The only activity of greater proportions or beter to say a happening by Ty realized, is Blockade. 
The reason why we could say that it was a lager activity; is becose sponsor of activity was SGK for the first time and Tu had almost complete freedom of choice considering the ideas; on that occasion they planned and created the concept of the activity with no hesitation.

 

The activity took place in the centre of the town at its central intersection in the presence of citizens who were just passing by, as well as in the presence of those who came there with a reason.

 

The idea of the activity unfortunately was not fully realized as it had been planned since certain problems of tehnical nature occurred. The concept was based upon the blockade of the above mentioned area by using Ptt (post) warning line in order to disable any kind of access to the place where the activity - was going to happen, then setting up a large-sized drawing which was meant to function as a scenery. A monotonous, irritating, high-pitched sound was to make the activity zone more intense and to rim it, stretched away from the backround.

At the same time Ty took photos of the activity and the reactions of the onlookers. Shooting with a video camera failed although three video cameras were previously a part of the plan. 

 

The activity was to be shot from three locations. The first one which would move among the crowd, the second one would be static and shoot from the centre of the event, while being connected to the projector which would project video record onto the drawing i.e. scenery, at the same time and the third one was to shoot the activity from the balcony of a nearby building. 

 

The absence of such an important segment which would additionally contribute to the analytical presentation and complete the whole picture of the happening, as well was the consequence of a created disorder which made certain confusion and disabled the shooters to come to the event scene when they were. The activity was a part of the New Year's carnival. Luckily a lot of photo material was made, now attached to the file on this cd.

The activity began at 11 a.m. with a slight delay, and by that time, to be more precise, before the beginning, onlookers were given postcards or card with motifes from the activities previouse performed by Ty. The photographs from the period which we named as Art Group also found their place among postcard motifes. The postcard which were given to the people all around the city, had only the logotype of "Te`ak" on their back.

After a debate on possible information which should be given, we decided that the best solution was to omit any kind of textual content, and to let people estimate by themselves what it was all about. Obviously in this way we clearly decreased communication, but we did not want to achieve exaggerated attractiveness either, that is to say, we presented scanned photographs without additional computer adaptation and correction only. The activity was announced by the means of A3 posters which are displayed here. Apart from the postcards, a message in A3 format was distributed as well, which looked like a message of some of criminal-terrorist organization, made of clipped newspaper letters with a bit of text in handwriting.

 

The message is also attached and readable. Its text is a descriptive individual message of a group of young artists, our message, and in a crazy, schocking, and a bit pathetic way, it expresses our needs, wishes and aspirations and rush to realize them, it also includes some data explaining how we even arrived at idea to ask anything and work all together. Furthermore, the message contains a few coded moments such as : " We are actually called 8-A cell " in Serbian 8-A is pronounced as osam'a but when it is pronounced without a pause in Serbian it represents the name Osama. We actually wanted to show our initial wish to name ourselved 8-A, but we gave up of  that idea because of provocative and trivial approach, which it might have had implied, even though this word had the after meaning state of isolation, namely loneliness "osama" in Serbian which again might be well understood in the context of artistic, creative moment of loneliness and isolation, whenever the moment of creation is reached. Further on, there were some data about us..." None of us participated in the war but one. He even was awarded the medal. The rest of us lived according to our own rules." This was the authentic biographical rewiew of what was happening to us in boisterous war events, and even before that, of how our now ex-member really got the medal for defending our native country by shooting down the first projectile above Yugoslavia in 1999 war. ( Then he cut the budget of the USA for approximately one million dollars but soon after he repeated the procedure and the damage is now estimated around two million dollars.) Furthermore the message tells that : " In the situation we are found in, we feel the urge to express ourselves, to make a move. We want to put ourselves into the centre of the events and completely admired." 

