ART AS A WEAPON: SERBIAN EPISODES (A Chronology)

Abstract

The idea of ​​the paper is to show that art is not (only) an expression of its time, or a subsequent interpreter of history, but an active participant in historical events. The paper shows the role of art in the dramatic change of ideology, which took place in Serbia between 1986 and 1991, which was the period of social and political crisis and the beginning of the breakup of Yugoslavia.The chronology of the historical process is presented, in which gradually the national history, culture, literature and art (which were forgotten or neglected) are revived, and corresponding new cultural features are created, with the aim of eventually removing the existing features related to the socialist revolution and socialist organization of society. This chronology consists of a series of "episodes" (events, affairs, problems, projects) in which it is not only a matter of concern for living art or artistic tradition: activity (in the media, criticism, cultural protection and cultural policy) is directed against political opponents, and tends to change people's view of the world.When that process was over, it became obvious that at its base was an - unchanged, and constantly present in Serbian culture -comprehension of art as a social (political) weapon.