Cultural Identity Politics in the (Post-)Transitional Societies
Cultural Identity Politics in the (Post-)Transitional Societies
Cultural Identity Politics in the (Post-)Transitional Societies
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<strong>Cultural</strong> <strong>Identity</strong> <strong>Politics</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> (<strong>Post</strong>-)<strong>Transitional</strong> <strong>Societies</strong><br />
The second text that I want to look at is <strong>the</strong> essay published <strong>in</strong> Leap <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> City:<br />
<strong>Cultural</strong> Positions, Political Conditions. Seven Scenes from Europe, a publication on<br />
<strong>the</strong> project <strong>in</strong>itiated by <strong>the</strong> German <strong>Cultural</strong> Foundation on <strong>the</strong> cultural affairs of<br />
seven cities of Eastern Europe <strong>in</strong> states of transition. One of <strong>the</strong> cities is Zagreb with<br />
<strong>the</strong> subject of “network<strong>in</strong>g” and “cooperation” (whereas <strong>in</strong> Ljubljana <strong>the</strong> topic was<br />
“<strong>in</strong>ternationalism” and <strong>in</strong> Prist<strong>in</strong>a “nationalism”). The text I am referr<strong>in</strong>g to is <strong>the</strong> essay<br />
“Recogniz<strong>in</strong>g networks” by one of <strong>the</strong> project leaders Boris Bakal, who starts his exposé<br />
by underl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> metaphysical or Emersonian sense of understand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> world, <strong>in</strong><br />
which “everyth<strong>in</strong>g teaches transition, transference, metamorphosis: <strong>the</strong>re<strong>in</strong> is human<br />
power, <strong>in</strong> transference, not <strong>in</strong> creation; and <strong>the</strong>re<strong>in</strong> is human dest<strong>in</strong>y, not <strong>in</strong> longevity,<br />
but <strong>in</strong> removal. We dive and reappear <strong>in</strong> new places” (Bakal, 2006: 413). This cont<strong>in</strong>uous<br />
existence, accord<strong>in</strong>g to Bakal, was part of “this region from <strong>the</strong> mid-n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century<br />
to 1946, when <strong>the</strong> new state abolished all exist<strong>in</strong>g network and civic activities or placed<br />
<strong>the</strong>m under centralized control”. Under this totalitarian centralized control “<strong>in</strong>dividuals<br />
were deprived of <strong>the</strong> possibility of be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> generator of small changes, and <strong>the</strong>re is <strong>the</strong><br />
reason for <strong>the</strong> death or disappearance of socialist models of management” (Bakal, 2006:<br />
415). As we can guess, this anti-communist discourse with very clear bourgeois ideology<br />
aims to discard <strong>the</strong> real historical collective moment (socialist self-management) <strong>in</strong><br />
order to support <strong>the</strong> charity-based non-governmental middle-class humanitarian<br />
organizations (such as Društvo čovječnosti – <strong>the</strong> Society of Humanity). The history of<br />
artistic collectives <strong>in</strong> Yugoslavia, especially <strong>in</strong> Croatia accord<strong>in</strong>g to Bakal, was that<br />
“European artistic context rested precisely <strong>in</strong> that <strong>the</strong>ir work and socialization were not<br />
determ<strong>in</strong>ed by any material preconditions but were exclusively based on volunteer<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and on spiritual strength”. The fact that <strong>the</strong>se collectives with “spiritual strength”, such as<br />
Gorgona, Exat, Podroom, Group of Six Artists and New Tendencies, were f<strong>in</strong>anced by<br />
<strong>the</strong> state foundations is just a momentary surprise for Bakal’s world view. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to his<br />
metaphysical approach, real creative collaboration started <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> post-Tito period, where<br />
“Yugoslavia was turn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to an <strong>in</strong>efficient obstacle to <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest groups of corporate<br />
capital” (Bakal, 2006: 417), and parallel with that, for artistic collectives <strong>the</strong> awareness<br />
of <strong>the</strong>ir participation <strong>in</strong> this process became more obvious. One of <strong>the</strong> first of <strong>the</strong>se<br />
<strong>in</strong>itiatives was <strong>the</strong> project/group Katedrala (Ca<strong>the</strong>dral) <strong>in</strong>itiated by Boris Bakal himself.<br />
Realized <strong>in</strong> 1987 and 1988 <strong>in</strong> Zagreb, Belgrade and Berl<strong>in</strong> this multimedia <strong>in</strong>stallation<br />
aimed at play<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> role of conscience of a scattered society by creat<strong>in</strong>g a broad network<br />
of collaborations and <strong>in</strong>terdiscipl<strong>in</strong>ary endeavours. In a very visionary manner, as<br />
Bakal claims, <strong>the</strong> visual identity of Katedrala’s catalogue from <strong>the</strong> late 1980s presents<br />
a network of spiritual antagonism by unit<strong>in</strong>g all <strong>the</strong> Zagreb churches: <strong>the</strong> demolished<br />
Jewish synagogue, <strong>the</strong> Catholic ca<strong>the</strong>dral, <strong>the</strong> Orthodox Church on Preradović square<br />
and <strong>the</strong> new Zagreb mosque. The most important part of this vision is that Bakal and<br />
his colleagues felt that <strong>the</strong> “[socialist] society was already deeply torn <strong>in</strong> all its aspects by<br />
great antagonisms and violent economic conflicts that, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> hands of adroit politicians,<br />
were soon to be turned <strong>in</strong>to religious-nationalistic and ethnic wars” (Bakal, 2006: 416).<br />
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