How has yugoslavian animation impacted upon the development and cultural proliferation of its own Form of art, state, and aesthetic
I have always been fascinated by the avant-garde and unconventional styles and techniques of animation, especially those that factor in to a whole era of pop-culture. Having said that, hinted by my COP2 essay, I started watching Yugoslavian animations and analyzing how their unique aesthetic defines the period in which they were proliferating Yugoslavian culture from the perspective of the arts. Ranging from the experimentative techniques of dadaism and expressionism, Yugoslavian animation never had developed a standardization like has the Western animation industry, and has instead absorbed classical, socialist, and modernist styles of still art into the vivacious medium of motion. All these animations, both independent and studio-based, have instead been classified as pieces of art which had a visceral impact upon the development of the early generations, the dissemination of culture, as well as the entertainment value of the people. My interest stems from the versatile non-homogenized approach of Yugoslavian animation, where some of it is inspired by minimalism, other by expressionism, etc. Moreover, I wish to research the landmark of a whole historical era of socialism these animations have left behind and how they have been influential upon the arts then in comparison with how they are now. These animations serve a crucial role in assisting the dissemination of information throughout the nation in exuberant ways, as some animations are purely visual renditions of classical literature such as Don Quixote, whereas others introduce ideological concepts through an allegorical manner. Above all, I am interested in the descriptive and didactic power of animation of this era and how it is a fragment of the Yugoslavian high arts in general instead of it being factored out.
Vladimir Voinovski
Novi Kolektivizam (New Collectivism) - Logo The minimalistic approach of design within Yugoslavia had been a prominent influence on its animation as with the power of simple lines a whole story could be constructed. This logo is from the visual design department of the NSK which had operated during the existence of Yugoslavia and had presented an avant-garde challenge to the conventional design, inadvertently inspiring many others to partake in the multi-faceted approach of art
“Mountain landscape� by Karlo Mijić, 1924 The prominent shading-based oil paintings of Yugoslavian painters and artists served as a point of inspiration for backgrounds in animations. Furthermore, their style was learned by several animators and replicated in the creation of characters, which gave rise to paper-cut stop motion.
Godinu Dana Posle (One Year Later), 1998 - Predrag Koraksic a.k.a. Corax A caricature zine that featured optimal linework in the hyperbolization of faces. Quite cartoonish, the art of caricature was implemented in animation, mostly for the purpose of political satire of different prominent figures. The cover of the zine shows the power of minimal lineworks supporting the solidness of exaggerated characters.
Vintage Yugoslavian Poster, circa 1950 The outline-less style of the earlier developmental stages of Yugoslavian design created a reproductive aesthetic. Furthermore, the noise it suffered through while printing, akin to the DIY culture of the punk rock movement, became its own aesthetic that now reflects the retro aspect of the past’s manual design versus today’s digital design.
Univerzijada, 1987 - Cartoon Mascot “Zagi” Mascots were representative of the competitive and sportsman spirit in Yugoslavia, which is where the squirrel Zagi comes from. The 1987 Univerzijada was a olympics-like multi-platform sports event that took place in present-day Croatia. Zagi and his appearance embodies the dynamism of the athletic conduct and sportsmanship of solidarity as more than a 100 countries participated in the event. Created by animator Nedjeljko Dragić, Zagi perfectly shows the synthesis animation had in the arts within Yugoslavia. His gaiety and friendly appearance invigorated the event and brought forth a feeling of safety and benevolence.
Interrogation Machine - Alexi Monroe This book features strictly NSK performance and visual arts along with their inherent political and social connotation. A part of the Yugoslavian arts, the NSK offered the controversial absolute of the whole artistic spectrum where their projections during performances have offered a great development in abstract animation.
Impossible Histories: Historic Avant-Gardes, Neo-Avant-Gardes, and Post-Avant-Gardes in Yugoslavia - Dubravka Djurić, Miško Šuvaković A log of all the avant-garde diversions of the arts within Yugoslavia’s existence shows how much the arts have bled into one another inspiring each other through a manner and form of triangulation. Furthermore, it shows the experimentation within the international influences of the arts Yugoslavia had.
Understanding Media: The Extension of Man Marshall McLuhan From the visual devices to the clandestine subliminal techniques, this book offers a psychological interpretation of how one is to perceive and understand the elements of media. This book would offer perspectives that are not strictly from the focal point of animation, but instead, from the general comprehensive point of film and media, giving my research a more eclectically credible taste.
Yugoslavia: monuments of art : from prehistory to present day, 1988 - Lazar Trifunović A thorough understanding of the evolution of the arts within a society shows how their cultural values, politics, and views molded the expressive point of their art and vice versa. Since many Yugoslavian animations have been adapting of experimental and classical art styles, both purely Yugoslavian and internationally influenced, this book is essential to making a correlation between the aesthetics and messages of individual pieces of animation.
Animation: A World History: Volume II: The Birth of a Style - The Three Markets, 2015 – Giannalberto Bendazzi It is essential for a spectrum of historical perspectives to be corroborated when dissecting pieces of art, which is why this book will provide thorough insight into the international development of animation, which in combination with other sources would serve as awonderful contrast. From a “world” standpoint, I can use credible objectivity to analyze key elements in Yugoslavian animation through the general lens of animation as a whole.
