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Nenad Bogdanovic Serbia
Born 1955 in Odzaci, northern Serbia, Nenad Bogdanovic has been producing unique forms in art since 1975 with participation in over 500 exhibitions that span more than 40 countries. Between 1984 and 1988 he founded and published the art magazines “TOTAL’ and ‘SECOND MANIFESTO’ that served largely as vehicles for his prolific activity in the Mail Art movement. Simultaneously borne out of a critique of the cultural anachronism of international gallery structures and as a means by which artists living under political and geo-alienated contexts could communicate with the wider world the magazines had international distribution. In 1992-95 Serbia had trade blockades imposed as a result of the policies of Slobodan Milosovic’s regime. As part of the anti-embargo movement taking hold among artists throughout Serbia he began the two activities that continue to inform his practice today – ‘NETWORKER GALERY’ and ‘MAN GALLERY’. Declaring himself a gallery he invites the viewer to paint and install objects on his body, often documenting the participative act on Polaroid film. The naming and transforming of his physical being into a site for art imbues the activity with indices of process and invests the human form with a cultural significance that extends discourse beyond the representational and anthropologic. In early 1998 he founded Multimedial Art Studio (MAS) and by the end of the year had founded the International Multimedial Art Festival / IMAF. IMAF takes place annually and combines a Performance Art meeting with an accompanying exhibition of Performance documents contributed by artists worldwide. He is Director of MAS/IMAF art archive and in 2003 represented Serbia at the Venice Biennale. During enforced military service in the Serb-Croat war he was, along with Aleksandar Jovanovic, a founder of the Serbian Network Coalition of Artists Against War.
Kenny McBride / PAC
PAC presents - A 24-hour exhibition of documents showing many different aspects of 25 years of Nenad Bogdanovic's output including the poster art of his organising activities and 2 tables laid out with the original copies of ‘Total' and ‘Second Manifesto' Mail Art magazines that he edited.
PERFORMANCE. 'MAN GALLERY: SERBIA II'
On one wall was positioned a grid of A4 sheets of paper, each expressing a comment written by artist-respondents to an email from Bogdanovic asking them to describe their observations on Serbia. This continued his familiar approach of promoting dialogue in art. In front of this Bogdanovic stood naked except for a map of the Republic of Serbia worn around his waist. His ankles and wrists were bound with heavy chains, those from his wrists descending from up high on the ceiling held his arms uncomfortably out and upright for the duration of the Performance. At his feet lay several black marker pens and a set of instructions inviting the audience to choose a text from the wall and write it once more, this time upon his body. Over time, and to a background audio of Orthodox chanting, people followed his request, framing a compendium of abstracts upon his flesh.
When the West falters in it's understanding, or in it's desire to understand, the Balkan context it all too easily and often allows itself to conclude sensationally. Bogdanovic's Performance serves as an illustration of exactly how dangerous that collusion can be. The few positive texts were virtually lost in the intensity of the weighted bias and confusion that is bedfellow to ignorance – a telling pointer to our televisual experience of the Balkans. After twenty-five minutes of his arms and hands being suspended by chains the blood began to drain from one.
A viewer pointed out that in all of the images displayed 360° around him in the room from previous ‘MAN GALLERY' incarnations Bogdanovic most generally had his arms outstretched, a welcoming host. But in this final Performance of the ‘MAN GALLERY' series he appears shackled, his flesh whipped by the tongues of others, and blood draining from a hand.
Past ‘MAN GALLERY' Performances have seen the artist being painted on in bright colours, poetry installed with glue and tape, the head of Japanese artist Shimamoto lying upon it, rubber stamps stamped on it, dressed in Cavelline's Mail Art, and outdoors covered with nature. And many more.
Once again it was shown how unique the 'MAN GALLERY' body of work is, both conceptually and as a venue for people to expose themselves upon.
The map featured the habitats of wild birds within Serb territory.
