The Influence of the Nation-State on Art - The Case of the Former Yugoslavian Countries

Final Project of the Master of Visual Art Administration at New York University

Shinya Watanabe

Outline

I. Introduction

The nation-state and nationalism are problematic constructs that have a negative effect on art, artists, and exhibitions. The end of the Cold War transformed the power balance of the world, unleashing different effects of nationalism in the world, especially in the former communist countries. In the case of Yugoslavia, the corruption of the communist regime and the chaos of the economy directly triggered the lure of nationalism. Local politicians stirred up this nationalism through mass media, causing bloody wars.

There are some artists who confronted the situation of the former Yugoslavia: Marina Abramovic, Sanja Ivekovic, Susan Sontag, Mary Kelly, and Michael Nyman. However, the evaluations of these artists are caught up in a complex situation, because such evaluations are determined by the structure of the nation-state. The war is a battle between nation-states. The evaluations of the artists also depend upon the inside or outside of the nation-states, since the nation (citizens within the state) organize the structure of state in the modern democracy.

Moreover, history is always written by winners. So it is the winners who evaluate the value of artworks in subsequent art-historical commentary.

By investigating the case of Yugoslavia, this paper will identify and discuss the issue of the nation-state and art, and offer some possible solutions.

A. Beginning of Nation-States

a. Greek Cities and Ancient Rome
b. The Coronation of Charlemagne
c. Creation of Commercial City-States
d. Creation of Modern Nation-State
e. French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the Partisans in Spain
f. Effect of the Napoleonic Wars in Croatia and Slovenia

B. The Twentieth Century in Europe

a. Carl Schmitt and Theory of Partizan - Emergence of Nazism
b. Mixture of Marxism-Leninism - The Creation of Yugoslavia as a Product of Partisan Activity
c. New Definition of Inside and Outside
d. Different Definition of Nationalism - Edward Carr, Hannah Arendt and Benedict Anderson
e. Language Nationalism and the Creation of Serbo-Croatian

�U Overture of Chaos in Yugoslavia

A. Power Dynamics

a. Yugoslavia until Tito’s Death
b. The Diversity of Yugoslavia
c. Death of Tito and the Corruption of Yugoslavia
d. Flow of Capital and Changing Perception
e. Emergence of Nationalism in Slovenia and Croatia
f. Independence of Croatia and the Role of Germany
g. International Recognition of the Independence of Croatia
h. New Problems in Bosnia
i. The Role of the United States
j. New Spark in Bosnia

B. Changing Perception

a. The Bosnian Government’s Employment of Ruder Finn Inc - Shifting a Civil War to an Independence War
b. Fake Report from the Concentration Camp
c. Upsurge in International Awareness - Voices Justifying Intervention
d. The Changing Function of the UN and NATO
e. Kosovo War
f. Emergence of the Kosovo Liberation Army
g. The Bombing of Serbian Military and Cities by NATO
h. Media Report on Kosovo - Who are the People in Kosovo? -Strategy of the United States and the European countries

III. Interpretation and Censorship

A. Interpretation and the Difficulty of Finding an Appropriate Venue

a. Susan Sontag’s production of Waiting for Godot - for the citizen in Sarajevo?
b. Her sympathy toward Bosnian Muslims
c. Sontag’s Theory about NATO’s Intervention
d. Position of Sontag after the Kosovo War
e. The Changing Role of KLA: from Terrorist Group to Freedom Fighters
f. The Rambouillet Peace Treaty - Corruption of European Politics
g. Intellectuals against the Intervention of NATO
h. The Reputation of Sontag -Inside and Outside of the Nation -
i. Prize for Sontag and the Relationship of the Nation-States

B. Censorship
Comparison of Marina Abramovic’s Performance at the Venice Biennale, and Sanja Ivekovic’s Performance Miss Croatia and Miss Brazil Read Zizek and Chomsky at the Sao Paolo Biennale

a. The Representative of Yugoslavia in Venice during the War
b. Marina Abramovic, the Biggest Name in Europe, and Protection by the Curator
c. Protection by the Curator in Venice Biennale
d. The Case of Sanja Ivekovic - An Artist from Croatia Who Lives and Works in Zagreb
e. Sanja Ivekovic’s Critical Viewpoint
f. Invitation to the Sao Paolo Biennale
g. Response from the Curator and Art Critique in Croatia
h. The Importance of Sanja Ivekovic’s case

C. Who should interpret it?

a. International Recognition and the Image of the “Balkans” - the Stereotypical Image from Europe and Political Correctness
b. The Dilemma of Liberalism and Pareto Efficiency in Democracy That is Created by a Nationalistic Government

IV. Conflicting Agendas

A. A Regional Exhibition Problem - The case of The Ballad of Kastriot Rexhepi by Mary Kelly and Michael Nyman

a. An Article in the Los Angeles Times on July 31, 1999
b. Mary Kelly’s Opera The Ballad of Kastriot Rexhepi
c. Her Psychoanalytic Point of View
d. Why in California and New York, Not in Europe?

B. The Winner and the Loser in the Capital Letters of HISTORY

a. Help the History - History is Always Written by Winners, so We Need to Rescue the History

V Conclusion

a. Need to Find Alternatives to the Nation-State
b. Need to Solve the Decision-Making Method of Democracy
c. Need to Solve the Problem of Global Capitalism - New Association Movement as an Alternative
d. Need to Solve the Problematic Effect of Mass Media

Bibliography

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