Artists gathered in a temporary or permanent group with common aims have appeared numerous times throughout history. Collective art practice is a result of this kind of initiative, which may share certain ideological, aesthetic, political, cultural, economic or technological views and resources. International avant-garde movements, neo-avantgarde and post-avantgarde practices gave birth to many collective art initiatives and projects that were, for the most part, important in and for larger emancipation efforts in the art world. One of the reasons for this lies in the social power of collective performance.
In the (post-)Yugoslavian cultural space, through the late 20th century and later, various art collectives emerged, often gathering around shared ideological and political beliefs and goals. Alongside the concrete artworks they produce, collective art practice is also often preserved as documentation of various ephemeral actions, as archives, textual statements, manifestos and various artefacts, all of which form an integral part of their collective art discourse and knowledge production. Very often, however, it was not preserved at all, since it was for the most part largely invisible and integrated into the lifestyle of the collective. Today, in our technology-based networked society 'collectivity' as a concept in the art world is also spread and practiced through DIWO (do-it-with-others) collaborative project development techniques and procedures which unite individuals with similar interests across time zones and geographic and cultural distances.
The collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina preserves some wonderful examples of collective art practice from the region. Some, through their practice, introduced new technologies of considerable, broader importance.
1970s / 1970.
Film, super 8
© Muzej savremene umetnosti Vojvodine. Photo: Marko Ercegović
Photo-documentation of the action
© Muzej savremene umetnosti Vojvodine, photo Marko Ercegović
Software-semioticon
© Muzej savremene
Video, duration 3’51” ed. 1/3
© Muzej savremene umetnosti Vojvodine