EXHIBITIONS
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TWPL, exhibition views, MSU Zagreb, 2016. Photos: K.Leko/D.Smithson.

THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE – REPORTS ON DISENGAGEMENT – A Didactic Exhibition in Eight Parts

Museum of Contemporary Art MSU Zagreb, 2016

Kristina Leko and associates
With the participation of: Family Bošnjak, Željko, Rade, Renata; family Burčak Igor, Nikolina, Kiril, Anica; Čorak Braco and Mira; family Čortan Jovica, Zora, Marijan, Ivana, Ljubica, Milovan; Ivica Franić; Jelica Hamer; Miki Jerković; Blaženka Kruljac; Lukšić family Stjepan, Zlatka, Toni; Marin Zvone family, Nevenka; Toni Miloloža; Tomislav Ožegović; family Pervan Stipan, Iva, Patricia, Anđelka, Niko; Pervan Marko; Ivo Radica; Salapić family Ljuban, Zora, Vesna, Josip, Silva, Marijana; Association of Croatian Veterans Suffering from PTSD in Šibenik-Knin County: Branko Smrček, leader, members of the association: Ante Cvitan, Ante Jurišić, Tomislav Vunić; family Zadro Ivan, Danica, Branko, Danko; Jerko Zadro. (for team and credits scroll down)

THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE – REPORTS ON DISENGAGEMENT was a cross-over project that merged field research, documentary film, visual anthropology, activism, theater pedagogy, and political education into an art exhibition. While its architecture referred to Lars von Trier’s Dogville, the exhibition was an attempt to implement Brecht’s instructive drama principles in the context of contemporary visual arts; by the means of a performative-educational program, which was held daily within the exhibition. Inspired by a groundbreaking study in the field of South Slavic social and economic sciences from the year 1936, the project was triggered by the extensive depopulation which hit Croatia starting in 2012. Divided in eight units, the show featured eight families and their communities in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It gave voice to small hard-working people who narrated their lives and reflected on local and national socioeconomics as well as formulated solutions to related problems. Besides emigration, corruption and obstruction of natural and social resources have been red threads connecting the collected field material.

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As mentioned above, the project drew its inspiration from the book of Rudolf Bićanić “The Way People Live – Life in the Passive Regions” written in 1936 upon the author’s release from prison, in which he had spent three years for his critical writing about the national economy and for political organizing among the peasants. On his release, Bićanić spent months travelling on foot around the infertile lands of Banovina Croatia (the title of the country at that time) and recorded in detail the social and economic relationships and conditions of life produced among the impoverished population by the crisis. Eighty years later, artist Kristina Leko travelled the same regions, from Livno, via Western Herzegovina, Lika, Dalmatinska zagora, the hinterland and the islands, and talked with people. Bićanić believed that ordinary people possessed economic wisdom which should be taken into account. Following in his footsteps, Leko recorded extensive interviews documenting the current socioeconomics. Giving voice to individuals from eight different localities, the exhibition sought solutions for local depressed economies. Is passivity and disengagement the dominant Croatian national psychological feature of today? How does one get out of the circle of passiveness? Where can we see the future? Eight completely ordinary families, people who work industriously and live relatively modestly, helped to answer those questions, and were featured in the show. First put on in the Museum of Contemporary Art MSU Zagreb, the exhibition has turned the museum space (1500m2) into an imaginary village of eight houses, drawing the ground plans on the floor. Inside each ground plan the material collected in situ was exhibited; video i.e. film material, documents, family and other photos, household and personal objects, memorabilia, and the authentic furnishing, with which several real-life living spaces were recreated 1:1 (and were simultaneously to be seen in the video documentaries). There were eight exhibition units, and each represented one family, and the related locality. Each unit was supplemented with a portrait of the family, a large-scale drawing and an oversized blackboard, on which an original text, a summary of the history of the family in the past hundred years, had been hand-written. Each unit showed two videos: one video documented the everyday life of the family while the other showed the conversations/interviews with family members on the topics of socioeconomics. An overview of chapters and themes with time slots enabled the audience to choose specific chapters. The conversations/interviews critically considered the local situation, and usually pointed out unused potentials, the obstruction of economic, natural and social resources, and the corruption. Besides that, the protagonists also formulated solutions. The idea of Rudolf Bićanić that ordinary people are indeed capable of reasoning economically, and that they know what is to be done for their community to have it better came out prominent in this project, which has been deliberately linking up with the current discourse on demystifying economic theories (Piketty, Varoufakis, among others). For the duration of the exhibition a performative-educational program took place daily within the exhibition whereby over twenty mediators (students in their 20s and recent graduates) worked with 17-18-year-old students, and staged and moderated extended two-hour discussions. In this manner, 2500 young people were actively involved in small-group conversation (6-10 persons) on pressing social and economic topics, reflecting the values of a democratic society, and pondering at the same time how to win their way through to a better economy and more equitable social relations. The reference point of the program had been the concept of an engaged and active audience implied by Brecht’s instructive dramas (Lehrstücke, didactic plays) in the early 1930s. This part of the project was conceived by the artist and developed in collaboration with philosopher Ankica Čakardić, theatre director Anica Tomić, and museum educator Kosjenka Laszo Klemar. In the course of the following two years, the exhibition has been shown in some of the participating communities hosted by local museums and schools, which participated in the educational program (Museum of the City of Šibenik, 2017; Archeological Museum Vis, 2017; Municipal Museum Drniš, 2018

