Page 32 - Studio International - December 1973
P. 32

THE BIENNALE

      OF GRAPHICS,

      LJUBLJANA,1973
      This year the tenth biennale exhibition of
      graphics was held in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. The
      first Ljubljana exhibition was also the first
      international graphics exhibition ever held, and
      the Ljubljana biennale remains to this day the
      largest. Why ?
        In 1948, when Yugoslavia broke off relations
      with Russia, the way was opened to the West.
      In the arts, as in everything, there was a
      desperate rush to take full advantage of it. In
      Ljbuljana, the capital of Slovenia, the best
      possibilities seemed to lie in the direction of
      graphics.
        Firstly, at that time the Slovene artists
      Bozidar Jakàc and Milac Males were among the
      only resident Yugoslav artists interested in
      graphics. During the early 195os a number of
      exhibitions of specific kinds of graphics were
      held: that of the Swiss group, SELON,
      concerned with woodcuts and the Cincinnati
      Group specializing in woodcuts. Then Jakac
      suggested that it might be a good idea to hold an
      international exhibition of graphics, not confined
      to any category.
        This suggestion was accepted, and the director                                                 (Above)
      of the Modern Gallery, Zoran Krizisnik, went                                                     Adriana Maraz
      to Paris where he contacted the Yugoslav artist                                                  Razdvojenost 1972
      Zoran Surma Music. Through him Krizisnik                                                         (Left)
      was able to contact most of the School of Paris :                                                Vladimir Velickovic
                                                                                                       Naissance d'une bate 5972
      Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Léger and others.
      This formed the nucleus of the first exhibition in
      1955, and the School of Paris continued to
      exhibit as a group until 1965. Since then artists
      have exhibited almost exclusively by
      nationalities (the exceptions will be referred to
      in a moment). In this year's exhibition 47
      countries took part; they were represented in
      the main exhibition alone by nearly 40o artists
      and over i000 works. Because the choice by the
      official bodies was not always satisfactory and
      because there is a need to limit the number of   the Frenchman, Henri Georges Adam, who won   in succession to Rauschenberg and Vasarely was
      works, there is a proposal that in 1975 the   the prize in 1957, as his work was more   an attempt to assert standards of excellence as
      choice will be made by an international   abstract, but the technique was rather similar.   against avant-garde trends.
      selection committee, who would invite artists to   A break was made in style and technique with   The next two prize winners, the Yugoslav
      exhibit and, as is done at present, select from   the choice of Soulages's abstract expressionist   Janez Bernik and the Japanese Kosuke
      works submitted unsolicited. A formidable and   (tachist) aquatints of 1959, but there was a   Kimura, have much in common. They both
      hazardous undertaking.                    reversion to traditional print-making in 1961   work with a photo-montage or collage
        One feature of this year's exhibition was of   when the delicate mezzotints of the Japanese   technique, which is related to Rauschenberg's
      considerable interest. Because it was the tenth   artist, Yozo Hamaguchi, were chosen. In 1963   work of the early 1960s. Had Bernik been
      biennale, it was decided to exhibit work by the   there was a great leap forward in the choice of   selected in 1967 in place of Tapies, which
      grand prix winners of each of the previous nine   Rauschenberg's lithographs. Incredible though   might have been the case were it not for the
      biennales. These works were housed in a cool   it may seem now, this was the first international   Yugoslays' modest reluctance to push their own
      basement gallery away from the other exhibits   award Rauschenberg had won. In the   claimants, we might have had a smoother
      and they enabled the spectator to study the path   exhibition there was only one work from this   picture of the development of graphics. But,
      of graphics over the last two decades, and also   period (1964), the rest were an extremely   much as I admire the work of Bernik, there is
      to adjust his standards before coming to grips   impressive set of studies of the anatomy of   little at the moment to beat the complete
      with the current exhibition.              boxes, the Tampa series, 1972. The choice of   assurance and nonchalance of Kimura: he can
        In 1955 the grand prix was won by an    seriographs by Vasarely in 1965 was also far-  put together the face of a clown, an athlete, the
      American artist, Armin Landeck. 1955 may not   sighted: it was his first international prize also.   head of a girl and bits of architecture, and
      seem so very long ago, yet Landeck's etchings   The choice in 1967 of Tapies may seem to   they gel.
      could have been done any time since Piranesi.   have been retrograde, but these were among   One criticism of the choice of prizewinners
      The same could not be said of the etchings of   Tapies's finest prints and the choice of Tapies    over the last twenty years might be that, with

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