Networking of Central European Artists' Associations Via Exhibitions
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Networking of Central European Artists’ Associations via Exhibitions. The Slovenian Art Association, Czech Mánes and Polish Sztuka in Zagreb in the Early 20th Century Kraševac, Irena; Šlosel, Petra Source / Izvornik: Modern and Contemporary Artists' Networks. An Inquiry into Digital History of Art and Architecture, 2018, 16 - 36 Book chapter / Poglavlje u knjizi Publication status / Verzija rada: Published version / Objavljena verzija rada (izdavačev PDF) https://doi.org/10.31664/9789537875596.02 Permanent link / Trajna poveznica: https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:254:222425 Rights / Prava: In copyright Download date / Datum preuzimanja: 2021-09-25 Repository / Repozitorij: PODEST - Institute of Art History Repository Networking of Central European Artists’ Associations via Exhibitions. The The history of art exhibitions has become Secession, Hagenbund and smaller pri- Slovenian Art Association, Czech Mánes and Polish Sztuka in Zagreb in the the subject of numerous scientific studies, vate galleries. This potential was recog- Early 20th Century particularly in the domain of the digital hu- nized by numerous artists from smaller and manities, while exhibitions on exhibitions artistically less developed cities from other DOI: https://doi.org/10.31664/9789537875596.02 are emerging as a distinct museological parts of the Monarchy. Under the influence variety, dealing with their reconstruction of Vienna’s gravitational pull, within a very and the contextualization of art works in the short time period comparable phenome- time period of their conception. As a result na began developing in the wider region, of digitally processed data, exhibitions of with local modernist artistic expressions art societies, as key points in the develop- and their presentation via exhibitions grow- ment of modern art, offer the possibility of ing stronger. The budding visual art scene a new way of viewing and interpreting the would orient itself towards the leading ar- medium of the exhibition as such as well as tistic trends of the time, determined by the the role and position of individual artists Secession and Hagenbund. Their impact within a particular art association.23 was inevitable precisely due to the fact that The art scene developing in Central Europe, a majority of artists from smaller art centers within the borders of the Austro-Hungarian of the Monarchy would come to Vienna for Monarchy, at the turn of the 19th centu- their education and would follow the de- ry, which involved the artistic networking velopment of the then modern art scene, of groups and individuals through an ex- which attracted great attention, from both change of exhibitions, guest exhibitions the artistic milieu and the wider audience. of art associations and the exhibitions of The artistic secessions that soon followed, works by individual artists at various ex- when groups of artists broke away from Irena Kraševac, Petra Šlosel hibitions and different Central European existing associations or established new locations, showed exceptional dynamic ones stem from the 1897 to 1900 period. activity and mobility. In this, the central In this way, almost in succession, the fol- position was assumed by Vienna, a tradi- lowing associations emerged: Associa- tional hub of artistic life owing to the devel- tion of Austrian Visual Artists – Secession oped infrastructure based on its arts and (Vereinigung bildender Künstler Österre- crafts schools, Kunstgewerbeschule, and ichs – Secession) and Hagenbund (Genos- the Academy of Fine Arts, and the possibility senschaft bildender Künstler – Hagen) in of art exhibitions in the Künstlerhaus, the Vienna, the Association of Polish Artists “Art” (Towarzystwo Artystów Polskich “Sz- 23 A great example of this approach is tuka”) in Krakow, the Association of Artists the exhibition dedicated to the Vienna Mánes (Spolek výtvarných umělců “Mánes”) art association Hagenbund, organized by in Prague, the Association of Croatian Art- the Belvedere Gallery in 2014. See: Agnes ists (Društvo hrvatskih umjetnika) in Zagreb Husslein-Arco, Matthias Boeckl, and Harald and the Slovenian Artistic Association Krecji, eds., Hagenbund. Ein europäis- (Slovensko umetniško društvo) in Ljubljana. ches Netzwerk der Moderne 1900 bis 1938, The artistic interconnection and networking exhibition catalogue (Vienna: Belvedere, 2014), and the digital and network display: of individuals and groups was the central Belvedere. “HAGENBUND. Ein europäisches subject of the interdisciplinary scientific Netzwerk der Moderne (1900 bis 1938)”. project ARTNET- Modern and Contemporary Accessed January 5, 2019. http://tools.fas. Artists Practices of the 20th and 21st Centu- at/hagenbund/exhibition.html. ry, which