Grafična podoba 23. Mednarodnega feminističnega in kvirovskega festivalal Rdeče zore – Urška Preis

Performance of Saša Bezjak: International Bezjak Red

12.3.2022 at 20:00,

Alkatraz Gallery

ACC Metelkova Mesto,

1000 Ljubljana

Application necessary at galerija.alkatraz@gmail.com, subject: International Bezjak Red. The number of participants is limited.

At the festival Red Dawns, Saša Bezjak shall present herself with a performance entitled International Bezjak Red. The title is an allusion to the name of the festival, as well as a hint at the leitmotif of the performance, the red colour, which represents blood and symbolizes life and resistance.  Among other things, the work is an appropriation of the performance Anthropométries[1],, replaying the reference to the artist’s International Yves Klein blue (colour). Saša Bezjak does not take the name of the paint too seriously and did not mix it in cooperation with the supplier of paints, but this does not mean that her work is humorous. However, the playful reference pertains to the questioning of the concept of genius, which is usually attributed to great artists. For the purpose of empowerment, she appropriates the work of one of the canonical artists of the 20th century, in order to take the meanings into her own hands and thus object to the appropriation of other (female) bodies and their objectification through works of art and in general. That is why she is anointed and painted red by a co-performer, Sandra Koprivnik, in a ceremonial dress tailored just for the occasion. Saša Bezjak is the one who prints the coloured outlines of her body on the fabric. The use of one’s own naked body is also a recognition and femmage to female and all other bodies that do not conform to the the social, media-commanded norms of beauty, youth and adequacy. It is a commemoration of sincere, hairy, changing and aging body and a response to harmful demands on how we should look like, as well as an objection to suppression and restriction of all socially overlooked bodies and individuals that inhabit them. 

 With the inclusion of the authors’ own body, an active emancipatory moment occurs, which subverts the apathetic-model attitude of Klein’s objectified painting accessories — models, and calls into question the meaningfulness of the whole tradition of portraying objectified bodies. She emphasizes the statement by choosing a colour that contrasts the coldness of ultramarine tones. Her red is originally ox blood, and in the performance in question it is artificial blood for use in theatre. Through the symbolism of bleeding, she thus transforms suffering into the power of revelation (of nudity) under her own conditions. Rajko Muršič’s musical performance with a deliberate instrumental approach, which includes the manipulation of guitar sounds with atypical musical aids, creates a creepy and at the same time exciting sound atmosphere, which only further emphasizes the dramatic nature of the bold revelation. But the performance is much more than the above-described: it is full of sparkling meanings and undertones that arise from the dark scene and come to the fore also through observers and their interpretations of events.

[1] As part of the POWER project [https://www.explorepower.eu/], the Association for the Promotion of Women in Culture — City of Women, has produced several teaching materials for teachers, which, based on examples from works of art, bring young people closer to the topics of gender and power. One of the works discussed in the publication on page 61 is Anthropometry, to which Saša Bezjak’s performance refers (https://www.explorepower.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Artworks-at-question-Power-Project.pdf)

Saša Bezjak, born in Maribor in 1971, graduated in Sculpture from the Faculty of Education in Maribor in 1999 under the supervision of Prof. Darko Golija, and in 2001 in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana under the supervision of Prof. Metka Krašovec and Prof. Nadja Zgonik. At the same institution, she also completed a master’s degree in Sculpture under the supervision of Prof. Lujo Vodopivec. Since 2002, she has been working as a freelance artist accredited by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. In 2013, she was awarded the title Expert Adviser for the field Special Didactics by the University of Maribor. Her works revolves around drawing, painting, sculpture, embroidery, art actions, performances and teaching. For the past two decades, she has been mentoring youth and adults through her art workshops and organizing exhibitions of works made there. She liveas and creates in Gornja Radgona since 2006. She has presented herself in about 110 group and 60 solo exhibitions in Slovenia and beyond. She is engaged in the field of work with vulnerable groups and is a fighter fro womens’ equality. Since 2013, she has been active in the Museum of Madness in Trate. Her works are part of many Slovenian art collections (Maribor Art Gallery; PAC Pomurje Academic Club; Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Koroška; Kibla Multimedia Centre; Murska Sobota Gallery) and abroad (Imago Mundi, Luciano Benetton Collection, Italy; Fondazione Pasqualle Batista, Italy).