Following
the revolutionary traditions of the Staro Zhelezare village, in 2017 we focused
on a utopian and at the same time avant-garde project of creating here the
center of modernity and openness in art. We wanted to try somehow to encourage
young people to return to the countryside. That is why the slogan of this
edition was "OPEN VILLAGE / VILLAGE AVANT-GARDE".
At the beginning of the 20th century there were local partisans who wanted to change the fate of the inhabitants. Today, we artists, in times of peace and prosperity, but also in times when the village gradually disappears and dies, decided to give impetus to revive life, impulse for a beautiful future, impulse for an unlimited RURAL FUTURISM !!!
At the beginning of the 20th century there were local partisans who wanted to change the fate of the inhabitants. Today, we artists, in times of peace and prosperity, but also in times when the village gradually disappears and dies, decided to give impetus to revive life, impulse for a beautiful future, impulse for an unlimited RURAL FUTURISM !!!
In
2017, it was the main idea and purpose of murals painted by artists, but also a
message of happenings and revolutionary MANIFESTATIONS. When entering Staro
Zhelezare, one could read the propaganda slogans displayed on our art camp.
REAL AVANT-GARDE IS BORN IN THE VILLAGE! VILLAGE IS THE SOURCE OF PROGRESSIVE
IDEAS! ALL ARTISTS TO THE VILLAGE! IN THE CITY A MAN EXPLOITS A MAN, AND IN THE
VILLAGE IT’S JUST THE OPPOSITE!
It was a totally absurd and dadaistic project,
but that is why, going beyond the logic of today, extremely engaging.
We
clearly went beyond the painting itself, and the most important moment of the
festival became a huge manifestation of artists with banners riding on a tractor.
The village was bursting by the participants. Such an outdoor action in public
space, with a direct message, had a response incomparable to any gallery cube.
Inside the gallery space, it would never be possible to provoke so high and so
mass level of emotions and engagement.
It
was a procession responding to nostalgia for the avant-garde times that gave an
idealistic vision of better future built on the irreplaceable energy of young
people.
Our reference to the avant-garde was not accidental. 2017 was the year celebrating not only the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, but also the year celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Polish avant-garde and the first avant-garde manifesto. The motif of the avant-garde perfectly synchronizes with the revolutionary roots of Staro Zhelezare, with its rebellious genes. Therefore, after Dadaists, the main fathers of world avant-garde, who opposed the ruthless reality by absurdities - the artists expressed their artistic postulates, goals and needs in a happening based on absurdity.
Our reference to the avant-garde was not accidental. 2017 was the year celebrating not only the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, but also the year celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Polish avant-garde and the first avant-garde manifesto. The motif of the avant-garde perfectly synchronizes with the revolutionary roots of Staro Zhelezare, with its rebellious genes. Therefore, after Dadaists, the main fathers of world avant-garde, who opposed the ruthless reality by absurdities - the artists expressed their artistic postulates, goals and needs in a happening based on absurdity.
It can be said that the common feature of our activities in Staro Zhelezare is the romantic vision of art as a carrier of positive utopias and the belief that "art can change the world". This is an optimistic vision of the future that is currently lacking so much among the residents. At the universal level, it is a dream about a world without borders, free from inequality, domination and ethnocentrism.
MANIFESTO
OF VILLAGE AVANT-GARDE
REAL
AVANT-GARDE IS BORN IN THE VILLAGE!
VILLAGE
IS THE SOURCE OF PROGRESSIVE IDEAS!
STARO
ZHELEZARE IS THE SOURCE OF PROGRESSIVE IDEAS!
ALL
ARTISTS TO THE VILLAGE!
VILLAGE
FUTURISM IS COMMING!
LONG
LIVE THE WORLDWIDE VILLAGE ART – DECISIVE FACTOR OF SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT!
IN
THE CITY A MAN EXPLOITS A MAN, AND IN THE VILLAGE IT’S JUST THE OPPOSITE!
CITIZENS!
BE READY FOR VILLAGE AVANT-GARDE!
EACH
VACCINATED VILLAGE ARTIST – THE PILLAR OF HUMANITY DEVELOPMENT!
LET’S
RAISE ART TO A HIGHER LEVEL!
VILLAGE
AVANT-GARDE IS INEVITABLE!
ARTISTS
ON BARRICADES!
