As mentioned in <a href="https://omnifinery.com/editorial/art/whats-up-with-slovenian-art-scene-part-one">the previous story on Slovenian art</a>, NSK (Neue Slowenische Kunst) was the best known and most controversial political art collective, founded in 1984, when Slovenia was still a part of Yugoslavia. The name of the collective NSK was in German, which in a way emphasised the complicated and ambiguous relationship of Slovenes to Germans and yet also to Austrians. The members of the collective were the multimedia group Leibach (the German name for the Slovenian capital Ljubljana), the visual arts group called IRWIN and the theatre group Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre. They afterwards established so-called subdivisions and one of them was called Novi kolektivizem (NK) / New Collectivism. This was the graphic design apartment and it contained at least one member from each of the previously mentioned groups.

New Collectivism was established primarily to provide design services to NSK and to maintain its overall visual identity. Using what is known as the retro-principle method* and employing many montages, the New Collectivism was often a bit controversial as they mixed various motifs and symbols from political and cultural spheres. Appropriation and reinterpretation were at the core of their visual language. They designed a coat of arms, most of their catalogues, album covers and of course posters - which were probably the highlights of Slovenian political posters ever.&nbsp;Since New Collectivism played a crucial role in connecting social spheres with art and politics and actually had an impact by reaching into the real politically-social space throughout the '80s onward they deserve quite a lot of attention from the public at home and abroad as well. It is important to note that New Collectivism is still very much alive and active. The most recent poster distributed in many cities around the world is called New World Order. Hanged out in Moscow, Berlin, Beijing, New York and Paris about the current coronavirus pandemic.

There was also an open-air exhibition in Ljubljana called Pro et Contra, which lasted throughout May and June of the summer 2021. Twenty posters were carefully selected and displayed in the heart of the capital at TAM -TAM Institute Poster Gallery near Figovec. The posters on display date from 1985 to 2020 and represent a compact overview of New Collectivism’s political posters while telling a storey about the broader social and political context and vibes of the last forty years.In the exhibition one could also see a poster of a young strong man holding the symbols of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - the flag, the torch, everything. In 1987, this poster won the competition for the best Youth Day poster (the holiday of Yugoslav youth, on which the relay was held every year for Josip Broz Tito's birthday), organised by the League of Socialist Youth of Slovenia. However, this project caused a scandal because the poster was based on a work by Richard Klein, a Nazi painting entitled The Third Reich Allegory of Heroism. The Nazi symbols were merely replaced with Yugoslav and Slovenian ones. When this became known, the affair blew up, but most Slovenian intellectuals, artists and even politicians sided with New Collectivism. This whole affair is interpreted today as one of many actions that led to the Slovenian declaration of independence and the disintegration of Yugoslavia. All in all, The Rally of Youth was one of the strongest ideological pillars of the country at that time, so the incident further shook the already existing instability. As we know, the whole chaos ended with the Ten-Day War for Slovenian independence in 1991, when New Collectivism reacted again with posters displayed all over the capital Ljubljana - these were the only public posters displayed during the war.&nbsp;

New Collectivism's visual presence always leaves some kind of impact, and it is because of their ongoing activities that they seem to be so influential. The exhibition fits well in the urban jungle in the place where there is a busy bus stop and many people stop to eat lunch or smoke a cigarette. Posters remain very expressive and always appeal to some, if not all, people. All of the constructive elements that transform posters into tools are ingenious and, being familiar from other iconographies, are usually very relatable and recognizable. Many of them address not only the Slovenian socio-political sphere, but also the European and - more recently during the financial crisis and the pandemic - even global issues that affect us all.

For example, in early July the year 2021, they did another cover for a Slovenian weekly left-wing political and current affairs magazine called Mladina (English: Youth). The title is NO FÜHRER and shows Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki and of course the Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Janša. Their heads are united on a pedestal, and the title obviously alludes to their specific way of governing their supposedly democratic homeland. In the same way, now is not the best time for art and cultural development in Slovenia, and when New Collectivism is forced to jump out of its quarters, everyone can tell that the shit is about to hit the fan.&nbsp;* ’’ The retro principle supports a constant alteration of language and a shifting from one pictorial expression to another. It eclectically refers to the history of art, choosing it, together with the entire cultural sphere, as the field of its operation. It makes use of various pre-existing language models, modifies itself through the past on the formal level, but remains intact on the conceptual one. ‘’ from:&nbsp;<a href="https://nskstate.com/article/irwin-retro-principle/">https://nskstate.com/article/irwin-retro-principle/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;This <a href="https://omnifinery.com/editorial/art">Art Story</a> is brought to you by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/instituteavetisian/">Institute Avetisian</a>, a contemporary art gallery, which is focused on Art Brut, Conceptualism, <a href="https://omnifinery.com/editorial/minimalism">Minimalism</a>, Video and Abstract Art. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/instituteavetisian/">Follow Institute Avetisian on Instagram</a> to see more exciting works and learn more about contemporary artists.&nbsp;Omnifinery - Feel Comfort in Your Individuality&nbsp;Text:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/masa.zeks/">Maša Žekš</a> - an art historian and culturologist of East Asia who writes reviews of different art exhibitions, makes collages and performs plant pots adaptations.Omnifinery Editorial: 2021 September Art Article 001

A brief review of New Collectivism's open-air exhibition Pro et Contra in Ljubljana during the summer of 2021 and a brief reflection on how their art remains relevant in these uncertain times.

How New Collectivism – graphic design department of Neue Slowenische Kunst – easily transcends time

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