embassy of the republic of kosova, cetinje, serbia and montenegro

ALBANIAN ARTIST UNITES MONTENEGRINS
Forbidden reality
 

by Andrej NIKOLAIDIS

The trouble with conceptual art is that you cannot be sure whether something is a public toilet or an art installation until your art critic tells you. It is not clear whether a drunkard urinating in public is just that, or if it is a performance of a famous artist, until the organizers of the event in which an artist is performing by urinating tell you. But, that is the essence of conceptual art: since the painting has been sidestepped, knowing that it is obviously art, now we have to take the word of the critics who are able to tell the difference between urinating as a physiological need and urinating as an act of art. The line is obviously thin, and art critics are wise people worthy of admiration.

Cetinje is a town where nobody would stop drinking their morning coffee and their small chit chat even if a bomb were to fall in the middle of the town square. Thus, the town is an ideal setting for performances of conceptual artists. Oleg Kulik, for example, expresses himself artistically by raping dogs. He has put his arm into a cow's vagina and declared that to be art. The organizers of Cetinje Biennale did not hide their amazement with the ingenuity of his artistic concept - Kulik was invited to the Biennale, which was thought of as an event that takes the standards of expression in Montenegro further, and which turns Montenegro into a space that eagerly demonstrates how far artistic freedoms can go and how determined one has to be in defending them.

When reproductions of paintings splattered with feces were exhibited in the Biennale, we were authoritatively told that we are dealing with a work of art, and hence something that cannot be subject to censorship. From the very beginning, the Cetinje Biennale exhibited works that were very provocative. The story about artistic freedoms in Montenegro , it turns out, was only a theory. In reality, at the request of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the exhibition 'New Icon' was prohibited in 1997.

This conception of the Biennale was not betrayed this time round too. An artist from Prishtina, Albert Heta, exhibited his work: he transformed the Serbian Embassy building into an Embassy of the Republic of Kosova . The first to react were the Serbian political parties in Montenegro and the Serbian Orthodox Church. According to them, Heta's work is an unprecedented scandal, 'a shame for Montenegro'. The priests said that most of the pieces of the Biennale were 'acts of insanity' and thereby made their opinion on contemporary art clear. Since the technique used in Heta's work is not scandalous, nor is the work visually beyond the conventional, it turns out that what is scandalous is that the Albanian flag waved in Montenegro , and that the author used what was once a Serbian Embassy to portray the existence of Kosova as an independent country.

His work, obviously, succeeded. What scandalized people was in fact, reality. Heta only broke through the Serbian line of self-deceit and made obvious what is patently undeniable: that the reality is that Kosova does exist, and that it is, in real terms, independent from Serbia . And that tomorrow, the building that once housed the Serbian Embassy can house the Kosovan Embassy.

But, the frontline of showing fury against reality was, surprisedly, strengthened by the acquiescence of the organizers of the Biennale. First they tried to explain what was already clear: that Heta's Kosovan Embassy is...a work of art. But since the 'shock' of the public would not diminish, the founder of the Biennale, Prince Nikola Petrovic, took it upon himself to apologize to the Montenegrins about a reality that they cannot accept. He was, as he said, 'shocked' by Heta's work, as if what Heta did was to shoot a class of pupils in Cetinje and not show a piece of work, in which, by minimal interventions, he turned a building into something else. By doing that, the Prince showed that he is easy to shock - too easy for someone who stoically survived Kulik's rage on animals.

But if Kulik was to rape the animals with an Albanian banner flying high, the Prince would definitely be 'shocked'. The Prince publicly admitted that he was not in a situation to censor Heta's work. But Petar Cukovic had the chance to exercise censorship. After someone demolished Heta's work, and no one was 'shocked' by the fact that an artistic piece of work was vandalized, Petar Cukovic disqualified it with one of the most mindless censorship justifications of all time.

According to Cukovic, Heta's work was not removed because of the Albanian flag and because of the fact that the mention of the Kosovan Embassy made the Serb nationalists nervous. No, it was removed because Heta - listen to this - did not put a sign in front of his artistic work informing that it was a piece of art. It is the same as if you were to remove a painting from an exhibition because there is nothing under it saying that it is a painting. Or the same as if you banned a book from a library because it does not say novel on its covers. Or if you refuse to show a movie because the viewers might think it is reality.

