Doctoral thesis / Doktorska Disertacija 

Innovative Concept in Dragan Živančević's Approach to Comics (Fresko Strip from 1992, the author's graduation project at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad [Fig. 58]) - a monumental comic strip (3.20 m x 4.20 m) that is fully displayed when applied to wall surfaces, remains one of the rare spatial comic experiments that, in the context of installation, reactualizes its significance. Aleksander Ćurić explores the position of comic readers and their relationship in contemporary media culture through his solitary experiments intended for the exterior (a page from the comic "In Search of Alexander the Great's Tomb" by Gilles Kramer and Damir Nikšić, installed on the roof of the Markale Market in Sarajevo [Fig. 59]), lucidly considering their oversized format. Comic experiments often come from authors who work in various related or different artistic fields, which seems completely logical when we consider that the treatment of "sacred space" in modern comics is akin to the treatment of the space of a picture, drawing, and, in some cases, sculpture.

The study "The Aesthetics of the Invisible - Tactility as a Structural Element in Comics" provides an extensive overview of the institutionalization of experimental comics through the programmatic activities of the International Salon of Comics in Belgrade and presents Aleksander Ćurić's concept of spatial comics:

"The Belgrade International Comic Salon, since its establishment in 2003, includes the "Innovation Award in Comic Art" in its author awards system, and it may be the only common ground where experimental approaches by authors can be seen over the years (now for over a decade and a half), encouraging them to act within the experimental field. This supports the importance of institutionalizing comics (as previously discussed), because even though there is a tendency towards generalization in a formal and content sense, it often implies consistency and continuity which, in this case, have contributed to reminding us of the importance of experimentation and the expressive uniqueness of the medium that progressively contributes to its development and endurance.

At the fifth Belgrade International Comic Salon in 2007, the work of author Aleksander Ćurić was particularly notable – a spatial comic titled "Story of a Proud Man." Although there were previous authors (N. Pejić, M. Veselinović, S. Restecka, and Ž. Sanecka [S. Restecka, J. Sanecka - Polish comic authors, author's note], B. Milenković) with interesting reflections, their works were more focused on technical modifications but hardly or minimally considered or questioned the structure of the medium itself. Aleksander's work, described as an installation in the catalog, is much more than a spatial arrangement, primarily due to its narrative potential.

The three-dimensionality in this work applies to multiple levels – formal, structural, and semantic-ideational – and, in this regard, the work goes beyond the understanding of installation as such, as it does not pertain to spatial intervention that constitutes the content of the space itself, i.e., an intervention that alters the perception of space or gives it specific meanings. The catalog of the fifth Salon features a review by Z. Stefanović, who particularly notes that "the greatest breakthrough in alternative expression did not occur in two-dimensional form (which merely confirmed the already established styles), but in the expansion of comic art beyond the paper medium – into installation, spatial intervention, and sculptural dimensions." This ultimately serves as a reminder and emphasizes the validity of the thesis regarding the independence of the medium from the ways of its technological realization. In September 2008, in relation to the awarded work, Ćurić organizes an exhibition of spatial comics titled "Space Dynamics Service" (Fig. 60-62) at the Student Cultural Center in Belgrade, where, in addition to the awarded work, he exhibits several other experiments based on a similar structuring principle. In the review of this exhibition, S. Vuković finds value and innovativeness in Ćurić's work in his departure from stereotypical relationships between comics and contemporary art, abandoning previously established direct transfers from one field to another. This change in approach to the medium, compared to previously awarded experiments, raises an important question about the structure of comics, which had not been considered until then. Therefore, concerning the materiality of the work itself, Ćurić emphasizes, "...it is entirely irrelevant what material the comic is made of; what matters is the correct psychological and visual approach to its story, panels, and pages as the final product."

Furthermore, the awarded experimental works at the Salon do not stand out for their particular innovativeness, except for M. Milinić Bogdanović's ergodic narrative (2010) and A. Gajić's works (2011, 2012). In both of Gajić's works ("Stone Comic" and "Rewind"), the approach to reading the work is interesting because it requires interactive engagement and a kind of tactile activity from the reader. Gajić's "Rewind" is significant as the first experimental work in the history of this event to receive the main Salon award (Grand Prix), making an exception among all previous and subsequent Salons (until 2018). Subsequently, authors experimented with materials without deviating from the classical narrative flow, returning to standardized media transfers, and eventually introducing sound into comics (A. Petrović, 2015), which is interesting from the perspective of the established "audio-visual essence" of the comic language.

The expansion of innovation from 2007, or non-standard approaches, was no longer repeated. However, the International Comic Salon remains an open space for all authors whose experimental works possess "a distinct visual poetics and thereby break stereotypes about this artistic medium."

Dragana Kupresanin, PhD

Doktorska disertacija Dragane Kuprešanin u kojoj spominje značaj Prostornog Stripa u okviru istorije eksperimentalnog stripa na prostoru Jugoslavije. Ovo je deo doktorata koji je relevantan.  6. Savremene stripske forme. Strana 83.

Inovativni koncept u pristupu stripu Dragana Živančevića (Fresko strip iz 1992. godine, diplomski rad autora na Akademiji umetnosti u Novom Sadu [Sl. 58]) - monumentalni strip (3,20 h 4,20 m) integralno saglediv tek apliciran na zidnim površinama, ostaje jedan od retkih prostornih strip eksperimenata, koji tek dvehiljaditih u kontekstu instalacije reaktuelizuje Aleksander Ćurić, dok usamljeni eksperimenti namenjeni eksterijeru (stranica stripa „Potraga za grobom Aleksandra Velikog”, autora Žila Kramera/Gilles Kramer i Damira Nikšića, postavljena na krov sarajevske pijace Markale [Sl. 59]) svojim predimenzioniranim formatom lucidno razmatraju poziciju čitaoca stripa i njihov odnos u savremenoj medijskoj kulturi. Eksperiment u stripu zato najčešće dolazi od autora koji deluju u više srodnih ili različitih umetničkih oblasti, što se čini potpuno logičnim, ako znamo da je prostor slike, crteža, ali u nekim slučajevima i skulpture, blizak tretmanu „posvećenog prostora”, kao što ga shvata moderni strip.