 

By this, we announce the direction and final aim of our plan, now to deal with art, and to unmask of the profession, expressing the basic need - the reason why we entered the adventure called "Te`ak". This also showed that in an honest and self-destructive way we wanted to say that our hopes, needs and wishes were only one aspect of egoistic an altruistic selling of oneself.

 

Thus, this sparkle of a naively childish and panic invitation for communication or a sketch of the closed world of our lives, represented a hidden and artistic moment in the activity colled Blockade.

As we have so far described some moments of the activity in general, now we will move to a bit more detailed presentation of both the whole story and separate segments of the activity.

 

At a certain moment when the monotous sound was heard, Ptt warning lines were set up, or better to say, spread between a few traffic lights and wrapped around them for a couple of times in order to form a high wall or a fence. Now in this way we got the square area enclased. One side of the square was approximately 10 meters long. Only Tu had access within the area.

 

A few meters away from it a great drawing was set up. The drawing or a scenery as we have already mentidned, was made of styrofoam boards which were adhered into ribbons forming thus together the surface of 50m2. The motife on the drawing, made in monochrome tone was originally meant to be fractal or schematic, view of chaos, but later we arrived at the idea that it should be the fruit of an indoor exotic plant named tatula. The shape of the fruit which can be seen on the photographs is tatula but it also gives a piece of additional information.

 

Poisoning with this plant might cause serious damage of eyesight. 
As a consequence, the blurriness might last for a longer period of time.

Interpreted in this way, the message is direct and trivial. The composition was set up early in the morning before the activity had started.

 

The drawing was hung on a metal cord at the height of about 4 meters so that foot parts of the styrofiam composition tached the ground. Although the composition was tied with ropes, it happened that whenever the wind blew the composition was made and behaved as a sail spreading and swelling.

Hence, even though without any plan, we dotained further implication; Now and then the composition swayed from its static positions and due to the wind looked like a breathing living being. Once again when watched from the distance of a few hundred meters, i.e. from the upper parts main street, the composition represented an original dam, barrier - blockade. The fence made of yellow Ptt warning lines and the composition, constructed a double blockade, the lines prevented motion of cars and pedestrians, while the composition like a defensive wall, or a hockey goal, although not literally, blockaded all the motion from main street which, seen from this angle a slightly rose up.

 

The composition was set up at the very beginning of the pedestrian zone.

However, without video cameras, it was real luck to have at least one camera in the centre connected to the projector. However, as the projector was not in function to show the picture of the composition during the day, we were denied for this segment of the activity as well.

 

When the activity began with the transmission of the sound and with wrapping the lines around the pillars, Ty equipped with cameras  recored the stream of the activity and the onlookers' reaction. Most part of the material taken on this occasion is displayed here for you. Duration of the activity performed by the police was 20 minutes, but due to lingering the activity lasted around 45 minutes, which was the top limit of tolerance since the traffic was to be re-established soon after.

 

Thus, the activity was successfully broght to its end, of we take the omission of video material into consideration; the composition got broken into pieces, certain parts of Styrofoam seemed to have had life of their own as if they had individual steady art entites, hence they were meant to be exhibited individually. Within the project which was supposed to follow the Blockade activity, whole photo material, as well as the sryrofoam plates were planned to be exhibited in a prefabricated pavilion which would be set up at the plateau in front of the National Museum. 

 

The idea was to make a prefabricated room of the pavilion, built of light material, probably of qysum tiles, with electricity and light installed in it. Apart from a few details which will not be discussed here, this was bricles, the concept which followed the Blockade. Why was it insisted on a pavilion and not on some kind of gallery?

Due to the previous experience set and ideologically precisely determined by Ty, it was prowed that outside exhibitions nesesserly introduced at least elementary liveliness and directness of artistic action, which were depressed the very moment of their eutering the area supposed to be the meeting place of false art-lovers and snobs. This strictly refers to local cireumstanees, although there may be the same examples anywhere else.
The pavilion room unfortunately was not realized, in the meantime Styrofoam pieces were used as a material for scenery in the local theatre. Thus, this last mentioned idea remained without any possibility to be realizated.

This additional project compoised the printing of publications in electronic form which would include photo material taken during the activity Blockade, as well as the photos and texts on earlier period. All in all, that was the essence which would later develop and turn into the project They. 

 

text from They presentation 2004.

Dragan Djurdjevic 2002.

Luka Tadic 2002.

 

Mateja Berbakov 2002.

Darko Dimitrijevic 2002.

 

Ana Vujosevic 2002.

 

 

Jedina akcija većih razmera koju je TU ostvarila, možda bi preciznije trebalo reći hepening je Blokada. U kom smislu možemo da kažemo da se radilo o većoj akciji, po tome što je pokrovitelj akcije po prvi put bila SGK i ovoga puta TU ima gotovo odrešene ruke kada su u pitanju zamisli i bez ustezanja planira i formira koncept.

Akcija se odvijala u centru grada na centralnoj gradskoj raskrsnici uz prisustvo slučajno prispelog ali i ne tako slučajno prispelog građanstva.

 

Zamisao akcije nažalost nije do kraja izvedena kako je zamišljeno a to su ipak razlozi tehničke prirode... Koncept se zasnivao na blokiranju pomenutog područja PTT trakom kako bi bio onemogućen bilo kakav pristup prostoru u kome se odvija akcija, zatim postavljanje odnosno kačenje velike slike koja ima i funkciju scenografije. Iz pozadine dopire jednoličan iritirajući visokofrekfentni zvuk koji treba da dodatno pojača i oiviči zonu događaja.

 

TU za to vreme fotografiše doga|aj i reakcije posmatrača. Kako je snimanje video kamerom izostalo mada je planirano da akciju prate tri v. kamere sa različitih lokacija, jedna koja se kreće kroz masu ljudi, druga koja statično snima iz centra događaja a povezana je istovremeno za projektor koji video zapis projektuje na sliku odnosno scenografiju, i treća kamera koja akciju prati sa balkona obližnje zgrade. Izostanak ovako bitnog segmenta koji bi dodatno doprineo analitičkom prikazu a i upotpunio predstavu događaja je posledica nastalog meteža koji je izazvao određenu konfuziju i onemogućio snimatelje da dođu na lice mesta kad je trebalo. Akcija se odvijala u sklopu novogodišnjeg karnevala. Za utehu napravljeno je dosta fotografskog materijala koji se iznosi na uvud u ovom disku.

 