Everything that happened around Heta's work is, indeed, a shame for Montenegro . But, it is a shame because of reasons totally different from those cited by furious Montenegrins, who are 'shocked' by the Embassy of Kosova. It is a shame because Heta's work brought to the surface the scale of deceit, lack of freedom and inequality existing in Montenegro . Reactions to Heta's work showed that elementary human stupidity in Montenegro is easily winning over human reason and freedoms. Heta tested our stupidity, primitivism and inability to accept a reality that goes against our wishes - the results are defeating for us. The confines of human stupidity are like the confines of space: unreachable. The Mayor of Cetinje, Aleksandar Aleksic, a liberal and by definition a defender of human rights, established that the Montenegrin Government is to blame for Heta's work, since it is 'sowing disarray amongst citizens ' via the Kosovan Embassy.

In every town in Montenegro there is at least one building with the graffiti 'This is Serbia ' written on it. You can hear the same slogan shouted in every Montenegrin square. Montenegrin sportsmen compete cheered on by Serbian flags with four S's. No one is shocked, even though these are not works of art and there are no information signs telling us about them. When the artist put an Albanian flag on the Serbian Embassy, he unleashed a hurricane of fury. One has to be corrupt to the core and not realize that the problem lies in the fact that it was an Albanian flag that was raised, and not a Serbian one. How come one can be raised any time and anywhere, while the other, if raised outside of the town of Ulqin , exposes the person who did it to being lynched,.

In a society in which the public does not protest and intellectuals keep silent when thousands of throats in Herceg Novi shout 'kill and slay so that Shiptar1 is no more', the public and the intellectuals are shocked by an Albanian flag on what was once a Serbian Embassy. In a society like that, there is no space for discussion on what is profane and what artistic. Here, we are still fighting for the mere survival of diversity. 

(Article published in Montengro Independent Weekly 'MONITOR')

1A derogative name for the Albanians used by Serbs.

 

Biennale curator Natasha Ilic expressed her regrets for the removal of Albert Heta's art work

IF ALL THE WORKS WOULD PROVOKE SUCH REACTIONS, ART WOULD HAVE A MUCH GREATER IMPORTANCE

Podgorica - Natasha Ilic , curator of the fifth Cetinje Biennale, said today that she is sorry because of removal of the installation of Albanian artist Albert Heta from the building of ex-Serbian embassy.

Ilic told Beta news agency that the organizers of Biennale - National Museum of Montenegro and Prince Nikola Petrovic , were not acquainted with all the art works exposed at the Biennale, which was the her authority and of the other curator, a well known European art critic Rene Block .

She said that she did not know about Prince Nikola's apologizing to the Montenegrins, which followed after several harsh reactions regarding the installation, and said that everyone is entitled to have its own opinion.

The installation was removed yesterday, and the director of National Museum , Petar Cukovic in a statement for newspaper 'Vijesti' accused the Albanian artist for removing the notice from the building of ex-Serbian embassy that this was an art work, and thus abusing the institution of Biennale.

Ilic rejected the accusations of Cukovic that the instalation had a political connotation, except 'the politics in the space of art', adding that although the issue has to do with very sensitive questions, an artist has the right to deal with them.

'Biennale is being organized in three cities of three different states: Tirana, Cetinje, Dubrovnik , and it doesn't have to do only with the geographical closeness of these cities but also with the sensitive relations of these countries. We can also ask ourselves how people of Dubrovnik felt that Cetinje Biennale is held right in their city,' said Ilic.

She added that art should provoke dialogue regarding these issues and that the aim was to open the topics which are politically the most problematic ones.

'If all the works would provoke such reactions, art would have a much greater importance,' concluded Ilic.

