Publication Crack Up – Crack Down

The extensive MGLC book collection has just been supplemented with the Crack Up – Crack Down essayistic reflection of the 33rd Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts of the same title.

Crack Up – Crack Down, a collection of original writing and visual essays edited by Slavs and Tatars (curators of the main exhibition Crack Up – Crack Down) and Melissa Constantine (a contemporary art researcher), expands the Biennial’s discursive focus on the graphic and satire. It has been co-published in English by MGLC and Mousse Publishing. In addition to the introductory texts on the Biennial and satire, it contains essays by Emily Apter on the micropolitics of the meme, David Crowley on punk as a platform for pretence in Poland and Hungary, Melissa Constantine on the affective infrastructure of satire, and Vid Simoniti on the cult Bosnian satire Top lista nadrealista and other Balkan predecessors. Top lista nadrealista and its communicative power is also covered in the insightful dictionary entry by Goran Vojnović. A special feature of the book is the contributions made by the individual artists of the 33rd Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts Crack Up – Crack Down. These include Hamja Ahsan (the recipient of the Grand Prize of the 33rd Biennial of Graphic Arts), Metahaven, Alenka Pirman & KULA, Mohammad Salemy, Arthur Fournier & Raphael König and Augustin Maurs.

Before you is a visually diverse odyssey through the reflections on contemporary social and cultural phenomena, art, and the close alliance between social criticism and satire.

The book was designed by Stan de Natris (Slavs and Tatars) and the illustrations were contributed by the designer of the corporate image of the 33rd Biennial Crack Up – Crack Down, Nejc Prah. He received the Brumen Award for the latter in October 2019 together with his design team and the International Centre of Graphic Arts.