU HAVE TO BE A ZENTIST!
In the Neon Gallery in Belgrade on May 17th, 2022. at 20.00h an interactive multimedia installation You Must Be a Zenithist, of DAH Theatre opened. The exhibition was opened by the author of the concept Jadranka Anđelić and Prof. Dr. Snežana Arnautović Stjepanović.
The exhibition is designed for various gallery and museum spaces and reflects on the heritage of the authentic avant-garde art movement from our region – zenithism. It points out the importance of continuity in the artistic tradition of a country and explores what today, exactly one hundred years since the launch of Zenit magazine, are the echoes of Zenitist ideas both in contemporary art and in contemporary society.
The program:
May 17th – opening and performance from 8 p.m.
May 18th – expert guidance from 8 p.m.
(guest Prof. Dr. Snežana Arnautović Stjepanović)
May 19th – expert guidance from 8 p.m.
(guest Prof. Slavimir Stojanović Futro)
The ideas of zenithism – anti-war ideas, belief in the possibility of creating a new, more just society and relationship are important and necessary even after a hundred years, especially in the modern moment, when faith in the possibility of creating a better world has been lost. Zenitism invites us to, inspired by the enthusiasm of the artists of that time, turn again to the great values at the center of which is – man.
The installation consists of three parts, which are original works of artists dealing with contemporary artistic response to the ideas of zenithism.
In the first room, there are interactive screens with which you can get to know the artists of zenithism. Scenes from the video for the play Zenith – History of a Rapture (1994) by the DAH Theater, you can combine as you wish and thus create your zenith story through interactive screens.
In the second room we meet with video / audio work and installation by Snežana Arnautović and Ivica Stjepanović called Everyday Room, which is a kind of response to the idea of zenithism, as well as complete avant-garde whose roots contemporary artists still rely on.
In the third room, we will find the art object Cross-Hanger (Krst-čiviluk), which was used in the play of the DAH theatre, Zenit – History of One Enthusiasm, and is the work of artist Neša Paripović. The atmosphere of the zenith movement in this room is complemented by the video work For a better atmosphere by Jelena Rubil, through which we get acquainted with the zenith slogans.
The fourth room brings us the intimacy of zenithism and here you can read the last letter of Anushka Micić to Ljubomir Micić, which he found after her death. Also, there are original editions of Zenit magazine, as well as audio / video work by Snežana Arnautović called Lucid Dream / Happy Time.
On the first night of the exhibition, we will have four performers, who will additionally evoke the atmosphere of the zenithist movement and make us think about whether this movement is still relevant, present, and finally whether the zenithists are still among us.
We will have the opportunity to hear Ve Poljanski’s poetry through original music, specially composed and sung for this exhibition. The inevitable Mayakovsky in one new body will also visit the N.EON gallery, and who, like a hundred years ago, has something important to tell us. If you have not had the opportunity to read the letters of Anuska and Ljubomir Micic, this exhibition will bring you the most intimate experience of zenithist love – one letter will be enlarged and read to everyone who indulges and sits in a zenithist armchair. Throughout the exhibition, each visitor will have his own shadow – the mysterious Johnny Dzepp, who leaves an indelible mark behind him.
In the next two days of the exhibition on May 18th and 19th, we will have an expert guide through the exhibition of the authors of the concept, Jadranka Andjelić and Dijana Milošević, from 8 pm, which will be additionally completed by special guests.
Author of video / audio works and installations by Prof. dr Snežana Arnautović Stjepanović will join us on May 18th, while on May 19th we will be accompanied by designer, visual artist, writer and professor Slavimir Stojanović Futro, who designed the poster for the play Zenit – History of a rapture.
Concept: Jadranka Anđelić, Dijana Milošević
Performers: Evgenija Eškina Kovačević, Ivana Milenović Popović, Milica Petrović, Zoran Vasiljević
Objects, space: Neša Paripović
Video installation: Snežana Arnautović
Video: Jelena Rubil
Audio: Ivica Stjepanović
Light: Milomir Dimitrijević, Radovan Samolov
Organization and production: Natasa Novakovic, Milica Petrovic
Marketing: Ivana Milenović Popović
PR: Tanja Rap
Photographer: Đorđe Tomić
Video documentation: Aleksandar Milošević
Social networks: Dunja Karanović
Graphic design: škart