 

THE JOKE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STATE

By Branimir Stojanovic

King UBU, the great hero of the surrealist drama, expert in ruling by means of jokes and puns, in one of his inspired speeches addressed his remaining followers in this way: 'Long live Poland for if there were no Poland , there would be no Poles!' Acting as if he were addressing the Polish crowd, the king of Poland asked them to express their support for Poland otherwise even they - Poles would no longer exist. In other words, in spite of everything he managed to achieve during his rule, he came up with an idea to present his people with an alienating, impossible choice of EITHER POLAND OR POLES. Following the logic of the joke, Ubu reversed the common order of address of the Master to his people. In the normal circumstances, the king - master should first show respect for the people he rules by exclaiming 'Long live the Polish people' so that he can, in turn, be recognized by them as a ruler worthy of their respect - 'Long live Poland ! Long live the Polish king!' In the Ubuesque upside down world, the ruler of the state does not praise the people but the State, meaning himself, threatening that if he is no longer king, his subjects will no longer exist either. As a result, the people frightened out of their wits by the impossible choice they have been given, end up choosing Poland without Poles.

It is interesting to note that Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi became popular in the 1930s, at the time when Poland was absolutely certain to have finally won independence. In Ubu's paradox, by choosing Poland , Poles choose to lose independence and support the state which is named after them but still condemns them to death. In other words, they give up their desire for independence. Instead of saying 'Down with the king who does not respect the Polish people!' Poles cheer 'Long live Poland!' saying, in fact, something quite opposite to what they really want: 'We don't want freedom; we want to submit to the hollow authority of force - but not just any form of submission but an occupation, what is more, an occupation by a non-native, foreign force' - a scenario which proved to be realistic in the light of actual historical events. Later in the twentieth century, Poland suffered its biggest national defeat. In a short space of time, the country was occupied twice by two delirious masters - Nazi and Stalinist regimes.

'Embassy' - the installation by Albert Heta shown at this year's Cetinje Biennale focuses precisely on the Ubuesque paradox and alienating choice of either State or the desire for independence. Namely, the claim to a state does not necessarily entail the wish to be free and independent. It means that the desire for independence in the relations between nations have the shortcoming of having to be made a reality through a state, which can, at the same time, be an expression of freedom and the desire of a nation to be independent, as well as a weapon of terror and suppression of independence i.e. easy prey for the occupying forces. How did Heta achieve this? He used the simplest and most economical method possible, similar to the logic of King Ubu's joke: he set up an embassy of the non-existent, unrecognized state of Kosovo at an exhibition of contemporary art in Cetinje, i.e. on the territory of a state that does everything in its power to ignore and suppress the desire of the Kosovar Albanians for independence. So, it seems as though, through his installation, Heta exclaimed 'Long live the Embassy, because if there were no Embassy there would be no State', judging that it spoke both to his people voicing its desire for independence and to the outside world which is unwilling to recognize that desire. The reaction to the work was panic in the entire media apparatus of Montenegro and Serbia , the town where the installation was shown, as well as the entire state machinery of Montenegro , from the representatives of the biennale and politicians to clergy. The work was banned and removed!!!

Since the wish of the Kosovar Albanians to gain independence and have a state of their own has been ignored up to now, the fact that the act of proclaiming a new state by opening its embassy, a mere representative of the state in the outside world, did not go ignored is all the more interesting. Namely, where the desire for independence gets ignored, a mere demand for a State to be set up appeared. But it is a murderous, Ubuesque State which threatens anyone who tries to express his wish. Therefore, such a state can be given any name and exist in the name of anyone, it nevertheless remains a mere apparatus of occupation, terror and sadism. Those who ignore the desire for the independence of Kosovo are representatives of a murderous state whose embassies are mass graves and terror. Heta offered a joke as a tool for absolution of the excluding relationship between the Terror State and desire of people to gain independence, which touched a raw nerve by exposing the essence of infantile desires for a State of Terror, the one that cannot take a joke. In fact, Heta's installation communicates the message 'A joke should take the place of tragedy', meaning that only then can we say that we have freed ourselves from the State of Terror, the one that cannot take a joke and is ready to kill art or the artist over a joke.

 

PRINCE SHOCKED, 'EMBASSY' REMAINS

C. PRELEVIC - LJ. BOŽANOVIC  30.08.2004, 19:29:38

CETINJE - For three days now, the building of the Ethnographic Museum of Montenegro, former Embassy of the Kingdom of Serbia, has been 'graced' with a black double eagle and red Albanian flag placed above a sign reading 'Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo, Cetinje'!