explored the exhibitions of Croa- 16 17 24 artists associations institutions exhibitions tian artists abroad, and the, until now less The Vienna Secession and familiar, archival resources on exhibitions Hagenbund – the Creation by foreign artists in Zagreb.25 In addition of Modern Art through an to exhibits of individual artists of various EXchange of EXhibitions nationalities at annual and thematic group exhibitions of the Vienna Secession and The example of the Société des Artistes Mánes Hagenbund associations, guest exhibitions Indépendants, which revolted against the X. výstava IV. Ausstellung spolku "Mánes" of the then new artistic associations from established exhibition politics of the tra- des Künstlerbundes (Prag) Hagen (Wien) Krakow and Prague were recorded in the ditional Société nationales des beaux-arts Künstlerbund exhibition spaces of these two associations, in Paris in 1884, and whose separation was Društvo Hagen hrvatskih as well as their less known guest exhibitions termed “une sécession“, inspired a series umjetnika in Zagreb at the very cusp of the 20th cen- of similar secession art trends in the wider 26 Izložba češkog tury. (Fig. 1) European cultural landscape. After a group umjetničkog društva of artists left the Munich Künstlergenossen- "Mánes" (Zagreb) 24 Irena Kraševac, Željka Tonković, II. izložba Umjetnički schaft and established the Association of Društva “Umjetničko umrežavanje putem izložaba u paviljon 25. Ausstellung Visual Artists of Munich “Secession” (Verein hrvatskih razdoblju rane moderne – sudjelovanje hr- umjetnika des Künstlerbundes Bildender Künstler Münchens “Secession”) (Zagreb) Hrvatsko društvo umjetnosti Hagen (Wien) vatskih umjetnika na međunarodnim izložbama od 1891. do 1900. godine,” Radovi Instituta in 1892, a group of Viennese artists, led by Gustav Klimt, followed suit, resigning Slovensko umetniško društvo Ausstellung za povijest umjetnosti, no. 40 (2016): der Vereinigung 203–17. https://www.ipu.hr/content/radovi-ipu/ from the Künstlerhaus in 1897 and estab- Izložba Hrvatskog polnischer Künstler lishing the Association of Austrian Visual društva umjetnosti „Sztuka" (Wien) RIPU-40-2016_203-217_Krasevac_Tonkovic.pdf (Zagreb) 25 Irena Kraševac, ed., 150 godina Artists– Secession (Verein bildender Kün- Sztuka Hrvatskog društva likovnih umjetnika. stler Österreichs – Secession). The exhi- I. slovenska umetniška razstava (Ljubljana) Umjetnost i institucija (Zagreb: Croatian bition program carried out in the group’s Association of Visual Artists, Institute exhibition pavilion, constructed according of Art History, 2018); The work on the to the conceptual idea of Klimt and the de- research project ARTNET – Modern and XXVI. Ausstellung Contemporary Artists Practices of the der Vereinigung XV. Ausstellung and Piotr Mizia, “Sztuka-Wiener Secession- Bildender Künstler der Vereinigung 20th and 21st Century coincided with the Mánes. The central European Art Triangle,” Österreichs Wien (Wien) bildender Künstler marking of the 150th anniversary of the Artibus et Historiae, vol. 27, no. 53 Österreichs Secession Croatian Association of Visual Artists Wien (Wien) (2006): 217–59.; Anna Brzyski, “Vienna Wiener Secession (HDLU) (1868–2018). In parallel with the Secession, Hagenbund, Szutka, and Mánes: creation of the project CAN_IS database competition and strategic collabora- (Croatian Artists Network Information tion among central European art groups”, System), systematic work was carried out Centropa, no. 11 (2011): 4–18. In very to catalogue the exhibitions that were interesting articles discussing the in- held during the 150 years of HDLU’s ex- terconnections of the exhibitions of the istence. From the very beginning, this two renowned Viennese associations and task was assigned to Art Historian Petra the Polish and Czech associations, the Šlosel, whose work was of key significance guest exhibitions of the Sztuka and Mánes for the project from the outset because associations in Zagreb are not mentioned her dedication and experience contributed – something this article intends to make to the creation of the CAN_IS database. up for. This turns the “Central European Šlosel catalogued over 1.500 exhibitions artistic triangle” into a square, posi- Fig. 1 organized by the then Art Society, today’s tioning Zagreb as a new (long neglected) Exhibitions of Central European artists associations in Croatian Association of Visual Artists. artistic hub within the bounds of the the period from 1900 to 1911 (locations and exhibitions) 18 19 26 Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. sign of architect J. M. Olbrich, best speaks to conventional academism and traditional ration of Mánes and the Hagenbund would the Art Association, focus was placed on to the group’s openness to collaboration artistic associations, attempting to obtain