21.09. - 02.11.
About Speech, Silence, Screams, and Writing
Milija Nešić exists beyond time. Milija Nešić is time itself.
Milija Nešić was born in 1934 and is about to celebrate his 90th birthday. He has been creating for almost a century; witnessed the birth, life and death of my homeland – Yugoslavia. His artwork is an opportunity to follow the ways ideas about freedom, equality and solidarity faded, and then ultimately disappeared, to make way for the egocentricity and one mindedness we are currently living.
Nešić Speaks
Nešić’s formative years were shaped by the war and post-war hope in a better tomorrow. He was part of the best aspects of Yugoslav modernism; the one that sought expression for a new Country and its position between East and West. Like most artists of the time, for him the goal of art was not the grandiose representation of the state, but rather, communicating with society through the artistic act. Transposing ideology to form and materiality embodied in strength was at once in disharmony with the essence of art, with freedom. Art became formalised, aestheticised and in some ways appropriated by the system. Yugoslavia started disintegrating and Nešić bore witness to this. Milija wanted his sculptures to be part of the urban landscape that would link nature and society. They were not stories about aesthetics; they were in reference to a more humane way of life, art that belongs to everyone, and not just the privileged class.
Nešić is Silent
This is why he sought freedom radically, and immaterially. With a spirit free enough to transition from one “crew” to another: from the modernists to the avant-gardists and to conceptualists. Documentation about his performances on New Belgrade’s sandstone shows a direct link with the then current global tendencies and the leading names in land and body art. The breakup of Yugoslavia became apparent even to those less sensitive to nuances. Ideology and reality disintegrated. The deception behind the idea that we are all striving towards a society where everyone is equal became painfully apparent.
Nešić Screams
A new, radical cut, and return to figuration (which he practiced in his youth), directly and uncompromisingly befuddled the then critics. It was not the vernacular of the time. Nešić discovered his voice. Nešić unleashed a scream. Nešić unravelled Manipulations and everyone called them “Mrdalice” The public was captivated. The first showcasing in the art gallery of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade was an immediate success. (Then as now, exhibitions are rarely noticed by the wider public.) Experts were dumbfounded and reserved. Manipulations were so blunt and blatant that they appeared vulgar and banal to most. The screaming of Nešić’s art could not be ignored. “Mrdalice” are more popular than ever today. This world is by far worse, much worse than the one in which Nešić created Manipulations. The first series is a scream within Yugoslavia, a scream upon Yugoslavia that things have gone too far. Sycophants and bootlickers, ideology and the church – were themes of the late 1970s and early 1980s when Nešić created his first series. In the mid-1990s he turned to new works, basing them practically on the same motifs, however at this point they were addressed to Milošević that is to us, the people. For the current moment, Nešić has not created anything, perhaps because he has nothing new to say. The world we live in today leaves no room for talk, discussion, different opinions or attitudes. The topics that Nešić deals with will obviously outlive him and the materiality of his works.
Nešić Writes
Art is communication and Milija is seeking a new way. His writings are something between haiku poetry, open journals and wisdom you receive in fortune cookies. Cleansed and reduced to their very essence, they are like traces along the road for those that wish to take a pause. He no longer addresses society, knowing there is no one to hear him, but he still hopes to leave a trace that might, even slightly, change the world.
Here we are in the present. Milija Nešić is celebrating his 90th birthday and Novembar Gallery its 50th exhibition. Why was the exhibition of Milija Nešić’s works chosen to mark the jubilee of the gallery? Although Milija Nešić lived a long life and steadfastly followed his own beliefs, he did not achieve the wealth or fame he deserved. But, here we are, so many years later, and this exhibition is a small gesture of recognition by a girl who fell in love with “Mrdalice” long before she understood them; to whom they were an important step before entering the world of art. Later I understood that my infatuation was not a childish absorption with something that moves, but rather, the intuitive acknowledgement that they were the embodiment of truth. In a time when I struggle to recognise any of the values I firmly stand by, Milija is proof that it is possible to live a truly free life. Although that freedom may have come at a personal cost for him, from a broader perspective, its impact extends further, reaching me and others who will continue to share its light.This is why I wanted this exhibition. Fashion trends may influence art, but while fashion is fleeting, integrity endures, and I want Novembar to embody this enduring quality.
Curator and author of the text: Mia David
