International Artists Meetings
A comprehensive historical episode in which more than a hundred international artists took part proved itself as a great investigative challenge: besides the catalogue of the first International Artists’ Meetings in Vela Luka from 1968 and mosaics set in Vela Luka, there has practically been no material or reflection available to the public. What we are talking about here is an international manifestation of visual art and related practices that have taken place in Vela Luka three times.
The manifestation was originally envisioned as a summer colony for visual artists who were supposed to work on mosaics. However, the following editions were carried out as an interdisciplinary synthesis of various artistic disciplines, including architecture and urbanism, and finally a multi-media approach that involves mass media and the participation of the local citizenry.
Through the development of the manifestation, we can follow elaboration of its organization in the manifold settings of relations among personal, collective, and team-work coupled with the local economies and governmental structures. Simultaneously, the series of modalities of participation of local citizenry were developed in the creative artistic processes.
The project involves making of chronology and bibliography, archival and field-work (in Croatia, Serbia, Italy, France, and Poland), digitalization of the found material, critical reviewing, and a series of public presentations in different forms. Fragments of the research on the subject were presented in scientific conferences, texts, and one pilot exhibition dedicated to the work of one of the participants of the meetings, the Italian architect and artist Ugo La Pietra. That exhibition was presented in Zagreb and Split. Both a larger collective exhibition and a publication are planned in the near future.
2018. Grey Area presented an exhbition and publication Ugo La Pietra :: DISEQUILIBRATING SYSTEMS, http://www.oris.hr/files/2/pdf/ULP_katalog_FINALNO.pdf
So far the most detailed text about International Artists' Meetings in Vela Luka (1968-1972) is published by Darko Fritz at the magazine Lanterna no 2., 2018. (Croatian only): (NE)OSTVARENE UTOPIJE MEĐUNARODNIH SUSRETA UMJETNIKA U VELOJ LUCI.
Shorter text, with English translation and color illustrations is published previously, and available online as well: Darko Fritz, 1968–1972 International Artists’ Meetings in Vela Luka, Oris no. 111, 2018, Zagreb, p. 148 - 151.
Chonology
I International Artists' Meetings - Vela Luka - 1968.
August 9 – 31, 1968 at Vela Luka, Proizd
mosaics, a permanent exhibition of mosaics in Vela Luka, exhibition, catalogue (ed. Stojan Ćelić)
October 4, 1968
Public forum for visual culture 'Vela Luka 1968, international artists' meeting', Belgrade Cultural Centre
October 1968
Exhibition 'Vela Luka 68', Belgrade Cultural Centre Gallery, catalogue (ed. Stanislav Živković)
October 31 – November 9, 1968
Exhibition 'Vela Luka 68', Winter Showroom, Visual Art Encounter, Subotica, catalogue
December 27, 1968
Exhibition 'Vela Luka 68', Art Gallery Sarajevo
September 26 – October 10,1969
Exhibition 'Vela Luka 1968, international artists' meeting', Forum Gallery, Zagreb
II International Visual Artists' Meetings, 1969
August 15 – 30, 1970, Vela Luka, Korčula, Blato, Orebić
August 12 – 15, Symposium “Povijesni i sociološki aspekti razvoja jugoslavenske arhitekture”, Vela Luka
August 16, sightseeing Plitvine, Gradina, Proizd and Tri luke
August 17 – 24, elaboration of architectonic plan for tourist resort 'Plitvine', Proizd, Vela Luka
August 25, visit to Korčula Summer School, Korčula
August 26 – 30, final gathering, Pelješac, Korčula, Vela Luka
III International Artists' Meetings, 1972.
'The problem of creating new forms of scenes by integrating citizenry, film, television, music and visual artists'
August 1972, Vela Luka
text and Chronology: Darko Fritz
see the essay
Darko Fritz, 1968–1972 International Artists’ Meetings in Vela Luka, (Hrvatski/ Engleski), Oris no. 111, 2018, Zagreb, p. 148 - 151.
