Les Promesses du Passé at Centre Pompidou: A Critical View on Eastern European Art Revisionism
Until July 19, 2010, the Centre Pompidou in Paris is presenting 'Les Promesses du Passé, 1950-2010,' under the curation of Christine Macel and Joanna Mytkowska. This exhibition showcases artists from communist Eastern Europe and those they influenced. In the May 2010 issue of art press n°367, critic Nena Dimitrijevic cautions against historical revisionism, emphasizing that Western institutions frequently neglect experts from before 1990. She points to the establishment of Yugoslavia’s EXAT 51 in 1950 and the New Tendencies biennial in 1961. Dimitrijevic also addresses the rise of conceptual art in 1968, featuring artists like Braco Dimitrijevic, while challenging the narratives surrounding the Gorgona group and the East Art Map project by Irwin, asserting that avant-garde art faced no bans in Yugoslavia.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Les Promesses du Passé, 1950-2010' at Centre Pompidou, Paris, until July 19, 2010.
- Curated by Christine Macel and Joanna Mytkowska.
- Nena Dimitrijevic's article in art press n°367 (May 2010) criticizes historical revisionism.
- EXAT 51 group founded in Zagreb in 1950, promoting geometric abstraction.
- New Tendencies biennial started in 1961 at Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb.
- Braco Dimitrijevic exhibited giant portraits of unknown people in Zagreb's main square in 1971.
- Exhibition 'At the Moment' in 1971 featured Anselmo, Barry, Beuys, Buren, Dibbets, Dimitrijevic, E/KOD, Flanagan, Huebler, Kounellis, LeWitt, Weiner.
- Gorgona group was unknown until Nena Dimitrijevic's research and exhibition in 1977.
- East Art Map by Irwin (2006) criticized as unscholarly and nationalist.
- Dimitrijevic claims avant-garde art was not prohibited in Yugoslavia.
Entities
Artists
- Nena Dimitrijevic
- Braco Dimitrijevic
- Vlado Kristl
- Ivan Picelj
- Aleksandar Srnec
- Piero Manzoni
- Günter Uecker
- Otto Piene
- François Morellet
- Jesús Rafael Soto
- Giovanni Anselmo
- Robert Barry
- Joseph Beuys
- Daniel Buren
- Jan Dibbets
- Barry Flanagan
- Douglas Huebler
- Jannis Kounellis
- Sol LeWitt
- Lawrence Weiner
- Petr Stembera
- Andre Tot
- Milan Knizak
- Robert Rauschenberg
- Yayoi Kusama
- George Brecht
- Allan Kaprow
- Tadeusz Kantor
- Marina Abramovic
- Radomir Damnjan
- Nesa Paripovic
- Zoran Popovic
- Rasa Todosijevic
- Gergelj Urokom
- Dunja Blazevic
- Josip Vanista
- Ivan Kozaric
- Radoslav Putar
- Dimitrije Basicevic-Mangelos
- Julije Knifer
- Zeljko Jerman
- Vlado Martek
- Stilinovic brothers
- Fedor Vucemilovic
- Branka Stipancic
- Lorand Hegyi
- Zelimir Koscevic
- Magda Carneci
- Daniel Harms
- Andrei Tarkovski
- Bozo Bek
- Jesa Denegri
- Germano Celant
- Klaus Groh
- Tom Marioni
- Kathan Brown
- Gabor Attalai
- Endre Tot
- Visy Laszlo
- Jan Milevich
- Karel Miller
- Milan Grygar
- Miloslav Moucha
- Peter Bartos
- Druga Grupa
- Roman Opalka
- Andrej Lachowicz
- Krzysztof Wodiczko
- Mica Popovic
Institutions
- Centre Pompidou
- Musée national d'art moderne
- art press
- EXAT 51
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
- Haustor Frankopanska 2a
- Centre culturel étudiant de Belgrade
- BITEF (Belgrade International Theater Festival)
- Tribina mladih
- Gorgona
- Irwin
- Neue Slowenische Kunst
- Mestna Galerija Ljubljana
- Kunst und Austellungs Halle der Bundesrepublick Deutschland
- Galerie nationale du Jeu de paume
- Moderna Museet
- Musée d'art moderne de Saint-Étienne
- Afterall Books
- Studio International
- Flash Art
- Art Monthly
- Parkett
- Harry N. Abrams Inc. Publishers
- DuMont Schauberg
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Zagreb
- Croatia
- Belgrade
- Serbia
- Sarajevo
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Novi Sad
- Ljubljana
- Slovenia
- Bonn
- Germany
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- Saint-Étienne
- London
- United Kingdom
- New York
- United States
- Oakland
- California
- Cologne
- Hungary
- Romania
- Czechoslovakia
- Poland
Sources
- artpress —