Druga strana groznice subotnje večeri | Socijalistička disco kultura 1977-1983 | GKD

Za izdavača / For the Publisher Jasmina Bavoljak, Galerija Klovićevi Dvori / Klovićevi Dvori Gallery Autor postava / Exhibition author Željko Luketić Dizajn / Design Igor Kuduz – D72 Voditelj Kule Lotrščak / Manager of the Lotrščak Tower Damir Kanaet Tehnička služba / Technical support Galerija Klovićevi Dvori / Klovićevi Dvori Gallery

Izložbu su pomogli i na tome im veliko hvala! Leri Ahel, Ana Boltužić, Petra Hofbauer, Dario Brumnić, Zdenko Erceg, Slavin Balen, Nataša Kalinić Ahačić, Dubravko Jagatić, Miha Kralj, Ana Labudović, Markita Franulić, Marko Golub, Damir Kanaet, Jasmina Bavoljak, Višeslav Laboš, Stanko Crnobrnja, Mustafa Mehić, Menart, Hrvatska radiotelevizija, Koncertna dvorana Lisinski, Sony Home Video.

A big thanks to those who helped to organise the exhibition! Leri Ahel, Ana Boltužić, Petra Hofbauer, Dario Brumnić, Zdenko Erceg, Slavin Balen, Nataša Kalinić Ahačić, Dubravko Jagatić, Miha Kralj, Ana Labudović, Markita Franulić, Marko Golub, Damir Kanaet, Jasmina Bavoljak, Višeslav Laboš, Stanko Crnobrnja, Mustafa Mehić, Menart, Croatian Radiotelevision, Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Sony Home Video.

Izložbe Druge strane groznice subotnje večeri: Socijalistička disco kultura 19771983 podržavaju Ministarstvo kulture, Grad Zagreb, Galerija Klovićevi Dvori, Hrvatsko društvo dizajnera i Jučer Danas Sutra - Platforma za audiovizualna istraživanja.

The exhibitions “The Other Side of Saturday Night Fever: Socialist Disco Culture 1977-1983” are supported by the Ministry of Culture, City of Zagreb, Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, Croatian Designers Society, and Jučer Danas Sutra – Platform for Audio-Visual Research.

www.gkd.hr

Kula Lotrščak Strossmayerovo šetalište 9 Zagreb 30. svibanj 2015. — 19. lipanj 2015.

Druga strana groznice subotnje večeri Socijalistička disco kultura 1977.–1983.

Utjecaji, uzori i inovatori Kula Lotrščak 30. Svibnja 2015. — 19.lipnja 2015.

Multigalerijski projekt Druga strana groznice subotnje večeri (Socijalistička disco kultura 1977-1983) otvara vrata Kule Lotrščak 30. svibnja 2015. u 20 sati.

Nimalo slučajno, otvorenje je zakazano baš za subotu, ključni dan tjednog izlaska klupske kulture i dan kojega je ovjekovječila internacionalna disco-groznica sedamdesetih. Jugoslavija i socijalistički poredak, već uronjeni u utjecaje Zapada i omekšani baršunastim i mekanim granicama strogih carinika, odgovorila je s malim zakašnjenjem na izazove glazbenog stila koji je utjecao na sve pore socijalističkog društva.

Kako i biva s pokretima koje kreću iz undergrounda, a ovaj je krenuo iz američkih gay klubova 70-tih, preuzela ga je srednja struja i nemilosrdno eksploatirala, stvorivši tako zazor drugih kulturnih skupina kojima je disco postao točka odvajanja, nekritički komercijalni pogrom, neukus, kič i hedonizam. Otuda kreće i vrlo brzi zaborav te potpuna negacija emancipacijskog elementa disca, posebno opipljivog u samoupravnom socijalističkom društvu koje je proklamiralo 8 sati rada, 8 sati spavanja i 8 sati slobodnog vremena.

Disco se, ne pitavši za dozvolu, umiješao u tu formulu. Najprije je dokinuo koncept plesnjaka i zamijenio ga onime što danas poznajemo kao clubbing. Ples je postao metoda izražavanja vlastite osobnosti, poziv na konzumiranje nesputane tjelesnosti i traženje partnera. Seksualnost, koju je disco gurnuo u prvi plan, zahvatila je najviše one društvene skupine nad kojima je represija reakcionarnog patrijarhata bila najvidljivija: žena je u središtu disco kulture po prvi puta postala subjekt koji bira, a koji ne mora biti biran. Uloga muškarca na plesnome je podiju mogla biti kratkotrajna i društveno neobavezujuća, kao kratka erotska afera. Još od legendarnog hita Donne Summer ‘Love to Love You Baby’ (1975.) koji je skandalizirao javnost jer se radilo o uglazbljenom 16-minutnom orgazmu, samosvojna ženska seksualnost nije bila toliko dominantna u popularnoj kulturi.

