Yesterday, Eda Cufer's lecture "Art Between Globalism & Communism: Reimagining the State" examined how artistic movements in Eastern Europe reacted to the fall of the communist regime between 1989 and 1992.
Originally from Slovenia, Cufer helped found the avant-garde collective "Theatre of the Sisters of Scipion Nasica."
Established in 1983, the collection lead to the creating of another art collective, "Neue Slowenishe Kunst" (NSK). The most well-known member of the group is Laibach, a notorious industrial rock band.
Cufer's lecture concentrated on presenting interesting parallels between art projects and historic events in Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1992. Cufe offered insights through her unique perspective on the creation of a new state.
In addition to addressing the parallels between art and historic events, Cufer told several stories about NSK projects, like establishing an "embassy" for their "State in Time"—a state without boundaries that has become a homeland for several people—in Moscow in the 1990s. Cufer also talked about the practices that NSK has employed to question political and artistic institutions over the past 30 years.
Associate Professor of Russian Raymond Miller helped bring Cufer to campus, motivated by his own professional interest in Slovenia and Slovene cultural history.
Miller also participated in a conference with Cufer on Slovenia's role in the European Union.
"I have wanted to bring her to Bowdoin ever since then—her work is extremely interesting, and the NSK is historically very important. I am thrilled to be able to do something that promotes the part of the world we study in Russian and Eurasian and East European Studies," said Miller.
Cufer lives in Freeport with her husband.