“Animation has the possibility to tell social ‘truths’ in a fashion unavailable elsewhere:” – Paul Wells The social truths are ones that are never to be ignored or forgotten by the marrow of society for they give power to the individual instead of ignorance for manipulation. Animation annotates its message through the potency of the visual aspect’s influence on the mind, and thus, retains one’s attention while delivering the substance to the audience. Yugoslavian animation did so in its own mannerisms as did every school of animation in their own respectable region, thus a parallel can be drawn that shows the creative differences between different animations, intra and international, which embraces the beauty of variety of the art form. Now, every such culture can be absorbed and every such social truth can be easily attained with the expansion of the internet, hence most animations are open to the public’s knowledge thirsty mind. https://mubi.com/lists/yugoslavian-animation -zagreb-school-of-animated-films
“I think that’s what art is: art is communication made in the hope that interesting miscommunications will arise.” – Misha Glouberman Art has the ability to convey an individual’s message through a not-so-avid visual representation, the ability to communicate a thought or point of view, but also pertains an openness to individual interpretation on a subjective level. Animation approaches communication in a more lively way that it allows for the audience to project or identify themselves or an aspect of a personality within the animation and make a miscommunication to the intended message, but shall nevertheless evoke a keep epiphany and outburst of inspiration by the end of the process. http://guity-novin.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/history-of-eastern-european-matchboxes.html
Art is the social antithesis of society, not directly deducible from it.” Theodor W. Adorno Animation has proven to be a quite substantial antithesis of society as it has been used to uncover the unwritten codex of a regime’s flaw, directly questioning everything about its infrastructure instead of becoming pacified by it. Never has art, or animation, been solely used for something deemed superficial that only assists a society’s hierarchy by undermining its own importance. On the contrary, as Adorno has stated in this thought-provoking quote, art has the galvanizing power of serving as an antithesis of society, questioning its parameters before accepting them as canon. http://www.kinokultura.com/ - Cinema that pertains the influence of animation on film
“The classic critical literary and artistic position is that of an author who criticizes society, directly or indirectly” - Dubravka Djurić He who criticizes society has a perspective of improving it. With the plentiful animations that focused on the criticizing of society’s inherent structure, Yugoslavia’s society partook vengefully in the arts of all proportions in order to retain their individual and artistic position in a world of solidarity - the perfect balance between individuality and collectivism. http://www.zagrebfilm.hr/povijest_e.asp - The fruits of the Yugoslavian animation school
“Animation is a technique, not a genre.” – Gore Verbinski If it were a genre, every such animation would revolve around the same paradigm of conventionalities. This is how experimental animation has provided so many advancements in many other disciplines of film and video. Yugoslavian animation has shown how the styles of art can be intertwined through animation in order to define a new genre with might not necessarily be connected to the roots of the inspirational art form. It is this synthesis that regards animaton as a technique of disseminating a message, whereas the genre gets defined succeedingly. http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/baltazar.html
Escape (Bijeg), 1969 - Zvonimir Lončarić An animation that aesthetically utilizes techniques of the painting school for Zvonimir himself was a painter that experimented with the newly-developing medium of animation. From a connotative point of view, the animation portrays the concept of the mechanization of man’s daily routine under the burden of earning a profit, directly addressing the audience to tackle a ubiquitous concept’s wield.
Professor Balthazar, 1978 - Zlatko Grgić From the animator that pushed the figures of “Escape” comes the most whimsical children’s animated series from Yugoslavia, similar to the phantasmagoria presented in Dr. Seuss’ endeavors. The series’ animation features very colorful and vivid backgrounds of an expressionistic nature as the main protagonist solves problems of versatile proportions with his magic machine, which enticed the Yugoslavian youth to pursue arts and engaged their creativity.
Don Quixote, 1961 - Vlado Kristl Purely minimalistic in its aesthetic, this animation is an artistic rendition of the classic Spanish novel of the same name which uses simple shapes in an attempt to capture their essence. Furthermore, this animation is considered an interpretative artwork rather than a commercial animation, which is the experimental avant-garde approach I’ve come to adore and shall explore in my COP3 Module next year.
The Last Station (Poslednja Stanica), 1987 Pavao Ĺ talter Perfect animation for the understanding of non-dialogue visual storytelling. The painted aesthetic and choice of color add to the miseen-scene of the animation as it has an impeccable projection of full and complete layouted shots and scenes.
The Wall (Zid), 1965 - Ante Zaninović Finally, the simple cartoon side of Yugoslavian animation quite similar to Professor Balthazar in the character design, however, not in terms of the aesthetic. A linear progression of an aniticipated narrative, this animation stresses out the looping recycling of animation as was done while traditional drawn animation was developing. Drawing of simple juxtapositions is a key element of creating contrasting characters that archetypically represent a concept - something that this animation brings forth to the light of the day.
Proposal 1: A story-driven animation of my own that mimicks an aesthetic of Yugoslavian animation so that when it is viewed it is initially thought that it does not belong to this time frame and era. This can be anything from minimalism to painting inspired animation. Proposal 2: Lines and color: a sketchbook that has recreations of different characters through the changing of textured colors and lines akin to some of the characters from the Yugoslavian animations I am going to corroborate. Proposal 3: An infographic animation that encapsulates the effect of Yugoslavian animation on its society versus how it serves as a point of inspiration on today’s society. The animation will essentially be an acute visual presentation of research in order to better people’s understanding of the Yugoslavian aesthetic Proposal 4: Deconstruction of the styles of Yugoslavian animations - taking stills from animations and outlining the key elements used for their construction. This animation would explore the different styles used to create animations by outlining the stills and recreating its elements digitally to underscore the loss of aesthetic through digitalization. Proposal 5: Annotating the values of Yugoslavian society - such as solidarity in sports, collectivism, etc - through the creation and storyline of a representative character; an embodiment.