Drugi subverzivni pomak disca dogodio se na LGBT sceni. Village People, naoko nevini plesni produkt formulaičnih glazbenih rješenja, uveo je gay ikonografiju u masovne medije, populariziravši erotizirane modele muškaraca. U Jugoslaviji se u kinima pojavio njihov mjuzikl “Muzici nikad kraja” (Can’t Stop the Music), no tek je 2006. godine u režiji Janice Kostelić uspio zasvirati na središnjem zagrebačkom trgu. Upravo u bivšoj državi, disco je imao jedan lokalni i beskrajno bitan učinak. Inkluzivni koncept plesnog podija neponovljen je sve do današnjih dana – razvila su se plesna natjecanja, imitatori i plesači iz svih društvenih skupina. Natjecanja poput Disco Štrukle iz Zagreba uključivala su brojne pripadnike Roma, Albanaca i drugih etniciteta koji su često i pobjeđivali. Disco nije mario za stvari kojima se balkanska plemena i dan danas opterećuju.

Disco kao kulturni i glazbeni izričaj u svoju je ostavštinu upisao i promjenu koncepta puštanja glazbe u klubu. Razvijena je profesija DJ-a, a miksanje glazbe na takt i tempo, takozvani beatmatching, postalo je standard onih najboljih. Disco je konkretne 1979. godine neslužbeno nestao javnom paleži ploča u Chicagu uz povike “Disco sucks!” no njegov se utjecaj u Jugoslaviji još dugo osjećao. Izgleda kako je oskudicom načeti samoupravni socijalizam u njemu vidio još jedna vrata Zapada, pa se orkestracija i takt tipični za ovaj žanr našla čak i u špici političkog Dnevnika Televizije Zagreb. Ovdje je postao teretom izvođača koji su kasnije negirali svoju komercijalnu umiješanost, no početkom dvijetisućitih koncept vinyl-digginga vraća disco na svjetsku scenu. DJ-i mu uzvraćaju uslugu i opskurna izdanja ploča postaju traženi i skupi artefakti. Brojni publicisti reći će kako disco zapravo nikad i nije nestao. Kra-

jem 80-tih njegova baza je postala ujedno i baza acida, housea i techna.

U Kuli Lotrščak mapiramo presudne utjecaje, događaje i izvođače koji su importirali disco u podražaja željno jugoslavensko tijelo. Koncert Amande Lear u Lisinskom 1980., nastup skupine Boney M u ‘Svjetlima pozornice’ Antona Martija 1977., ulazak Village People i Donne Summer u kina, skandal oko prodaje ulaznica za nastup ABBA-e koji se nikad nije dogodio, te naravno, početak sve te manije koja je i dovela do samouništenja, film “Groznica subotnje večeri”. Ovo je tek prvi dio u nizu izložbenih i izdavačkih akcija pod zajedničkim naslovom Socijalistička disco kultura 1977-1983. “Utjecaji, uzori i inovatori” bave se imenima koja su potaknula razvoj disca u Jugoslaviji. Priča se nastavlja 01. srpnja u Galeriji Hrvatskog društva dizajnera (HDD) s novim fokusom na vizualni jezik disca, simbole plesnog hedonizma i tipografije erotiziranih tijela u omotima glazbenih disco izdanja. Posebno vinilno LP izdanje kao arhiv socijalističke disco kulture završit će krajem 2015. ovaj ciklus.

— Željko Luketić

The Other Side of Saturday Night Fever Socialist Disco Culture 1977–1983 Influences, Role Models and Innovators Lotrščak Tower May 30 — June 19, 2015 The multigallery project The Other Side of Saturday Night Fever (Socialist Disco Culture 1977-1983) is presented at the Lotrščak Tower on May 30, 2015 at 8 p.m. It is not by chance that the opening is scheduled for Saturday, the key day of the week for the clubbing culture immortalised by the international disco-fever of the 1970s. Albeit with a slight delay, Yugoslavia and the Socialist regime – already immersed in Western influences and softened by the velvety, supple borders with strict customs officers – responded to the challenges of the music style that influenced all segments of the Socialist society.

