Unfinished Modernisations
dal 9/2/2012 al 21/4/2012
Segnalato da
9/2/2012
Unfinished Modernisations
UGM Maribor Art Gallery, Maribor
Between utopia and pragmatism. The exhibition will present numerous architectural projects, ranging from tourist experiments on the Adriatic coastline, concepts for new cities and presentation pavilions at international exhibitions, to disreputable public edifices and historical memorials in all the former Yugoslav countries during 1948-1980.
curated by: Maroje Mrduljaš (HR)
Cor-curators: Vladimir Kulić (SR/USA), Matevž Čelik (SI), Simona Vidmar (SI)
The presentation of architectural projects and large-scale urbanistic plannings
which denote the period of (socialist) Yugoslavia is a long-expected project that
will focus on the milestones and visions of the (unfinished) modernisation of cities
during socialism as well as answer the questions about their role and legacy in the
successor countries. The Unfinished modernisations illuminates spaces that were
created by the "socialist progress" in the former Yugoslavia and thus establishes
what has happened with these spaces after the collapse of the common state and the
disappearance of socialism. The exhibition focuses on the physical space, e.g. on
the production of city or town planning respectively as one of the fundamental means
of socialist modernisation; and on the role that architecture had in this
production. The exhibition also interferes with symbolic spaces in which this
production unfolded, such as geopolitical, cultural, economic, ideological spaces
and so forth.
During socialist Yugoslavia, modernisation was presented unilaterally like an
everyday collective achievement that should reveal the progress of workers'
self-management and make people feel proud of it. The life of Yugoslavs was thus
marked by megalomaniacal, almost utopian projects in the fields of industry,
energetics, traffic logistics, town planning. On the other hand, today this
socialist utopianism is often a synonym for or taken as the "original sin" of
unsuitable economic structures, ecological problems and social conflicts. This
project will review and present characteristic architectural and town planning
practices from the socialist period in relation to the social context from which
they arose and define their current image and character. By encapsulating the
collective works of young researchers from Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, the exhibition addresses, next to the
aesthetic and technological perfection of the architectural and urbanistic
achievements, the social viewpoint of the processes that influenced the development,
progress and collapse of Yugoslavia. The relevance of the projects will be estimated
on the basis of the contribution of these achievements to the formation of the
public sphere. Another important project goal is to challenge the (internationally
acclaimed) uniform belief about the period of urban modernisation in former
Yugoslavia and to promote the diversity of cultural identities in the region.
"Informed by pragmatic motives, architecture in Yugoslavia was dominantly oriented
to production, although in this pragmatism it was optimistic and did take account of
the public good. Built architecture was thus a fairly truthful reflection of the
creative capacities of the local architectural community and its ability to act.
Although some progressive designs were put aside, unbuilt and incomplete, the built
environment in Yugoslavia faithfully images the relation between ambitions and
capacities." (Maroje Mrduljaš)
The exhibition will present numerous architectural projects, ranging from tourist
experiments on the Adriatic coastline, concepts for new cities and presentation
pavilions at international exhibitions, to disreputable public edifices and
historical memorials in all the former Yugoslav countries during 1948–1980. Through
a new approach and audaciousness brought by the timely and political side step from
modern history, it is the purpose of the project to re-examine the socialist
architectural legacy of Yugoslavia and to awaken the strong and productive
connections that are present at every step in the urban space of the former common
state! The project is a result of a two-year collaboration of several institutions −
such as the UGM/Maribor Art Gallery (Maribor), UHA/Croatian Architects' Association
(Zagreb), MAO/Museum of Architecture and Design (Ljubljana), DAB/Association of
Belgrade Architects, KOR/Coalition for Sustainable Development (Skopje) and
Institute for Contemporary Architecture (Zagreb) − as well as the research work of
over 50 experts, especially architecture historians, critics and activists, such as
Dr Vladimir Kulić (Florida Atlantic University, USA), Dr Luka Skansi (IUAV, Venice,
Italy), Dr Petra Čeferin (Institute for Architecture and Culture, Ljubljana), Dr
Nina Ugljen (Faculty of Architecture, Sarajevo), Dr Tanja Conley (Massachusetts
Collage of Art and Design, Boston, USA). The exhibition's curators are asserted
young experts: Maroje Mrduljaš, responsible editor of the Croatian Magazine for
Architecture and Culture Oris; Vladimir Kulić (SR/USA), assistant professor at the
Faculty of Architecture at the Florida Atlantic University; Matevž Čelik (SI),
director of the Museum of Architecture and Design, and Simona Vidmar, curator at the
Maribor Art Gallery.
Image: Cultural Centre Kolasin: Cultural Center by architect: Marko Music (photo by Wolfgang Thaler)
Public Relations: Alenka Spacal T: +386 (0)2 2502544 E: alenka.spacal@ugm.si
Web communication: Petra Ješovnik T: +386 (0)2 2502544 E: petra.jesovnik@ugm.si
Opening: Friday, 10 February 2012 at 18.00
UGM Maribor Art Gallery
Strossmayerjeva ulica 6 - Maribor