NSK New York and MomentaArt are pleased to present NSK Rendez-Vous New York. Founded in 1992 by Slovene arts collective Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK), the NSK State in Time emerged at a time when a radical rethinking of the nation state was necessary. As events in the 1980’s accelerated towards the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of Yugoslavia in war, the NSK collective (comprised of the groups Laibach, IRWIN, Noordung, New Collectivism and The Department of Pure and Applied Philosophy), emerged as a multi-faceted entity that reprocessed nationalist, socialist and fascist iconography and the language of the early twentieth century avant-gardes. Taking the idea of the state as a Duchampian Readymade, NSK virtually seceded from newly independent Slovenia in 1992 to become a ‘virtual’ state, existing in time and without borders – a utopian social sculpture embodying a symbolic transcendence of the nationalism engulfing the region. Shortly after its founding, the state began to issue passports and open temporary embassies in a number of locations, including Moscow, Sarajevo, Berlin, Ghent, Glasgow and Dublin.

In October 2010 citizens gathered at the first NSK Citizens’ Congress in Berlin to discuss the proliferation of the complex and often provocative ideas represented by this transnational entity, which describes itself as ‘the first global state of the universe’.

Presented by congress delegates and facilitators, the NSK Rendez-Vous New York provides an overview of the NSK State in Time and an opportunity for discussion on recent NSK initiatives.

Program:

FRIDAY, JUNE 24th, 2011, 7 – 10 PM

  • Overview of First NSK Citizens’ Congress in Berlin, 2010
  • The Birth of a State: Presentation on the Founding of the NSK State in Time
  • Film Screenings: NSK Passport Holders
  • The State Within: A Public Address