Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

On the brink of the Cold War, in 1948, Yugoslavians chose to reject both of the major blocs’ ideologies—the ideology of Western capitalism, as well as the state socialism of the East. Consequently, in Yugoslavia in the 50s and especially the 60s, the path beyond bloc politics was represented by the non-aligned movement, while the alternative in the area of the sociology of work was built on the idea of socialist self-management. All of the above also proved vital for the further professionalisation and development of Slovenian art and design. The research focuses on the models and practices of international cultural exchange in relation to the dynamics in the global cultural field. The paper focuses particularly on the work of Yugoslav designer Janja Lap. In her 1984 interior design project, done for a military training facility in Libya, we notice the surfacing of African heritage in her project, which highlights Lap’s attempt to introduce a decolonisation discourse. We will show that Lap’s appointment was pivotal for the success of this complex project. Throughout her career, she focused on the understanding of a holistic approach in the broader social and geographical space. When facing a complex social problem, she was more than able not only to recognise it, confront it analytically, but also to devise a new approach to dealing with the status quo and designing alternatives.

Presenters

Barbara Predan
Associate Professor, Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Industrial Design and Applied Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia