Conceptual Art in Eastern Europe in the 1960s and 1970s

FAIN: FB-58263-15

Ksenya Gurshtein
Skirball Cultural Center (Los Angeles, CA 90049-6833)

My project is a book that explores the ways in which communities of artists working in Eastern Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, driven by utopian aspirations, political ideals, and expanded definitions of artistic medium, established a significant conceptual art tradition within the region. Set against the background of the social and political history of the Cold War era, the completed book will offer in-depth analysis of five important but little known bodies of work created in Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Russia. Based on detailed analyses of these artists’ oeuvres, the book argues for the existence of a distinct Eastern European conceptualism defined by a number of shared characteristics, most notably an intense but ambivalent preoccupation with various forms of utopianism. Ultimately, the book situates Eastern European conceptualism within the larger history of global conceptualism, comparing and contrasting regional specificities with global trends.

Associated Products

The OHO Group, "Information," and Global Conceptualism avant la lettre (Blog Post)
Title: The OHO Group, "Information," and Global Conceptualism avant la lettre
Author: Ksenya Gurshtein
Abstract: A four-part series to be published at some point.
Date: 1/1/2015
Primary URL: http://post.at.moma.org/content_items/850-part-1-the-oho-group-information-and-global-conceptualism-avant-la-lettre
Blog Title: The OHO Group, "Information," and Global Conceptualism avant la lettre
Website: Post: Notes on Modern and Contemporary Art Around the Globe

"Bogoslav Kalas: The Ghost in the Painting Machine" (Article)
Title: "Bogoslav Kalas: The Ghost in the Painting Machine"
Author: Ksenya Gurshtein
Abstract: Essay in an exhibition catalog
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://www.mg-lj.si/en/visit/1475/catalogue-bogoslav-kalas/
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Bogoslav Kalas
Publisher: Ljublana, Slovenia: Moderna Galerija

"Conceptual Artists, Cognitive Film: Artists as Filmmakers at the Balazs Bela Studio (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "Conceptual Artists, Cognitive Film: Artists as Filmmakers at the Balazs Bela Studio
Author: Ksenya Gurshtein
Abstract: Conference at Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn
Date: 10/23/2015
Conference Name: Shared Practices: The Intertwinement of the Arts in Culture of Socialist Eastern Europe

Experimental Cinemas in State-Socialist Eastern Europe (Book)
Title: Experimental Cinemas in State-Socialist Eastern Europe
Editor: Ksenya Gurshtein and Sonja Simonyi, coeditors
Abstract: Was there experimental cinema behind the Iron Curtain? What forms did experiments with film take in state socialist Eastern Europe? Who conducted them, where, how, and why? These are the questions answered in this volume, the first of its kind in any language. Bringing together scholars from different disciplines, the book offers case studies from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, former East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and former Yugoslavia. Together, these contributions demonstrate the variety of makers, production contexts, and aesthetic approaches that shaped a surprisingly robust and diverse experimental film output in the region. The book maps out the terrain of our present-day knowledge of cinematic experimentalism in Eastern Europe, suggests directions for further research, and will be of interest to scholars of film and media, art historians, cultural historians of Eastern Europe, and anyone concerned with questions of how alternative cultures emerge and function under repressive political conditions.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789462982994/experimental-cinemas-in-state-socialist-eastern-europe
Primary URL Description: Description of the book on the publisher's website
Secondary URL: https://www.amazon.com/Experimental-Cinemas-Socialist-European-Cultures/dp/9462982996/
Secondary URL Description: Book available for purchase on Amazon
Access Model: Academic book available for purchase
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9789462982994
Copy sent to NEH?: No

Special Issue: Experimental Cinema in State Socialist Eastern Europe (Article)
Title: Special Issue: Experimental Cinema in State Socialist Eastern Europe
Author: Coedited by Ksenya Gurshtein and Sonja Simonyi
Abstract: A special issue with an introduction and 5 articles on the topic of experimental cinema in Eastern Europe between the 1950s and 1980s.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/reec20/7/1
Primary URL Description: Description of the special issue on the publisher's site
Access Model: Subscription to the journal directly or through relevant databases; individual articles available for purchase from the publisher
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Studies in Eastern European Cinema
Publisher: Taylor & Francis

---