Akcija sa početkom u 11h pre podne ipak je malo kasnila, a za to vreme, dakle pre početka akcije deljene su razglednice ili čestitke sa motivima iz predhodnih akcija koje je TU izvodila bez publike a ulaze u period neposredno pre ove akcije. Tako|e na motivima razglednica nalaze se i fotografije iz perioda koji smo ovde nazvali Art Grupa. Razglednice su deljene građanima u širem rejonu od samog događanja, a osim fotografija one su na poleđini sadržale od informacija samo logotip Težak. U raspravi oko toga šta treba od eventualnih informacija da sadrže pomislili smo da bi ipak bilo najbolje rešenje da izostavimo bilo kakav pisani tekstualni sadržaj i ostavimo ljudima da sami procene o čemu se radi. Naravno na ovakav naćin jasno smanjili smo komunikativnost ali nismo želeli ni preteranu dopadljivost koja se može uočiti kog sirovo obrađenih odnosno samo skeniranih fotografija bez dodatne računarske obrade i šminkanja. Akcija je najavljena putem plakata formata A3 koji su ovde dati na uvid, a pored razglednica deljena je i poruka takođe formata A3 sastavljena u maniru kriminalno terorističke organizacije od iseckanih štampanih slova iz novina uz malo ručno pisanog teksta. Poruka je takođe priložena i može se pročitati. Tekst je opisno individualna poruka grupe mladih umetnika, nas, i na jedan shizoidno eksplozivan ipomalo patetičan način izražava naša htenja, nabrekle želje i hitnju da se sve to ostvari ali sadrži i nekoliko podataka o tome kako smo došli do pozicije da uopšte nešto tražimo i stavlja na uvid tok koji nas je doveo do toga da sada radimo zajedno ovde. Dalje poruka sadrži nekoliko šifrovanih momenata kao na primer / mi se u stvari zovemo ćelija 8-A / - 8a kada se izgovori bez pauze na srpskom znači Osama.  Ovim se htelo reći da je ideja za početni naziv grupe trebalo da bude 8a ali da se odustalo zbog provokativnosti i banalnog pristupa koji je ona kada se protumači imala, mada je ova reč mogla da označava stanje osamljenosti odnosno usamljenost - Osama, koje se opet može dobro razumeti u kontekstu umetničkog-stvaralačkog momenta usamljenosti i izolovanosti da bi se došlo do ploda ili dela stvaranja. Dalje malo deskriptivno govori se o/...nismo išli u rat ali jedan od nas je bio i dobio je orden. Mi ostali živeli smo po sopstvenom modelu./ Ovde je reč o konkretno biografskom prikazu toga šta se dešavalo sa nama u burnim ratnim događajima, pa i pre toga,  i o tome da je naš sada bivši član zaista dobio orden za odbranu otadžbine oborivši pritom prvi projektil naj Jugoslavijom u ratu 1999. ( tada je oštetio Sjedinjene Američke Države za oko milion dolara ali je ubrzo ponovio postupak pa se sada šteta procenjuje na oko dva miliona dolara.)

 

Dalje se u poruci kaže da / u zatečenoj situaciji osećamo potrebu da se iskažemo, pokrenemo. Želimo da sebe stavimo u centar zbivanja i da naša stvarnost potpuno doživi vaše divljenje./  Ovim se najavljuje smer i konačni ishod našeg plana, bavljenja umetnošću i svojevrsno raskrinkavanje takve delatnosti, pokazivanje osnovne potrebe - razloga zašto smo ušli u avanturu zvanu Težak. Ovim se na jedan iskren i samorazarajući način želi reći kako su naše nade, htenja i želje samo jedan vid egoističkog i altruističkog prodavanja sebe. Tako je ova iskrica naivno dečijeg i paničnog poziva za komunikaciju ili skica jednog zatvorenog sveta naših života, skriveni i autistični momenat u akciji Blokada.

 

Kako smo dosad opisali okvirno neke momente akcije prećićemo na malo detaljniji prikaz kako samog toka tako i pojedinačnih segmenata. U određenom momentu istovremeno kada se oglasio ton, jednolični zvuk,

PTT trake su postavljene bolje rečeno razapete oko nekoliko semafora i to više puta u nizu tako da čine visok zid ili ogradu. Sada smo dobili ograđen prostor kvadratnog oblika, jedna stranica bila je duga približno 10 metara, u okviru koga je prisup imao samo TU. Koji metar dalje nalazi se velika slika. Slika ili kako smo već rekli može da bude i scenografija, je napravljena od tabli stiropora koje su spajane u trake a zajedno čine površinu od 50 m2. Motiv na slici koja je rađena u monohromatskom tonu je prvobitno trebalo da bude fraktal ili šematski prikaz haosa, ali se kasnije došlo do toga da to bude plog kućne egzotične biljke koja se ovde kod nas zove tatula. Oblik ploda koji se može videti na fotografijama je fraktalan ali takođe nosi i jednu dodatnu informaciju.

 

Efekat trovanja ovom biljkom može ozbiljno prouzrokovati oštećenje čula vida. Kao posledica ima se zamućenost vida koja može da potraje duže vreme... Ovako prenesena poruka je direktna i banalna.

