IRWIN's Retro-Principle and NSK State in Time: From Slovenian Collective to Conceptual Nation
Founded in 1983, the Slovenian artistic group IRWIN is part of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) movement, which emerged in 1984 in Yugoslavia. This collective utilizes a retro approach that draws on aesthetic symbols from the 20th century. NSK encompasses IRWIN, the music ensemble Laibach (established in 1980), and the theater company Gledališce Sester Scipion Nasice. Their methodology was shaped by philosopher Slavoj Žižek and involved a deep engagement with state ideology. Significant works include the 1984 piece Vstajenje Gledališca Sester Scipion Nasice and the 1985 Was ist Kunst? series. In 1991, IRWIN and Eda Cufer launched NSK Država v času, distributing passports worldwide. The 1996 Transnacionala project chronicled a U.S. journey, while Total Recall (2002) sought to reconstruct Eastern European art history. Key members are Dušan Mandič, Miran Mohar, Andrej Savski, Roman Uranjek, and Borut Vogelnik.
Key facts
- IRWIN was founded in 1983 as part of Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK)
- NSK was established in 1984 in the Slovenian republic of Yugoslavia
- IRWIN's retro-principle involves appropriating traumatic aesthetic signs from 20th-century utopias
- The NSK State in Time was created in 1991 as an immaterial state defined by time
- IRWIN's Total Recall project premiered in 2002 at the Karl-Ernst-Osthaus-Museum in Hagen
- The collective's members are Dušan Mandič, Miran Mohar, Andrej Savski, Roman Uranjek, and Borut Vogelnik
- IRWIN's Was ist Kunst? series began in 1985 with over a hundred paintings
- The 1996 Transnacionala project involved a journey across the United States with international artists
Entities
Artists
- Inke Arns
- IRWIN
- Dušan Mandič
- Miran Mohar
- Andrej Savski
- Roman Uranjek
- Borut Vogelnik
- Laibach
- Eda Cufer
- Slavoj Žižek
- Marcel Duchamp
- Anselm Kiefer
- Albert Speer
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Jože Plečnik
- Janez Knez
- Ivan Grohar
- Raša Todosijevic
- Goran Ðorðevic
- René Magritte
- Michael von Hauswolff
- Leiff Elgren
- Frank Riepe
- Ingo Günther
- Alexander Brener
- Vadim Fiškin
- Yuri Leiderman
- Michael Benson
- Viktor Misiano
- Mangelos
- Mladen Stilinovic
- Kazimir Malevic
- Braco Dimitrijevic
- Nicholas Africano
- John Ahearn
- Jonathan Borofsky
- Richard Bosman
- Neil Jenney
- Robert Kushner
- Matt Mullican
- Cindy Sherman
Institutions
- Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK)
- ARTMargins
- ŠKUC Galerija
- Moderna Galerija
- Karl-Ernst-Osthaus-Museum
- Kunstverein Hamburg
- Kunsthalle Wien
- Humboldt University
- Equrna gallery
- Visconti Fine Art Kolizej gallery
- Obalne Galerije Piran
- Loža Gallery Koper
- Ridzina Gallery
- Apt-Art International
- Galerija Doma Omladine
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Ljubljana
- Slovenia
- Yugoslavia
- Novo Mesto
- Trbovlje
- Kranj
- Belgrade
- Serbia
- Nürnberg
- Zagreb
- Croatia
- Moscow
- Russia
- Hagen
- Hamburg
- Umag
- Cologne
- Vienna
- Austria
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- Paris
- France
- Warsaw
- Poland
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Sarajevo
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Zasavje region
- Zagorje
- Hrastnik
- United States