Videodokumentation der Aktion Milch 2002

Kristina Leko, 2002
8' DV
Single-channel video (unlimited edition) / Optionally expanded with an object installation
No dialog, on-screen texts in German


Context

This is a video documentation of the first public action of Kristina Leko's Cheese and Cream project, which took place in Zagreb on August 31, 2002 at the Dolac Market, organized by the non-profit organization BLOK - Local Base for Cultural Refreshment and UrbanFestival. The video was commissioned for the exhibition Misfits, Kunstraum Kreuzberg Berlin, curators Tihomir Milovac, Kathrin Becker. Cheese and Cream was a long-term research, documentary, and activist project that resulted in a series of artworks, artifacts, happenings, and actions in progress from 2002 to 2013 dedicated to supporting and protecting Zagreb's dairy women. From 2002 to 2004, the project was initiated and realized in cooperation with the non-profit organization BLOK – Local Base for Culture Refreshment, Zagreb.

Synopsis

The screen is divided into four images appearing on a gray background. The video begins with text passages from the Declaration on Dairy Women, which introduces the audience to the Zagreb dairy women, who they are, why they are important, and why and how their existence is endangered. The video continues by mixing the text with the video documentation of the event on the farmers’ open market, filmed with four cameras from four positions and presented simultaneously. On the split screen, we see three milkmaids handing out fresh cheese and cream to passersby who line up to get their portion of cheese and cream. We see people reading flyers and then signing the book of signatures: Book of Requests for the 22nd Century. One quarter of the screen shows the text of the Declaration on Dairy Women continuously, while the other three images document the happening. The Declaration invites the viewers to sign the Book of Requests and thus support the Zagreb Milkmaids and the initiative to protect them as cultural heritage.


Note on display: The video has been shown together with an object installation consisting of the objects, clothing and utensils, used in the event: the aprons and pots used by the three milkmaids, and the signature book: The Book of Requests for the 22nd Century, work in progress since 2002.

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