 

Kompozicija je postavljena rano ujutru pre početka akcije. Slika se nalazi okačena na metalnu sajlu u visini od oko 4 metra tako da donji delovi stiroporske kompozicije dodiruju zemlju. Mada je kompozicija povezana kanapima događa se da kada vetar dune pomera kompoziciju koja se opet ponaša kao jedro koje se širi to jest naduvava. Tako mada neplanirano dobili smo još jednu implikaciju, kompozicija je iz statične sada povremeno gibanjem pod uticajem vetra delovala kao živi organizam koji čak šta više diše... Još jednom kada se pogleda sa rastojanja od nekoliko stotina metara iz viših delova glavne ulice, kompozicija predstavlja svojevrsnu branu, barijeru - blokadu.

 

Ograda stvorena od žutih PTT traka i kompozicija čine duplu blokadu, trake sprečavaju kretanje automobila, pešaka dok kompozicija kao odbrambeni zid, još jedna asocijacija može da bude hokejaški gol, mada ne bukvalno blokira kretnju iz pravca Glavne ulice koja se gledano iz ove tačke blago uzdiže naviše. Kompozicija je postavljena na samom početku pešačke zone.

 

Iako bez video kamera imali smo sreće da je jedna kamera bila u krugu koja je bila povezana sa projektorom. Međutim kako projektor nije bio u stanju da baca sliku po danu, na kompoziciju, bili smo uskraćeni i za ovaj segment akcije. Kada je akcija započela emitovanjem tona i postavljanjem traka TU opremljeni fotokamerama beleže tok akcije i reakcije posmatrača. Veći deo materijala snimljen ovom prilikom izložen je na uvid ovde.

Trajanje akcije uz dopuštenje MUP-a trebalo je da traje oko 20 minuta ali malim odugovlačenjem akcija je trajala sveukupno oko 45 minuta što je gornja granica tolerancije obzirom da je saobra}aj uskoro opet morao da bude uspostavljen.

 

Tako je akcija protekla uspešno ako se ima u vidu izostanak video materijala, kompozicija je ostala da visi još jedno 24 sata a onda je morala da bude uklonjena... Od komada stiropora, kada je kompozicija bila rastavljena pojedini komadi su se pokazali kao samostalno održive likovne celine pa je nameravano da budu izloženi pojedinačno. U projektu koji je trebalo da se nadovezuje na akciju Blokada planirano je da se kompletan fotografski materijal kao i ploče stiropora izlože u jednom montažnom paviljonu koji bi bio postavljen na platou ispred Narodnog Muzeja. Zamišljeno je da paviljon bude montažna soba izgrađena od lakog materijala verovatno gipsanih ploča, do paviljona bi bila sprovedena struja i osvetljenje. Uz još neke detalje koje ovde nećemo iznositi to bi ukratko bio koncept koji se nadovezivao na Blokadu. Zbog čega se insistiralo baš na paviljonu a ne na nekoj galeriji?

 

Zbog toga što je dotadašnja praksa koju je TU trasirala i ideološki precizno utvrdila da insistira na akcijama koje su izvan prostora za izlaganje, da bi se sačuvala elementarna živost i neposrednost koju neki umetnički akt nosi a koja biva ugušena kada se prenese u područje koje prečesto služi kao sastajalište kvazi ljubitelja umetnosti i malograđana. Ovo se striktno odnosi na lokalne prilike, mada primeri posroje verovatno svugde.

Paviljon soba nažalost nije doživela svoje ostvarenje, stiropori su u međuvremenu upotrebljeni kao materijal za scenografiju u lokalnom pozorištu tako da je ova ideja realno ostala bez mogućnosti realizacije.

 

Ovaj dopunski projekat podrazumevao je i štampanje publikacije u elektronskom obliku koja bi obuhvatila fotografski materijal sa akcije blokada ali i fotografije i tekstove iz ranijeg perioda, tako da je to bila esencija koja će kasnije sazreti u projekat They.

 

 

tekst preuzet iz They prezentacije 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happening Blockade: The Message 2002.

 

Happening Blockade: Postcards 2002.