Presentation and comment
Wednesday, 6 October 2021 at 6 pm
Project Room SCCA, Metelkova 6, Ljubljana
In frame of the exhibition 3 + 3 = 6. Three artists, three artistic practices, six decades – the second part, on view in the SCCA Project Room until 8 October (11 am – 3 pm), we are preparing an event with Blaž Lukan, a connoisseur and researcher of performance art in Slovenia. The exhibition, which features costumes, posters, leaflets, catalogues, photographs, screenplays, storyboards, texts, critiques and other paraphernalia from private and public archives, can be a stimulus for him to think about the lack of performance art archives in our country. Namely, all three artists at the exhibition, Ana Nuša Dragan, Zemira Alajbegović and Ema Kugler, included live action in their artistic practice, from happening and event to performance.
Blaž Lukan has been writing about performance in particular for the last decade, most theoretical contributions on this topic are collected in the book Performativne pisave: razprave o performansu in gledališču [Performative Gestures: Essays on Performance Art and Theatre] and are dedicated to the work of authors and groups such as Janez Janša, Via negativa, Ive Tabar, Ema Kugler. In the last few articles he has discussed the performative practices of Marko Brecelj, Lela B. Njatin, Silvan Omerzu and others. Theoretically, he also reflected on some key performance-related topics, such as profession of performer, archiving of performance, reconstructions in performance, “new performance”, etc. In 2012, he prepared the exhibition Performance Archive as part of the exhibition Present and Presence / Repetition 1, and in 2016, a section on performative practices at the exhibition Crises and New Beginnings. Art in Slovenia 2005-2015, both at MSUM Ljubljana.
Blaž Lukan (1955) received his PhD from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of the University of Ljubljana (UL AGRFT) in 2006. In addition to working as a dramaturg in theatre and film, he writes theatre reviews, accompanying texts in published plays by Slovenian and foreign authors as well as scientific papers in the field of drama and the theory of performing arts. He was the artistic director of the Glej (Experimental) Theatre (1985–1988) and Celje (People’s) Theatre (1989–1993). He works as an assistant professor of dramaturgy at UL AGRFT and head of the department of dramaturgy and performing arts. He is the author of numerous books, among them Gledališki pojmovnik za mlade [Theatre Glossary for Young People] (1996), Slovenska dramaturgija: dramaturgija kot gledališka praksa [Slovenian Dramaturgy: Dramaturgy as Theatre Practice] (2001), Performativne pisave: razprave o performansu in gledališču [Performative Gestures: Essays on Performance Art and Theatre] (2013), Turški lok [Turkish Bow: Essays on Slovenian Drama] (2019). (photo: MZaplotnik)
Photo: SCCA-Ljubljana archive
The exhibition 3 + 3 = 6 is part of the project Not Yet Written Stories is managed by the Arton Foundation in Warsaw, and in addition to the SCCA-Ljubljana, the Zagreb Office for Photography and the Riga Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art are involved. Each partner organization will focus the research on female artists who have often been overlooked in the history of contemporary art.
Organization: SCCA-Ljubljana / DIVA Station
Supported by: EU program Creative Europe, City of Ljubljana – Department for Culture