Under the guise of a 'performance' held as part of the Cetinje Biennale, this unprecedented incident was caused by the Albanian artist Albert Heta. He does not hide that his intention was to set up a proper embassy of the 'Republic of Kosovo' in the Montenegrin capital, at least during event, the embassy which, according to Heta, exists. The scandal provoked violent reactions of some, while others virtually showed approval.

 

APOLOGY FOR THE INSTALLATION

PRESIDENT of the Cetinje Biennale and its founder, Prince Nikola Petrovic, yesterday made a public apology for the scandal.

I'm shocked by this art installation, said Nikola Petrovic. In the current political context, it is inappropriate and dangerous. Unfortunately, I had no means of participating in the Fifth Biennale and I discovered the installation, like all other visitors, only after the opening.

Petar Cukovic, director of the Biennale and the National Museum of Montenegro says for 'Novosti' that 'the case shouldn't be politicized'.
Selectors are the ones who chose the works to be exhibited. I do not interfere with their work. I believe that the tensions surrounding this work of art should be reduced. Everything is being politicized now, especially because Kosovo is at issue, and this work fits into that story. However, I think artists are bound to lose if they politicize their work. I personally have no affinity for this kind of art or for this work, Cukovic told us. - The fact that Montenegrin authorities and the state or the National Museum have nothing to do with this case must be emphasized. This work was not made especially for the building on which it was put. Some people call that building Serbian Embassy, but it never served that purpose.

Cukovic says the performance will remain where it is until September 19 th , as planned.

While there are people who are of opinion that art and politics should be separated and against 'censoring' artistic freedom, Jovan Marku?, former Mayor of Cetinje, today an official of Narodna stranka (People's party) expects the Minister of Culture, Vesna Kilibarda to resign.

The building of the museum, former Embassy of the Kingdom of Serbia has been desecrated with the blessing of the Ministry of Culture. The perpetrator is an Albanian from Kosovo who has sent a clear political message to the residents of Cetinje, Montenegro and Serbia reminding them of the aim of the movement for a Greater Albania, says Marku?. - It would have been more appropriate if the flag, sign and coat of arms had been put up in the offices of DPS (Democratic Socialist Party) and SDP (Social Democratic Party), not on the honourable home of the dynasty Petrovic-Njegos and the Karadjordjevics.

 

OMINOUS MESSAGE

Aleksandar Aleksic, Mayor of Cetinje is also exasperated by the fact that a purely political message has been sent from the town he is the head of.

The activities of artists should, in principle, demonstrate ideas of reconciliation, goodness, freedom, something that builds good relations between people, regardless of their origin and religious beliefs. Having all that in mind, I find that this is a continuation of the policy adopted by state officials, the policy that has always followed the most shameful and bloodiest examples from Montenegrin history - says Aleksic for this newspaper. On the other hand, while this is happening they are robbing the people of Montenegro - from usurping natural resources to the privatization of KAP, 'Telekom', Elektroprivreda' and all other Montenegrin companies which are soon to become property of the best man of the head of the current regime. Therefore, we believe this performance to be a shameful affair and such an idea shouldn't have emerged from Cetinje. Aleksic maintains that 'pure politics and something that has nothing to do with either art or good neighbourly relations between countries be it Albania or Serbia' is behind the scandal.

I'm completely sure that this Albanian artist is not nearly as much to blame as is the man who allowed such a thing to be done. This decision was made at the top; it is a political decision par excellence, harmful to good neighbourliness and interpersonal relations in the municipality. They intended to tarnish everything that Liberalni savez (Liberal Alliance) and Cetinje authorities have tried to achieve over the last two years with the aim of finally forgetting the divisions and turning to the future which should bring benefits and satisfaction to all of us. Obviously, this does not suit somebody's purposes and we know exactly who that is, concludes Aleksic.

The Mayor of Cetinje says that the local authorities cannot do anything that would lead to removing Albanian emblems from the building of the former Serbian Embassy, because municipal authorities are in no way connected with the Biennale.