Studija Estetika nevidljivog – taktilnost u funkciji strukturalnog elementa stripa, daje opsežan prilog o institucionalizaciji eksperimentalnog stripa kroz programsko delovanje Međunarodnog salona stripa u Beogradu i prikaz koncepta prostornog stripa Aleksandera Ćurića:

"Beogradski Međunarodni salon stripa, od osnivanja (2003) u sistematizaciji nagrađivanja autora, učesnika Salona, uključuje i „nagradu za inovaciju u strip umetnosti” i to je možda jedino opšte mesto na kome se tokom godina (sada već više od decenije i po) mogu videti eksperimentalni pristupi autora, čime se podstiču da deluju u okviru eksperimentalnog polja. Navedeno govori u prilog važnosti institucionalizacije stripa (o čemu je već bilo reči), jer i ako ima težnju uopštavanja u formalnom smislu (pa i sadržajnom), ona neretko znači i doslednost i kontinuitet koji su u ovom slučaju samo doprineli podsećanju na važnost eksperimenta, odnosno izražajnu osobenost medija koja sukcesivno doprinosi njegovom razvoju i trajanju.

Na petom beogradskom Međunarodnom salonu stripa, 2007. godine je naročito bio zapažen rad autora Aleksandera Ćurića – prostorni strip: „Priča o ponositom čoveku”. Iako su mu prethodili autori (N. Pejić, M. Veselinović, S. Restecka i Ž. Sanecka [S. Restecka, J. Sanecka – poljske strip autorke, prim. aut.], B. Milenković) sa interesantnim promišljanjima, njihovi radovi više su se ticali tehničkih modifikacija, ali takvih koje su nimalo ili u tek neznatnoj meri uopšte razmatrale ili dovodile u pitanje strukturu samog medija. Aleksanderov rad, u samom katalogu opisan instalacijom, mnogo je više od prostorne postavke, najpre zbog narativnog potencijala.

Trodimenzionalnost u ovom radu odnosi se na više ravni – formalnu, strukturalnu i semantičko-idejnu – i po tome ovaj rad nadilazi poimanje instalacije kao takve, jer se ne odnosi na intervenciju u prostoru koja je sadržaj samog prostora, odnosno, onu intervenciju koja menja percepciju prostora niti mu daje neka značenja. Katalog petog Salona donosi recenziju Z. Stefanovića u kojoj posebno zapaža da se „najveći prodor u alternativnom izrazu nije desio u dvodimenzionalnoj formi (koja je samo likovno potvrdila već viđene škole), već u proširivanju stripske umetnosti van papirnog medijuma – na instalaciju, prostornu intervenciju i skulpturnu dimenziju”, čime se najzad podseća i iznova ukazuje na opravdanost teza o neuslovljenosti medija načinima njegove tehnološke realizacije. Ćurić povodom nagrađenog rada u septembru 2008. godine priređuje izložbu prostornog stripa u Studentskom kulturnom centru u Beogradu, pod nazivom „Servis za dinamiku prostora” (Sl. 60-62) gde, sem nagrađenog rada, izlaže i još nekoliko eksperimenata zasnovanih na sličnom principu strukturisanja. U prikazu ove izložbe S. Vuković vrednost i inovativnost u Ćurićevom radu, nalazi u napuštanju stereotipskih odnosa stripa i savremene umetnosti, (prethodno) utvrđenim direktnim transferima iz jedne oblasti u drugu. U ovoj promeni pristupa mediju, a u odnosu na prethodno nagrađivane eksperimente, postavljeno je važno pitanje o strukturi stripa, na način koji do tada nije bio razmatran. Zato i o materijalnosti u samom radu Ćurić ističe „...da je potpuno nebitno od kakvog materijala je strip, već ono, oko čega treba obratiti pažnju, jeste pravilan psihološki i vizualni pristup prema njegovoj priči, kadrovima i tabli kao završnom proizvodu.”

Nadalje se nagrađeni eksperimentalni radovi na Salonu ne ističu posebnom inovativnošću do ergodičke priče M. Milinić Bogdanović (2010) ili radova A. Gajića (2011, 2012). U oba Gajićeva rada ("Kameni strip" i "Premotavanje") interesantan je pristup čitanju rada, jer zahteva interaktivnost i neku vrstu taktilne aktivnosti čitaoca. Gajićevo "Premotavanje", značajno je kao prvi eksperimentalni rad u istoriji ove manifestacije koji je poneo i glavnu nagradu Salona (Grand Prix), čineći izuzetak svih prošlih i narednih Salona (do 2018). Autori su zatim eksperimentisali materijalima ne odstupajući od klasičnog narativnog toka, vraćajući se na standardizovane medijske transfere, do eventualnog uvođenja zvuka u strip (A. Petrović, 2015), koji je interesantan sa aspekta uvrežene "audio-vizuelne suštine" stripovskog jezika.

Ekspanzija inovacije iz 2007. godine, ili vanstandardni pristupi, nisu više ponavljani. Ipak, Međunarodni salon stripa ostaje otvoreni prostor delovanja za sve autore čiji eksperimentalni radovi imaju "posebnu likovnu poetiku i na taj način razbijaju stereotipe o ovom umetničkom mediju".

Dr. Dragana Kuprešanin