As is usually the case with movements originating from the underground, it also started in American gay clubs in the 1970s and was taken over by mainstream only to be ruthlessly exploited, thus provoking backlash from other cultural groups to whom the disco culture became a separating point, an uncritical commercial pogrom, a tasteless concept, kitsch, and hedonism. This also propelled a swift oblivion and utter denial of the emancipatory element of the disco culture that was particularly tangible in Self-Managing Socialist society that promoted eight hours of work, eight hours of sleep and eight hours of leisure time.

Sans asking permission, the disco culture interfered in this formula. It first abolished the concept of dance halls and substituted it with the concept of clubbing we know today.

Dancing became a method of expressing own personality, invitation to consume uninhibited

corporeality, and seeking of partners. The social groups that suffered the most obvious repression of reactionary patriarchy were affected the most by the sexuality that was brought to the fore by the disco culture: for the first time, the woman in the focus of the disco culture became the choosing subject, and not necessarily the object. The role of the man on the dancefloor was allowed to be short-term and socially non-binding, similar to a brief sexual affair. Until the emergence of the legendary hit song by Donna Summer ‘Love to Love You Baby’ (1975) that scandalised the public as it was essentially a 16-minute orgasm accompanied by music, the autonomous female sexuality had never before been as dominant in popular culture.

Another subversive shift of the disco culture occurred on the LGBT scene.

The Village People, a seemingly stainless dance product of formulaic musical reactions, introduced gay iconography into mass media by popularising the eroticised male models. Although their musical ”Can’t Stop the Music” was indeed distributed in cinemas across Yugoslavia, it was not until 2006 that they managed to perform on Zagreb’s central square thanks to Janica Kostelić. It was exactly in the former country that the disco culture had another, extremely significant local effect. The inclusive concept of the dancefloor has been non-recurrent until today – dance competitions developed, with impersonators and dancers from all social groups. Competitions such as Disco Štrukla from Zagreb included numerous members of the Roma minority, Albanian minority and other ethnicities who often took first place. The disco culture paid no attention to things that have burdened the Balkan tribes until present day.

As a cultural and music movement, the disco culture also introduced in its legacy the change in the concept of playing music in clubs. The profession of the DJ was developed, while the so-called beatmatching – matching the tempo and beat of two successive tracks – has become the standard of the best ones.

The year 1979 saw the unofficial disappearance of the disco culture when LP records were publicly burned in Chicago, while the crowd was shouting ”Disco sucks!”; however, its influence was felt in Yugoslavia for much longer. It seems that the deprivation-stricken Self-Managing Socialism saw in it another gateway to the West, so the orchestration and beat typical for this genre could also be found in the opening credits of the central news show of Zagreb Television.

In this region, it became the burden of artists who later denied their commercial involvement; in the early 2000s, however, the disco culture returned to the world scene due to the concept of vinyl-digging. The DJs returned the favour, thus making the obscure editions of LPs a sought-after and expensive artefacts.

Many publicists would say that the disco culture has never really vanished. In the late 1980s, its base also became the foundation of acid, house, and techno music.

At the Lotrščak Tower, we will seek to map the pivotal influences, events and artists that imported the disco culture into the stimuli-eager body of Self-Managing Socialism. The concert of Amanda Lear in Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in 1980, the performance of Boney M in Anton Marti’s TV show ‘Svjetla pozornice’ in 1977, the introduction of the Village People and Donna Summer into cinemas, the scandal over the selling of tickets for the performance of ABBA that never took place, and, of course, the film ”Saturday Night Fever” that started the ultimately self-destructing mania. This exhibition is merely the first in a series of exhibition and publishing actions under the joint title Socialist Disco Culture 1977-1983. ”Influences, Role Models and Innovators” presents the figures that stimulated the development of disco culture in Yugoslavia. The saga will continue on July 1 at the Croatian Designers Society Gallery (HDD) with a new focus on the virtual idiom of the disco culture, the symbols of dance hedonism, and the typography of eroticised bodies on the covers of disco records.

The issuing of the special edition vinyl LP, an archive of the Socialist disco culture, will serve as conclusion to the series in the late 2015.

— Željko Luketić