We can write an official letter, but then, public expression of our opinion had, in a way, the same effect. We can lodge a protest, but we know this will meet with indifference from the people who are doing their best to create a total backwater, which is ideal only for them, since, naturally, they grow richer every day by laying hold of the Montenegrin spirit, tradition and cultural and material wealth, says the Mayor.

Yesterday, we tried to contact the Minister of Culture, Vesna Kilibarda. Mobile phone call was answered by her secretary. After we asked her to tell Mrs. Kilibarda that we would like her to give us a short statement regarding the 'Kosovo Embassy' scandal, no one answered the phone any more. There have been no other reactions from the authorities.

 

PERFORMANCE AGAINST OUR HISTORY

The Cetinje Biennale has a history of scandals. At the exhibition 'New Icon' held in 1997, the picture of Mother of God, patron saint of the town of Cetinje was displayed smudged with human faeces. The audience could see other icons too, including that of Christ, Saint Nicolas and other saints with 'accessories' surpassing the worst pornographic images.

Everyone who wants to can see for himself: it's enough to see the exhibits in Vladin dom. There is no doubt that atheism of the Cetinje Biennales is slowly transforming itself into anarchism. In the end, the final stage is pure and unadulterated Satanism, retorted archbishop Atanasije at that time.

Two years ago, a provocative, almost pornographic sculpture was again exhibited on the main square in Cetinje. Somebody destroyed in under the cover of night, while the destiny of wicker dog houses that 'artists' put all over Cetinje, as part of their 'performance' was exactly the same. People still remember that during one of the Biennales, Prince Nikola came to see an 'artistic performance' starring a poodle having an erection!

 

ABUSED HOSPITALITY

LJ. B.  31.08.2004, 19:09:49

Following the decision of Petar Cukovic, director of the Cetinje Biennale, scandalous performance by the Kosovo-based Albanian artist Albert Heta has been removed from the building of the former Serbian Embassy, although it should have remained there until September 19 th .

Cukovic says that he made the decision that the sign reading 'Embassy of Kosovo in Serbia and Montenegro' and the Albanian flag must be removed because of the 'unacceptable behaviour' of Heta himself.

Heta moved the sign put in front of the entrance to the building which served to let people know that an artistic event is taking place there, says Cukovic. - When I saw that the artist had hid the sign under a tree, I immediately decided that his work must be removed and informed the organizers of the Biennale - custodians Rene Blok and Nata?a Ilic who both agreed... He denied information that the performance was removed only after a violent act of an individual who did not like the work of art.

Unfortunately, this performance has obviously inflamed passions that shouldn't have been aroused to that extent in Cetinje. I think that this work is not worthy of so much attention. Its only strong point lies in the fact that it successfully provoked people to react and thus outshone other works that are truly brilliant, Cukovic points out. - Heta abused Montenegrin hospitality. I cannot imagine that such a thing would be possible in any of the neighbouring countries.

 

EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO SET UP

LJ. B.  29.08.2004, 19:12:39

CETINJE - A number of performances were held as part of the Cetinje Biennale that began in the capital of Montenegro. One of them caused a scandal, not of artistic but of purely political kind. Albanian artist, Albert Heta placed the Albanian flag, coat of arms and a sign reading 'Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo, Cetinje, State Union of Serbia and Montenegro' on the former Serbian Embassy building.

As with any exhibition, is very hard to judge whether or not it is art, Heta said. The building formerly housing the Serbian Embassy, today is officially the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo. That's the reality that no one wants to recognize. As a man I speak, think and exist and so does the Republic of Kosovo.

Reacting to Heta's performance, Aleksandar Aleksic, Mayor of Cetinje said 'It is primarily a political decision of Montenegrin authorities which are responsible for it and always find ways to divide residents of Montenegro'. Rene Blok, organizer of the Biennale said that Heta's performance should be viewed only as a work of art. The opinion of the director of the Biennale, Petar Cukovic was similar.

However, Želidrag Nikcevic, writer and Gojko Perovic, Dean of the Seminary in Cetinje expressed a different opinion. The former said that Heta's exhibition was a shame for Montenegro and the latter believes that the majority of works shown at the Biennale are 'beyond reason'.

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