NU SKOOL

2 — 21 August 2005

Opening on Tuesday, 2 August at 9 pm

Designers: Ajdin Bašić, Codeep/CodeSign (Martin Bricelj, Ozren Škodrič), Luka Dekleva, Edge Department (Žiga Testen), Slavko Glamočanin, Mitja Grebenjak, gven+tano taylor, Jernej Marušič — Octex, Ivian Kan Mujezinović, Miloš Radosavljević, Strup Produkcija, Studio db (Dominika Batista), Zarobotko (Luka Prinčič), Mina Žabnikar

Curators: Alenka Gregorič, Nataša Petrešin, Barbara Predan

During the past decade, design — together with the proliferation of electronic media and under the influence of the omnipresent Internet — in Slovenia started to approach the strategies emblematic of contemporary consumer society. Creativity in design, on the other hand, has reached into the spheres nearer to contemporary art mechanisms and creative processes, while its extension into other artistic realms (music, visual art, performance) transformed it into an entirely comprehensive and interdisciplinary phenomenon. The line of design presented in this project tends to visualise, accompany and translate contemporary trends and culture of electronic music into events and a way of thinking, or life-style.

The Nu Skool project (term borrowed from the slang of digital and electronic music communities, and it denotes experimentation and "avant-garde" performance, presentation and reflection within the most recent musical genres and trends) marks the onset of a distinct approach to the design of products related to electronic music. The exhibition has been divided into three board thematic segments comprising designers according to their visualiastion of music:

  • design of flyers, leaflets, record covers (series of CDs and vynil records) and posters;
  • VJ performances, i.e. VJ and DJ live music acts. VJ is an abbreviation of "Video Jockey", that is, a designer of his/her own visual material to accompany a DJ ("Disc Jockey") musical performance;
  • computer-animated music clips.

The exhibition is trying to show characteristic and consequential corporate images of electronic music events, developed in the Slovene space since 1995 by young designers in connection with different associations, publishers, musicians, or at individual events. In the narrow meaning of the term and in the framework of this project, Nu Skool is primarily a metaphor for the youngest and middle generations of designers, whose work in the domain of corporate images of audio events or products transcends traditionally defined borders between design, art and marketing, and whose hybrid productions visualise music in an entirely individual and original manner. It is precisely electronic music, ranging from classical experimental forms to large rave parties, that presents one of the most influential mass phenomena in global society; through design, which is an integral part of this musical genre, we present a level of Slovene communication design, which is both comparable to and fast becoming part of aesthetics and imagination prevalent in the international space.

For further information contact Alenka Gergorič, artistic director of the Škuc Gallery on
+386 1 251 65 40, galerija.skuc@guest.arnes.si.