Politika

Kada se govori i piše o međusobnom prožimanju stripa i savremene likovne umetnosti, postoji opasnost da se upadne u jedan od dva već uveliko utvrđena stereotipa.Sa jedne strane, vrlo često se potencira sama likovnost unutar žanrovski striktno izvedenog i u table postrojenog crteža, koji ne dovodi u pitanje konvencije klasičnog ili alternativnog stripa, već stvara za strip vrlo standardan izraz, što deluje nešto malo “umetničkije” od uobičajnog.

Sa druge strane, sa gledišta sa koga se strip sagledava kao podkulturna tvorevina iz koje likovni umetnici mogu da crpe motive, kao likovni radovi koji trpe uticaj stripa, prepoznaju se oni, koji reprodukuju kadrove iz nekog konkretnog stripa preuzete, koji potom transformišu ili se njima retorički poigravaju, zauzimajući pritom neko metastanovište, i podrzumevajući da je jezik likovne umetnosti na vrlo hijararhiski način nadređen jeziku stripa. Ograničenost oba ova sistema, prepoznavanja odnosa stripa i savremene umetnosti, je u tome da se prepozna samo direktan transfer iz jedne oblasti u drugu.

Da sve to može da bude drugačije, to jest da se iskustvo rada na stripu može analitički primeniti na produkciju radova koji preispituju granice delovanja žanrovskih konvencija u likovnom i oblikovnom prikazivanju, pokazuje izložba Aleksandera Ćurića, pod nazivom „Servis za dinamiku prostora (izložba prostorno i alternativnog stripa)“. Ćurić ovu izložbu realizuje kao dobitnik nagrade Galerije SKCa za inovaciju u strip umetnosti na Petom međunarodnom salonu stripa, održanom u SKCu 2007. godine, i uvod je u ovogodišnji Salon. Iako se, na prvi pogled, izložba opaža kao niz prostornih instalacija sa veoma fizički prisutnim elementima, od kojih neki imaju i skulpturalne karakteristike, povezane fragmentima tekstova što uvode neku vrstu naracije, koja tek asocira na stripovsku, uza šta je gotovo naknadno dodato i svega nekoliko standardnih strip tabli na jednom od zidova, njen autor insistira na tome da je to izložba „prostornog i alternativnog stripa“.

Argumenti za to leže u formalnom strukturisanju elemenata instalacija, koji bivaju uvedeni u sistem ponavljanja i kadriranja koji konstituiše sled, koji odgovara sledu vizualnih materijala u okviru pojedinačnih strip tabli. To omogućava da se fragmenti zida sa elementima instalacije, opaze kao neka vrsta strip tabli. Kvalitet ove izložbe čini upravo to područije ambivalentnosti u koje nas uvodi. To sve i jeste i nije strip, i jeste i nije neka vrsta prostornog i u skulpturalne matrijale uvedenog crteža, sa elementima narativnog teksta.

U tome leži i njen konceptualni aspekt, koji je povezuje sa istorijom i programskim karakterom prostora u kome se izvodi, i čini kontekstualno primerenom. Tako se strip pravi od pleha, gvožđa i iverice, koji tvore minimalističke objekte, koji potom bivaju ubačeni u kadar i bivaju povezani pričom. Strip se stoga u okviru ove postavke ne prikazuje, već izvodi. Na taj način se jezik stripa tu postavlja na istu razinu, na kojoj je jezik savremene likovne umetnosti, te se stoga i postavlja pitanje mogućnosti neke vrste jezičkih igara koje kombinuje performativne elemente i jednog i drugog.

Stevan Vuković

Politika, 20. september 2008

When it is discussed and written about interlocking of strip and modern arts, there is that danger of characterization in those two already stereotypical models. One, it is often quoted that “artistic forms themselves” , within strict genre-orientated strip, strictly depicted and “locked” into boards of drawings, which don’t argue with conventions of classic or alternative strip, but that are creating very standardized expressions, which may seem a little “more artistic” than the usual.

In the other hand, the viewing point of of strip which observes them as “sub-cultural” creations from which the artists can draw their motives, and as far as those works which are influenced by strip, those are recognized by reproductions of the shots taken from some particular strip, and which are then transformed, or being rhetorically played with, and then taking on some metaphysical stances, and during all this, they take the attitude that the “painter’s” language is hierarchical very superior in comparison to the language of the strip. The limitations of these two stereotypes, the recognizing of relations of strip and modern art, is the ability to recognize just the direct transfers from one area into another.

The possibility that all of that can be different, that is, that the experience of making strip can be analytically applied to the production of works which question the limits of genre conventions in artistic and formal displays is shown by the Alexander’s exhibit known as the “SERVICE FOR SPATIAL DYNAMICS” (showcasing the spatial and alternative strip). Alexander releases this exhibit as the winner of the SCC (student cultural center, Belgrade) award for “innovation of the strip arts” at the annual 5th International strip Salon hosted by SCC in september 2007, and his exhibit was the introduction to this year’s strip salon in SCC. Even though this exhibition is observed, at first glance, as the serie of spatial installations, with physically very present elements, where some have an explicit sculptural qualities, combined together with text fragments which introduce some form of narration, which resembles, but barely just the strip narration, and by which are joined just but a few standard strip boards, hung on one wall, and it’s author insists that this is the “Exhibition of Spatial and alternative strip”.

The arguments for that lie in the formal structure of the installation’s elements, which are introduced in the system of repetitions and cadres which constitute certain order of appearance, and which is in order with visual materials within individual strip boards. That enables the fragments of the wall together with the elements of the installation to show themselves as some kind of strip boards. The quality of this exhibition is the ambivalent grounds it leads us to. That is and it is not a strip, it is and it isn’t a kind of a spatial drawing and materials, with elements of narrative text.

The conceptual aspect of it lies just in that, which links it with the history and program character of the space it is presented into, and enables it to be conceptually suitable. That’s how the strip is made out of iron, plywood and brass, which create minimalistic objects, and their insertion into cadre follows, and they are then bonded together with a text.

A strip in this manner is not displayed, it is “performed”. That way the language of strip is put on the same level as the language of the modern art, and therefore the question is asked about some kind of lingual play which combines the performance levels of both together.

Stevan Vukovic,

Published in the newspaper Politika, 20. september 2008.