RELATED
2016 Interview with Krisitna Leko from Vizkultura
2016 Text written by Klara Toncic, exhibition mediator

CREDITS
THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE – REPORTS ON PASSIVITY AND DISENGAGEMENT – a didactic exhibition in eight parts – was an exhibition project by Kristina Leko and associates that took place in the Museum of Contemporary Art MSU Zagreb, September 8 - October 21, 2016. Author of the project and exhibition: Kristina Leko Author of the exhibition setup: David Smithson Video production: Kristina Leko and Martin Semenčić, editing image and sound Camerawoman: Kristina Leko, additional cameras: Family Lukšić, fishing: Darko Škrobonja, Family Čortan, part of the interview and interior: Jurica Marković Educational-performative program: Kristina Leko in collaboration with dr. sc. Ankica Cakardic, Anica Tomic, and dr.sc. target="_blank">dr.sc. target="_blank">dr.sc. target="_blank">dr.sc. target="_blank">dr.sc. Kosjenka Laszlo Klemar. Exhibition Curator: Jasna Jakšić Assistant curator: Ana Bedenko Public relations: Jadranka Pintarić, Sonja Barbarić Proofreading: Jadranka Pintarić Project website: Veronika Albrant Graphics: Sanja Kuzmanović Guides of the educational-performative program: students of art history, museology, sociology, ethnology / cultural anthropology, multimedia, journalism, political science: Helena Blum, Jozefina Čurković, Sunčna Dorčć, Rea Drvar, Horvat Kristina, Ileana Kurtović, Majcen Martina, Domagoj Martinić, Ana Pia Matijaš, Barbara Ogresta, Ema Pavlović, Pranjić Tea, Marija Rojko, Santrić Marta, Sulcer Denis, Šegović Nina, Petra Škokić, Šindilj Veronika, Tepšić Sanja, Klara Tončć, Andrea Zeneral; elderly guides: Milena Borjan, Josipa Grčvić, Aleksandra Marić, Marija Žarić Textpannels hand written by: Jelena Godrijan, Maja Hudiček, Tina Novak, Larisa Smitran, Klara Šimunović, Aleksandra Vuk, Lucija Zeljko Exhibition set up team: Darko Čopec, Tea Horvatin, Višnja Igrec, Tomislav Jandriško, Renato Mihaljenović, Aleksandar Milošević, Robert Pavković, Zdenko Zavalić, Filip Zima, Volunteers: Larisa Smitran, Ana Pia Matijaš Project Board: Nikola Bajto, Nada Beroš, Dr. Ivo Bićanić, Dr. Ankica Čakardić, Ana Dević, Vedran Horvat, Iva Radmila Janković, Kristina Tenčić, Dr. Suzana Marjanić, Dr. Matko Meštrović, Ognjen Sviličić. Vanja Svilicic, Anica Tomic Cooperation partners: Vukovar City Museum, Museum of Fine Arts in Osijek, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb (Department of Art History, Department of Sociology, Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology), Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, Gospić Regional Center, University North. Sponsors and Donors: Combis d.o.o., dizz concept d.o.o., HSM informatika, Katapult d.o.o., Klijent d.o.o., Nivea Hrvatska, Plinacro d.o.o., Spin Valis d.d., Vilma Plazonja, Cooperative for ethical financing. Acknowledgments of the artist: dr.sc. Katarina Bačić, dr.sc. Ivo Bičanić, Mirela Barbaroša-Šikić, Senka Blažeković, dr.sc. Anita Bušljeta, Milivoj Beader, dr.sc. Ivan Brlić, Karlo Butorac, Leonilda Konti, Marina Leko, Višnja Leko, Vlado Leko, Vidan Leko Smithson, Mirjana Ljubić, Ruža Marić, Ivo Radica, Jasenka Ramljak, Sandra and Dalibor Režić, Miran Salapić, Milka Tica, Danko Zadro. The exhibition was produced by the Museum of Contemporary Art in collaboration with the OLP Art Organization. The strategic partner of the exhibition was the Cooperative for Ethical Financing. The project was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, the Office for Culture, Education and Sports of the City of Zagreb. The educational-performative program was coordinated by the OLP Art Organization Open with the financial support of the Kultura nova Foundation.

GENRE&FORMATS
Project: research; participatory-documentary art project; community project; project with specific social groups; multimedia exhibition (expanded documentary cinema) with integrated education program. Artwork/s and artifacts: guided tours and discussions; multimedia installations including video, audio and space installations, photographs, text-based works, documents, drawings, objects, furniture.