In June 2000 a poster in the center of Belgrade grabs the attention of passersby. On ten advertising boards in prime locations, a portrait of an unadorned woman can be seen. The Croatian caption says: »NAMA - 1,908 employees, 15 department stores«, and next to it hang portraits of cheerful-looking models - the kind used to sell perfume and cosmetics. The »NAMA« logo is in Herbert Bayer's Universal typeface, reissued in 1974 by the International Typeface Corporation and known as Bauhaus.

The poster is an advertisement that artist Andreja Kuluncic designed for a bankrupt department store chain. In the local media the poster provoked a debate on the social consequences of post-communist Croatia's transition to a free market economy. »The employee on the poster symbolizes the disastrous individual and collective aftermath of the economic changes in Croatia,« writes curator Natasa Ilic on Kuluncic's work (for the full text, see the »Gazet'art« included in this issue). After all, NAMA was an exceptionally successful state enterprise in the days of Yugoslavian Croatia. The name NAMA comes from the words »NArodni MAgazin«, which means »People's Store«. As the free market replaced state control and consumers replaced the people, the company found itself in a paradoxical situation: the employees kept the store going, even though the company itself was bankrupt and had discontinued all business activities. In the six months before Kuluncic's poster was to be seen in the city, the employees still went to work every day in their respective branch stores: a kind of silent scream designed to remind the government of its responsibility. »They stood for eight hours every day in front of empty shelves, waiting for a decision: would the company be sold or would the government cover the debts,« says Kuluncic. »The poster seemed to me to be the best medium for developing a public dialog on the theme of economic transition. First I chose the theme, however, and then the medium with which I could best transport my theme.« And here it was a case of communicating the message as clearly as possible: »The passerby has a maximum of two minutes to grasp the theme, if he notices it at all. «

Similarly incisive were the »City Light« posters that Kuluncic placed in various locations in Frankfurt for this year's Manifesta 4. These consisted of portraits of ten artists participating in the exhibition. The caption stated the artist's country of origin, the average yearly income there and the annual income of the artist portrayed, who remained otherwise anonymous. With this minimal statistical information the artist was able to adumbrate local differences in the relationship between art and economy. In her »City Walks« project, Kuluncic, a graduate in Applied Art and Design, again relied on conventional communication options in the public forum. In the city of Zadar on the Croatian coast she conducted interviews with residents and compiled the results into an info folder like the ones commonly handed out to tourists. In this way she sketched an image of the city otherwise never seen by tourists.

In two other projects, entitled »Embryo« and »Distributive Justice«, more complex general conditions needed to be met in order to ensure the interaction with the public that the artist seeks. On the Internet, in a gallery, in the course of audience discussions and through collaboration with scientists, activists and students, she aimed at a step-by-step elaboration of the topics of genetic research and distributive justice. »This way of working requires greater financial means and more energy, time and imagination to drive the project forward.« This kind of group work can take years. »Without the active participation of interested parties, the projects would not exist.«

The »Distributive Justice«¹ project, presented at the Biennial of Young Art in Turin, documenta 11 and recently at the »Plus Ultra«² exhibition in Innsbruck, deals with the distribution of public goods and services and can be accessed in any one of several ways. One of these was a computer installation: a circle of chairs around a table with monitors. Visitors can call up what Kuluncic has collected on the theme of distributive justice: an overview of theories on justice proposed by John Rawls or Ronald Dworkin or even Amartya K. Sen. Short films show interviews with anonymous intellectuals. In a kind of simulation game the participants can distribute material and non-material goods at their own discretion, thus constructing a dynamically changing »society.« Under the concepts of »money,« »freedom« or »public service,« each player can craft a society according to his or her own ideas. Options range from »healthcare only for the gainfully employed« to »health services for everyone.« At the end of the game various types of societal forms are discernable.

Offline, visitors can take part in surveys or record videos or audio cassettes. This material changes and develops from show to show. The participation of many different countries means that each leaves its own mark on the work, which then becomes another component of the exhibition. Actual and potential participants thus acquire their own virtual space for the exchange of information and opinions (mailing lists, forum, chat), for constructing databases, etc. In this way the project is transformed little by little into a lasting open forum. What began as an art project becomes an infrastructure for university or civic use.

Kuluncic lives and works in Zagreb. »After the really difficult period from the early to mid-90's, it has now become easier to create art in Croatia.« It's still not that easy, but the artist notes that there is a positive energy and a series of new initiatives launched by strong individuals with a great deal of enthusiasm, and by art groups and institutions. »But art in Croatia still depends on the state. There is no gallery network and no private art collectors. Purchases by institutions are minimal, and there is no one to represent our commercial interests abroad. In this sense, we are all just starting out when it comes to making a living and financing new projects.« Many artists leave the country as soon as they meet with some success, and the ones who don't always wind up in the alternative art scene - regardless of the quality or complexity of their work. »I find it interesting that many of my colleagues from the West talk about how independent our work and our ways of thinking are due to this situation. I don't know if this is true, because one can only guess how it would function under other circumstances. Only then could one ascertain which situation requires more energy.«

 

Translated by Tim Jones

 

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