The Laboratory of the Museum of American Art in Prishtina
The Night Watch at the Museum of American Art in Prishtina
My Dear, This Is Not What It Seems to be
An Interviews with Walter Benjamin, by Beti Žerovc
19 June 2024 at 21:00
Henrik Bariç 23, 10000 Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo
Artwork, author, museum, meaning, history, the line of history, colonisation, copies, memories, reconstruction, deconstruction — how do we think about history, art and ourselves in the field of art or in life? For us as artists, thinkers, curators or viewers (audience), this is an opportunity to have a different perspective on what has been done and to take time to reflect and question what we are doing or planning.
In the field of contemporary art, concepts such as an independent artist, an independent curator, an experimental museum and an authorless collection have emerged as key elements that challenge conventional paradigms of creation, curation and presentation. These notions disrupt established norms and promote innovation, inclusivity and critical discourse in the art world and beyond. We explore these questions in relation to the Museum of American Art in Prishtina and consider these concepts in relation to the local and international scene for the present and future. We will read Beti Žerovc's interview with Walter Benjamin, which is part of the book What is Modern Art? Modern Art Introduction Series 2.
We will start by exploring the artworks in our museum and prepare the ground for our discussion. We will focus on how history, colonisation and memory influence the art world and our perceptions and how art and historicization through museums can influence society. This event is aimed at artists, thinkers, curators and art lovers. It is a chance to share your perspectives, engage in meaningful dialogue and gain a deeper understanding of how art influences and reflects our identities and history.
Walter Benjamin is one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century, having published a range of works on culture and society. However, he is perhaps best known for his ideas on art and authenticity, challenging the assumption that the original artwork is more valuable to society than its photographic reproduction. He was associated with a group of German intellectuals and philosophers known collectively as the Frankfurt School, though he did not always share their radical political views on modern society.
His essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1936) was an incisive analysis of the social importance of photography, while his Arcades Project (1927-40) helped set the foundations of what became known as critical and cultural theory. Though relatively unknown in his own lifetime, his writing had a profound impact on subsequent aesthetic theory, cultural and literary criticism, artistic practice, and the emergence of various postmodern art movements.
Beti Žerovc is a Slovene art historian and art theorist. She holds a doctoral degree in art history from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana, where she works as a researcher. Her areas of research are visual art and the art system since the mid-nineteenth century, focusing on their role in society.
Žerovc is the author of numerous articles in Maska (Ljubljana), Život umjetnosti (Zagreb), Springerin (Vienna), Site (Stockholm), Manifesta Journal, and elsewhere, as well as several books in Slovene: Rihard Jakopič – Artist and Strategist (cf., 2002), The Curator and Contemporary Art: Conversations (Maska, 2008), and Curatorial Art: The Role of the Curator in Contemporary Art (Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, 2010).
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The reading material is available in English.
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This event and the series are part of research and learning exercises, part of the laboratory of the educational program of the Museum of American Art in Prishtina, part of the of Activity 2 of the program "Empowerment of Cultural Engagement and Artistic Growth in Kosovo - FAKRRA".
The program is a programmatic intervention of Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina and Museum of American Art in Prishtina that is based on continuous surveys and research of the current circumstances in independent institutions, the scene of art and culture in Kosovo and developments in public policies and public institutions, and institutions part of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.