New Books Network Adair Rounthwaite, "This Is Not My World: Art and Public Space in Socialist Zagreb" (U Minnesota Press, 2024)
Oct 29, 2025
Adair Rounthwaite, a historian of contemporary art and chair at the University of Washington, dives into the vibrant art scene of socialist Zagreb. She explores the Group of Six Authors' innovative public art events from the 1970s, transforming state-controlled spaces into platforms for personal expression. Rounthwaite discusses the intimate relationships and collaborations among artists, the role of language in critiquing ideology, and compares Yugoslav practices with global avant-garde movements. She also hints at her upcoming research on right-wing art, ensuring a provocative dialogue ahead.
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Friendship Networks Drove Experimental Practice
- The Group of Six were young, mostly self-taught artists who used friendship networks to stage public events.
- They leveraged institutional ties yet pursued spontaneous, public-facing formats outside formal galleries.
Intimacy As Analytic Lens
- 'Intimacy' connects relational dynamics and fragile materiality in the group's work.
- Artists staged private gestures publicly to reveal the difficulty and politics of relating in socialism.
Exhibition Actions As Legal Liminality
- 'Exhibition actions' were public events that combined legal permits with ambiguous, liminal formats.
- These actions varied by site and drew different levels of passerby engagement and artist intent.
