Ctrl+Alt+Del
by phD, Sanja Kojić Mladenov
Ana Vujović develops an artistic practice of subtle critical action in the field of turbulent socio-political relations, in particular traditionally established value systems of power, in both the position of national and collective identities, as well as structures within the art scene and the historical evaluation of art media. She is interested in examining the problems of manipulation and deformation of historical heritage, its false mythologisation and abuse by right-wing politicians. Through the construction of broken formal structures and deconstructive elements, she points out the importance of re-examining the content, the possibility of the existence of untruth (error) and restructuring of what is dominant, therefore gaining new perspectives through the prism of networking and dialogue.
In her previous sculptural and ambiental series of works Kanonatra, By the Book and The Future is Repeated, composed of combinations of different materials (metal, resin, plastic, canvas, thread…), the author departs from the motif of ornamentation which is considered national cultural heritage. Onto the decorative elements present on the traditional Pirot kilims, she introduces symbolic mistakes (error, glitch), steps out of the usual way of their realisation, simulating in the analog medium of distortion, omissions present in digital technological, machine weaving. At the same time, with this procedure she examines the established patterns of behaviour and action, models and values which, as a peculiar of burden of the obliging, are continuously transmitted through tradition and heritage.
The concept of the new works presented at “Hestia” builds on the previous ones. The objects also have fabric as base, but now traditional kilims or their elements are combined with first aid props such as: gauze, bandage, emergency blanket or plaster. The ornamentation increasingly deviates from the recognizable geometric patterns and takes on a personal abstract intervention, especially visible in plaster castings. It is a matter of the author’s conscious intention to question or even deviate from the imposed frameworks and established models of decoration. With the introduction of new materials, even more emphatically she changes the structure and dynamics of classical kilims, as well as their use, aesthetic and historical value. It reduces them to the process of redefining previous knowledge and demystifying previously constructed symbols.
Exploring the possibilities of formal and semantic change of the selected ready-made objects, she develops the process of its decomposition into basic, initial impulses and elements, by the act of dismantling the fabric. The process of transformation itself is recorded by a camera, as she begins the continuous act of extracting threads from the fabric placed on a loom in a natural environment. With this performative act, she introduces changes in the previous structure of the centuries old house fetish - the kilim, and reconstructs it by creating new objects. Monumental, simplified installations of torn kilims, of stretched naked threads/wefts in space, reveal only the outlines of the previous weaving and luxurious design. At the exhibition, the objects are complemented by videos of the author’s specific performative gesture, with the process of their reduction and transformation. Emphasizing the cyclical and repetitive nature of the action, Ana Vujović simultaneously highlights the process of automation, and the possibility of not only the appearance of a glitch in a given model, as was the case in her previous artistic practice, but also a sudden interruption of a function (Ctrl + Alt + Del) and the reestablishment of a refreshed system (Reboot). The choice of the methodology of work is directly related to the conceptual premise, which contributes to a more complete connection between analog and digital product, as well as the possibility of examining the multithreaded, continuous creation process, system repetition, causing change and sudden interruption, and the introduction of new activities and tasks. Simulating the aforementioned mechanisms through the example of weaving and tearing kilims, the author subtly speaks about the social condition, the problem of the present re-traditionalisation, and hence the need to evoke the necessary changes.
As weaving can be considered important for the establishment of the automation process, the emergence of modern computers and digital technology (Sadie Plant, 1996), it is also an example of socio-historically low-value, mostly female, creative work. Weaving as a hypermedia differs from the dominant sense of sight in visual art, and affirms tactility, i.e. touch as an integral sense of communication, contact and transmission. Which leads us to observe the artistic practice of Ana Vujović through considering the position of gender roles and relations throughout history, the analysis of mechanisms from the past, the process of repatriarchalisation of society, but also the affirmation of establishing new relations and connections. Throughout history, the practice of weaving has been an element of collective, feminine knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation in which every element of the change in the production process was stimulated by the introduction of new challenges and knowledge.
