![NSK Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/NSK_Logo.jpg)
Neue Slowenische Kunst (; NSK;
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
: "New Slovenian Art") is a
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
art collective that formed in Slovenia in
1984, when the
Socialist Republic of Slovenia was part of
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
. NSK's name was chosen to reflect the theme in its works of the complicated relationship
Slovenes
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...
have had with
Germans
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3,322,405
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. The name of NSK's music wing,
Laibach
Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...
, is also the German name of the Slovene capital
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
. The name created controversy because some felt it evoked memories of the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
annexation of Slovenia during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It also refers to Slovenia's previous seven centuries as part of the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
.
Composition
NSK was founded by the musical group
Laibach
Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...
. Other NSK members include groups such as
IRWIN Irwin may refer to:
Places
;United States
* Irwin, California
* Irwin, Idaho
* Irwin, Illinois
* Irwin, Iowa
* Irwin, Nebraska
* Irwin, Ohio
* Irwin, Pennsylvania
* Irwin, South Carolina
* Irwin County, Georgia
* Irwin Township, Venango County ...
(visual art),
Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre
The Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre ( sl, Gledališče sester Scipion Nasice) was founded on 13 October 1983 in Ljubljana by Eda Čufer, Dragan Živadinov and Miran Mohar, three Slovenian students.
The founders also wrote a manifesto ("The Sister ...
(also known as Red Pilot and Cosmokinetic Theatre Noordung),
New Collective Studio (graphics; also known as New Collectivism), Retrovision (film and video), and the
Department of Pure and Applied Philosophy
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
(theory).
[Anonymous. "State of Art: the new Slovene Avant Garde" (2004). ]Northwest Film Forum
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and Scala House, program for exhibit November 18–November 24, 2004 at Northwest Film Forum, Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.[Regina Hackett.]
Slovenian art collective is adept at working politics and art
. ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was foun ...
'', November 19, 2004. The founding groups of the NSK were Laibach, IRWIN, and Scipion Nasice Sisters Theater. Membership has traditionally been open to all artistic groups who show an interest in challenging the norms and taboos of Slovene national identity.
Characteristics
NSK art often draws on symbols from
totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...
or extreme
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
movements, often
appropriating totalitarian
kitsch
Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste.
The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation wi ...
in a visual style reminiscent of
Dada
Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...
. NSK artists often juxtapose symbols from different (and often incompatible) political ideologies. For example, a 1987 NSK-designed poster caused a scandal by winning a competition for the Yugoslavian
Youth Day
National Youth Day is a holiday dedicated to the youths of a country. It is observed by 18 countries, on many dates throughout the year. The United Nations agreed on the date of 12 August in 1999 in South Africa.
National Youth Day
Internationa ...
Celebration. The poster appropriated a painting by
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
artist
Richard Klein, replacing the
flag of Nazi Germany
The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the ap ...
with the
Yugoslav flag and the
German eagle
The coat of arms of Germany displays a black eagle with a red beak, a red tongue and red feet on a golden field, which is blazoned: ''Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked langued and membered gules''. This is the (German for "Federal Eagle"), for ...
with a dove.
Intended as an ironic joke, the painting soon fell foul of the authorities, who interpreted it as equating Marshal
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
with
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. It was later reproduced on the cover of ''
Mladina
''Mladina'' (English: Youth) is a Slovenian weekly left-wing political and current affairs magazine. Since the 1920s, when it was first published, it has become a voice of protest against those in power. Today, ''Mladinas weekly issues are dis ...
'' magazine, and that particular issue was subsequently banned.
The NSK was the subject of a 1996
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
entitled ''
Predictions of Fire
''Predictions of Fire '' or ''Prerokbe ognja'' is a 1996 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Benson about Neue Slowenische Kunst.
Synopsis
In 1991, SR Slovenia's violent secession from SFR Yugoslavia marked the first spark in the Yu ...
'' (''Prerokbe Ognja''), which was written and directed by
Michael Benson. Among those interviewed is Slovenian intellectual
Slavoj Žižek.
NSK State
Since 1991, the NSK has claimed to be a
sovereign state
A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...
of sorts, a claim similar to that of
micronation
A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...
s. As such, displays of its members' work are performed under the guise of an embassy, or a territory of the supposed state. Since 1994, the NSK has maintained
consulates
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...
in several cities, including
Umag
Umag (; it, Umago) is a coastal town in Istria, Croatia.
Geography
It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia.
Population
Umag has a population of 7,281, with a total municipal populatio ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
. It has also issued passports and postage stamps.
NSK passports are considered an art project. As such, they are not valid for travel.
In 2010, the first NSK Citizens Congress was held in Berlin. It was followed by a "NSK Rendez-Vous" in Lyon, France, where Alexei Monroe revealed NSK's aim : to make people "aware that totalitarianism isn't a discrete historical phenomenon which went on from 1933 to 1989 and then it's over so let's have a nice triumph of liberal democracy". On February 26, 2011, another "NSK Rendez-Vous" took place in London. In 2012, yet another "NSK Rendez-Vous" was set to take place in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
.
2017 saw NSK set up a pavilion at the
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
where
Slavoj Žižek stated that "the uniqueness of NSK is this idea of the 'stateless state'.
See also
*
Culture of Slovenia
Among the modes of expression of the culture of Slovenia, a nation-state in Central Europe, are music and dance, literature, visual arts, film, and theatre. A number of festivals take place, showcasing music and literature.
Dance
Ballet
Pi ...
*
New wave music in Yugoslavia
New wave in Yugoslavia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Нови талас, Novi talas; hr, Novi val; sl, Novi val; mk, Нов бран) was the new wave music scene of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As its counterparts, the British and the Amer ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Official website of NSK*
{{Authority control
Cultural organizations based in Slovenia
European artist groups and collectives
Joke political parties
Micronations
1984 establishments in Slovenia
1984 in art
Avant-garde art
Cultural history of Slovenia