The First Line. Avant-Garde and Alternative Printers and Presses in Slovenia from Conceptualism to the Present; periodicals (Lesbozine, Pandora, Viks and other) (front); Milena Kosec, The Scarecrow Statelet (1992–2000) (left behind); New Collectivism, posters; Dalibor Zupančič, Town Celje (1997) and other (right behind), 26th Biennial of Graphic Arts Ljubljana, 2005, installation view of the accompanying exhibition at MGLC.
Photo: Tomaž Lunder. MGLC Archive.
Printed matter (printed artworks and artist-designed ephemera) is a recent term in art and a new artistic category that appeared in the twentieth century. The selection of printed matter in the exhibition The First Line included artist books, posters, fliers, invitations, and other mass-reproduced artist-designed materials, as well as periodicals, advertisements, pamphlets, art books, Internet projects, wallpaper, mail art, artifacts, and corporate identities.
The avant-garde and alternative works in The First Line exhibition, created over a forty-year period, span two different socio-political systems and two different prevailing art paradigms, each of which defined the radical and the avant-garde in different social and aesthetic ways. They helped define the line of development of Slovenian art from the initial emergence of conceptual practice until 2005 when the paradigms of conceptualism became an integral part of what is art. Many of the exhibited works provoked heated public discussion in their day and several of the artists were even subjected to legal prosecution.
Artists:
Ivo Antič, Boris Balant, Peter Baloh, Jože Barši, Franc Berčič – Berko, Goran Bertok, Brane Bitenc, Martin Bricelj, Vesna Bukovec, Eduard Čehovin, Ksenja Čerče, Vesna Černilec, Andrejka Čufer, Nuša Dragan, Srečo Dragan, Emil Filipčič, Iztok Geister (pseudonym I. G. Plamen), Dolores Gerbec, Bojan Gorenec, David Grassi, Marina Gržinić, Maja Gspan, Matjaž Hanžek, Dušan Hedl, Borut Hlupič, Irwin (Dušan Mandić, Miran Mohar, Andrej Savski, Roman Uranjek, Borut Vogelnik), Stane Jagodič, Nikolai Jeffs, Ven Jemeršić, Franco Juri, Uroš Kalčič, Živko Kladnik, Stane Klančnik, Kn 4444 (Franci Cegnar, Uroš Cegnar, Mare Elsner Grošelj, Metka Žerovnik), Marko Kovačič, Vojin Kovič – Chubby, Milena Kosec, Damjan Kracina, Tomaž Kralj, Naško Križnar, Tomaž Lavrič, Vladimir Leben, Polonca Lovšin, Andrej Lutman, Živko Marušič, Mario Marzidovšek, Milenko Matanović, Rastko Močnik, Rajko Muršič, David Nez, Boštjan Novak, Novi kolektivizem/Neue Kunsthandlung (Dejan Knez, Miran Mohar, Darko Pokorn, Roman Uranjek), Lela Oražem, Iztok Osojnik, Jani Osojnik, Alen Ožbolt, Joško Pajer, Andrej Pavlišič, Zdravko Papič, Mojca Pelcar Šarf, Dušan Pirih Hup, Alenka Pirman, Marko Pogačnik, Tadej Pogačar, Marjetica Potrč, Provokart (Damjan Kracina, Katarina Toman Kracina, Maja Licul), Marija Mojca Pungečar, RAA (Borut Hlupič, Borut Vovk), Irena Romih, Andrej Dreja Rotar, Sunčan Stone, Iztok Saksida Jakac, Samo (Samo Jurečič), Vlado Skale, Jože Slak, Nejč Slapar, Son:DA (Metka Golec, Miha Horvat), Zora Stančič, Etbin Stefančič (pseudonyms: Edi, EDIs and Ediscoato), Matej Stupica, Svet umetnosti 1998 (Urša Jurman, Dunja Kukovec, Nataša Petrešin, Bojana Piškur, Metka Zver, Božidar Zrinski), Andraž Šalamun, Tomaž Šalamun, Anamarija Šmajdek, Iztok Šmajs, Aina Šmid, Tanja Špenko, Dejan Štampar, Bojan Štokelj, Jani Štravs, Igor Štromajer, Apolonija Šuštaršič, Ilija Terrah, Katarina Toman, Bojan Tomažič, Petra Varl, Pavel Vašak, Franco Vecchiett, Metod Vidic, Rajko Vidrih, Matej Andraž Vogrinčič, Ivan Volarič Feo, Sašo Vrabič, V.S.S.D. (Janez Jordan, Alen Ožbolt), Irena Wölle, Franci Zagoričnik, Ifigenija Zagoričnik, Orest Zagoričnik, Brane Zorman, Dalibor Zupančič, Dunja Zupančič, Staša Zupančič, Jaka Železnikar.
Curators: Lilijana Stepančič, Breda Škrjanec, Božidar Zrinski.