At the same time, the possibility of expanding sensory experiences, tactile, sound and bodily affects, is one of the basic features of immersive content, and important for the development of media and post-media knowledge. The extent to which the author deals with the issues of coexistence of diversity and intertwining of heritage, as well as the multiculturalism characteristic of the Balkans, is evident in her intention to, besides her analysis of the Pirot kilim which she has been dealing with for a long time, find the one from the Sandžak region. A building made of black cloth (scarf) and copper, refers to the Muslim segment present in our culture, and the process of searching for repressed narratives. The geometric, abstract object/module suggests the possibility of transformation in different directions and emphasises the need for play and change. To what extent reading traditional patterns is possible and truthful today remains a question, as well as to what extent it depends on local policies and social contexts. Why it is so difficult to find information about the Sandžak kilim, “is as mystical as the belief that the Pirot kilim is ours”, the author states. Therefore, in addition to Peter’s Kilim (2017), she creates Zehra’s kilim (2021), as an initial impulse for further cultural and formal research.
At the exhibition Ctrl+Alt+Del, Ana Vujović continues her work around set values, but also hidden and suppressed truths in the local culture. She strives to problematize and reformulate them. She applies the language of information and communication technologies, media and post-media artistic practice, combining it with classical techniques and knowledge. With an artistic practice that balances on the border of sculpture and digital art, she is one of the few authors in our region who questions the elements of collective identities, ideologisation of heritage and the possibility of manipulating information.
November, 2021.
Ctrl+Alt+Del
autorka teksta dr. Sanja Kojić Mladenov
Ana Vujović razvija umetničku praksu suptilnog kritičkog delovanja u polju turbulentnih društvenopolitičkih odnosa, posebno tradicionalno uspostavljenih vrednosnih sistema moći, kako pozicije nacionalnog i, uopšte, kolektivnih identiteta, tako i struktura unutar umetničke scene i istorijskog vrednovanja umetničkih medija. Zainteresovana je za ispitivanja problema manipulacije i deformacije istorijskog nasleđa, njegove lažne mitologizacije i zloupotrebe od strane desno orijentisanih politika. Kroz izgradnju razbijenih formalnih struktura i dekonstruktivnih elemenata, ukazuje na važnost preispitivanja sadržaja, mogućnost postojanja neistine (greške) i restrukturiranja dominantnog, te osvajanja novih perspektiva kroz prizmu umrežavanja i dijaloga.
U svojim dosadašnjim skulpturalnim i ambijentalnim serijama radova Kanonatra, Po obrascu i Budućnost se ponavlja, sačinjenim od kombinacija različitih materijala (metal, smola, plastika, platno, konac…), autorka polazi od motiva ornamentike koja se smatra nacionalnom kulturnom baštinom. U dekorativne elemente prisutne na tradicionalnim Pirotskim ćilimima uvodi simbolične greške (error, glitch), iskorake iz uobičajenog načina njihove realizacije, simulirajući u analognom mediju distorzije, propuste prisutne u digitalno-tehnološkom, mašinskom tkanju. Ovim postupkom istovremeno propituje ustaljene obrasce ponašanja i delovanja, modele i vrednosti koji se kao svojevrni teret obavezujućeg kontinuirano prenose kroz tradiciju i nasleđe.
Koncept novih radova, predstavljenih u galeriji “Hestia” nadovezuje se na prethodne. Objekti takođe kao osnovu imaju tkaninu, ali se sada tradicionalni ćilimi ili njihovi elementi kombinuju sa rekvizitima koji se koriste za prvu pomoć, kao što su: gaza, zavoj, termo ćebe (emergency blanket) ili gips. Ornamentika sve više odstupa od prepoznatljivih geometrijskih šara i poprima ličnu apstraktnu intervenciju, naročito vidljivu u gipsanim odlivcima. U pitanju je svesna intencija autorke ka propitivanju ili čak otklonu od nametnutih okvira i ustaljenih modela dekoracije. Uvođenjem novih materijala, još naglašenije menja strukturu i dinamiku klasičnih ćilima, kao i njihovu upotrebnu, estetsku i istorijsku vrednost. Svodi ih na postupak redefisanja dosadašnjih saznanja i demistifikaciju prethodno izgrađenih simbola.
Istražujući mogućnosti formalne i značenjske promene odabranog ready-made objekta, razvija postupak njegove razgradnje na osnovne, početne impulse i elemente, činom paranja tkanine. Sam proces trasformacije beleži kamerom, dok u prirodnom ambijentu započinje kontinuirani postupak izvlačenje niti iz tkanine postavljene na razboj. Performativnim aktom unosi promene u dotadašnju strukturu vekovnog kućnog fetiša - ćilima, i rekostruiše ga kreirajući nove objekte. Monumentalne, svedene instalacije od poderanih (pocepanih) ćilima, razvučenih golih niti / potki u prostoru, otkrivaju samo obrise prethodnog tkanja i luksuznog dizajna. Na izložbi, objekte upotpunjuju video zapisi specifičnog performativnog gesta autorke, sa procesom njihove redukcije i preobražaja.
