Performing Memory: From October 75 to October XXX

• In Event: Yugoslav Aesthetics I: October 75—Fifty Years On

Abstract

This paper explores the intersection of contemporary art, memory politics, and aesthetics. It focuses on the counter-exhibition “October 75” (1975), Lutz Becker’s film “Kino Notes” (1975), and the performance “October XXX” (2012), analyzing their aftermath and ongoing political relevance. Through these case studies, I examine how artistic practices serve as a medium of transgenerational dialogue, where memory is not merely archived but actively performed, contested, and reinterpreted within new historical circumstances.


In 1973, Lutz Becker screened his film “Art in Revolution” (1972) at the Second April Encounters held at the Student Cultural Center (SKC) in Belgrade. Two years later, “October 75” was organized at SKC, presenting a publication of essays that theorized the societal role of political art practices rather than exhibiting artworks. In “Kino Notes”, Becker documents key figures of the neo-avant-garde scene—including Dunja Blažević, Jerko Denegri, Raša Todosijević, and Bojana Pejić (and others)—who perform staged readings of their essays from “October 75”.

In 2012, Jelena Vesić revisited these discussions by bringing together protagonists of the post-Yugoslav art scene, such as Branimir Stojanović, Milica Tomić, and Antonia Majaca (and others) for “October XXX”, an eight-hour durational performance that mirrored the standard workday. The participants reflected on their working conditions during the neoliberal transition while engaging with the legacy of “October 75”. This performance not only reactivated the discourse of “October 75” but also questioned the evolving conditions of artistic labor in the post-Yugoslav context. By restaging past debates within a contemporary framework, “October XXX” highlighted both continuities and ruptures in the relationship between art and ideology.

Author

• Dejan Vasic, Stanford U