THE ART WAR PROJECT
INTERNATIONAL

Exhibit of posters created during the Kosovo War by:

ART RAT (ART WAR) GROUP
from Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Autori ART RAT projecta su:
Dorijan Kolundzija I
Bata Knezevic
Nosioci projecta:
Bata Knezevic, Dorijan Kolundzija,
Dusanka Komnenic, Sasa Bardic,
Viktor Mijatovic, Ivana Radosavljevic,
Slavisa Savic I Galerija 12+

ARTISTS’ STATEMENT:
The ART RAT (ART WAR) project was established in order to unite all of those fighting against the war in Yugoslavia, and all other wars, through a universal language of Art. This art is not limited to the visual, rather exhibitions include the verbal and musical arts as well. The art announces the terror, killing and destruction of war. Art’s weapon is an idea, an aesthetic and a spirit. The purpose of this art is to provoke and raise consciousness with these non-violent weapons.

ART RAT began as exhibition of posters created by students and
professors of the Academy of Applied Arts and Design of Belgrade at the Belgrade Cultural Center and Gallery 12+ galleries. This artistic anti-war campaign will be continued through the gathering and promotion of new ideas, by connecting individuals and institutions throughout the world.

ART RAT IN THE UNITED STATES:
Chad Faries first met the ART RAT artists during his visit to Yugoslavia in 1997 with co-organizer Ljiljana Komnenic. During that time their artistic morale was somewhat diminished because of the lack of support they received from abroad after pro-democracy rallies for the Zajedno (together) coalition during the winter months. Day after day there were hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets in non-violent protest. Coverage in the west was minimal, support was almost non-existent. Zoran Djindjic, the leader of Serbia’s Democratic Party and demonstration organizer, recently said, “Washington has spent more on one day’s bombs than it ever spent helping the democracy movement in Yugoslavia.” After Faries’ return to the United States, he maintained an artistic exchange through letters and email. He was determined to educate fellow artists and writers on the situation in Yugoslavia and the presence of a powerful pro-democracy movement.

After the outbreak of the Kosovo crisis, Faries and Komnenic took a more active role in ART RAT. Contrary to what popular media portrays, being against bombing does not mean being “for” Milosevic or any campaign of ethnic cleansing. ART RAT’s platform is anti-war not simply because their city was bombed, but because the bombing only exacerbated the Kosovar Albanians’ refugee problem and in the end created a new Serbian refugee crisis.

These images were created during the bombing. It was particularly difficult to get them into the United States. Since Yugoslavia had declared a state of war, no one could leave and mail ceased to function. Our only connection to ART RAT was through unworthy Internet connections. Many times power outages caused by the bombing interrupted our connections. During telephone conversations bombs could be heard exploding in the distance. Finally, through a connection with a local Internet provider in Belgrade, the images were placed online at a pass-word protected site. Over three-hundred megabytes of graphic files were downloaded for over 30 hours. Numerous times connections were wiped out. It was the final days of the bombing campaign.

Now the images are being reproduced by various artists throughout the world. We currently have exhibitions being organized in Vancouver, Melbourne, Brussels, Dallas, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. These artists are organizing exhibitions similar to the upcoming showing at the Peace Action Center in Milwaukee. Exhibits include readings, music, interactive art and communication to accompany the images. The Peace Action showing hopes to draw a diverse crowd of community members in order to raise awareness of all the tragedies in Yugoslavia, past and present.

ART RAT images will be available for purchase and there is a $5 suggested donation. All proceeds go to ART RAT.

Interviews with the US organizers are available. A phone interview with the artists in Belgrade can also be arranged. The artists are Dorijan Kulundzija, Dusanka Komnenic, Sasa Bardic, Slavisa Savic, and Ivana Radosavljevic. Please contact Chad or Ljiljana for more information:
USA CONTACT:
Chad Faries & Ljiljana Komnenic
1489 N.Farwell Sreet, Apt.#L,Milwaukee, WI 53202

(414) 270-9819

E-mail: chadf@execpc.com