Naglašavajući cikličnost i repetativnost radnje, Ana Vujović istovremeno podcrtava proces automatizacije, te mogućnosti ne samo pojave greške (glitch) u zadatom modelu, kao što je to bio slučaj u njenoj dosadašnjoj umetničkoj praksi, već i naglog prekida neke funkcije (Ctrl-Alt-Del) i ponovnog uspostavljanja osveženog sistema (Reboot). Izbor metodologije rada je direkno povezan sa konceptualnom premisom, koja doprinosi celovitijoj povezanosti anolognog i digitalnog proizvoda, kao i mogućnosti ispitivanja višenitnog, kontinuiranog procesa stvaranja, sistemskog ponavljanja, izazivanja promene i iznenadnog prekida, te uvođenja novih aktivnosti i zadataka. Simulirajući navedene mehanizme kroz primer tkanja i paranja ćilima, autorka suptilno progovara o društvenom stanju, problemu prisutne retradicionalizacije, te potrebi za izazivanjem neophodne promene.
Kako se tkanje može posmatrati važnim za uspostavljanje procesa automatizacije, pojavu modernog kompjutera i digitalne tehnologije (Sedi Plant, 1996), tako je ono i primer društveno-istorijski nisko vrednovanog, uglavnom ženskog, kreativnog rada. Tkanje se kao hipermedij razlikuje od dominantnog čula vida u vizuelnoj umetnosti, te afirmiše taktilnost, odnosno dodir kao integralno čulo komunikacije, kontakta i prenošenja. Što nas navodi da umetničku prasku Ane Vujović posmatramo i kroz razmatranje pozicije rodnih uloga i odnosa kroz istoriju, analize mehanizama iz prošlosti, procesa repatrijarhalizacije društva, ali i afirmacije uspostavljaja novih relacija i povezivanja. Praksa tkanja je kroz istoriju predstavljala element kolektivnog, ženskog znanja koje se prenosilo sa generacije na generaciju. U kojem je svaki element promene proizvodnog procesa bio podstaknut uvođenjem novih izazova i saznanja. Istovremeno, mogućnost proširivanja čulnih doživljaja, taktilnim, zvučnim i telesnim afektima, je jedna od osnovnih odlika imerzivnih sadržaja, te važna za razvoj medijskih i postmedijskih saznanja.
Koliko se autorka bavi pitanjima suživota različitosti i isprepletenosti nasleđa, te multikulturalnosti karakteristične za Balkan, vidljivo je u njenoj intenciji da pored analize Pirotskog ćilima, kojim se već duže bavi, pronađeni i onaj iz Sandžačkog kraja. Objekad od crne tkanine (marama) i bakra, referiše na muslimanski segment prisutan u našoj kulturi, te proces potrage za potisnutim narativima. Geometrijski, apstrakni objekat/modul navodi na mogućnost tranformacije u različitim smerovima i naglašava potrebu za igrom i promenom. Koliko je čitanje tradicionalnih obrazaca danas moguće i istinito ostaje pitanje, te koliko zavisno od lokalnih politika i društvenog konteksta. Zašto je toliko teško pronaći podatke o Sandžačkom ćilimu, “mistično je isto koliko i verovanje da je Pirotski ćilim naš”, navodi autorka. Zato pored Petrovog ćilima (2017), kreira Zehrin ćilim (2021), kao početni impuls za dalja kulturološka i formalna istraživanja.
Na izložbi Ctrl+Alt+Del, Ana Vujović nastavlja svoje bavljenje postavljenim vrednostima, ali i skrivenim i potisnutim istinama u lokalnoj kulturi. Teži njihovom problematizovanju i preformulaciji. Primenjuje jezik informacionih komunikacionih tehnologija, medijske i postmedijske umetničke prakse, kombinujući ga sa klasičnim tehnikama i znanjima. Umetničkom praksom koja balansira na granici skulpture i digitalne umetnosti, predstavlja jednu od retkih autorki koja propituje elemente kolektivnih identiteta, ideologizacije nasleđa i mogućnosti manipulacije informacijama.
November, 2021.