Laibach

LAIBACH IN ATOMIC SHELTER

admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:54:24 +0000

Laibach was invited to collaborate at the Biennial of Contemporary Art, D-0 ARK Underground, taking place in Konjic, a small Bosnian town, in a Atomic shelter named ARK, which Yugoslav army built between 1953 and 1979. This shelter occupies a space of 6.500m2 and consists of 12 connected blocks. It resembles a complicated labyrinth, with residential areas, conference rooms, offices, strategic planning rooms, and other functional areas. The construction and existence of this bunker was kept secret until the 1990s, when ARK was finally revealed. ARK was built as a military bunker by the former Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) to function as the Main Centre for Military Operations or Military Command and as the shelter for President Josip Broz Tito, his family and his closest associates in case of war. Laibach is exhibiting installation NATURA MORTA.

MATERIALITY

admin — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:55:37 +0000

Laibach was invited to participate at the group exhibition Materiality, open on Friday the 19th of April 2013, at 19:00 in KIBLA Portal, Valvasorjeva 40 (2nd storey), Maribor, Slovenia.

The Materiality exhibition features fifty one artists; the majority of the participating artists are from Slovenia, accompanied by international guest artists, invited on the basis of the selection of artworks connected to the theme of the exhibition. Laibach is participating with INSTRUMENTALITY OF THE STATE MACHINE installation.
The exhibition will be open until 15 September 2013, from Tuesdays to Saturdays between 11:00 and 19:00. Admission free.
Read more here.

DIE LIEBE

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:12:58 +0000

For the last year’s WE COME IN PEACE TOUR Laibach recreated their song ‘Die Liebe’ from 1985. See the report from the tour – click here.

WE ARE FORGING THE FUTURE!

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:04:08 +0000

See very first ‘official’ Laibach video ‘We are Forging the Future!’ , filmed in Ljubljana’s legendary FV club in 1983, inspired by two of Laibach’s early posters from 1982 – ‘The Death of Ideology’ and ‘Ausstellung Laibach Kunst – PM’ from 1983.

This video, filmed by Richard Heslop, was consider lost and has been only recently ‘rediscovered’.

Click to see the video!

A video clip: ‘TOUCH OF EVIL’

admin — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 08:22:43 +0000

Mosha Pijade Hall, Zagreb, Croatia
11. 12. 1982

Filmed by Šime Strikoman.

See the video!

This is the video recording of the second Laibach concert appearance in Zagreb, which happened at the YURM (YU Rock Moment) Festival in the Moša Pijade Workers’ University, on December 11, 1982.At this appearance an incident occurred that resulted in the group’s hardly being able to finish the concert. Dressed in the uniforms of the Yugoslav Army, Laibach, to make its programme more lifelike, made use of smoke grenades, which the members had smuggled out of the army, as they had the uniforms. One of the grenades went off too soon, injuring one of the girl assistants of Laibach and necessitating the calling of an ambulance. But military personnel also arrived with the ambulance to investigate the incident.

While Laibach was on the stage, one of the group members kept the group of officers busy outside the hall. Officers were investigating the accident and to their question why the group was dressed in YU army uniforms, and why musicians were using military materiel, a Laibach member replied it was “because of the military theme group was dealing with”.

The officers finally left, and meanwhile Laibach managed to complete the concert, in a fair amount of chaos. Many things went wrong around this show. Firstly drummer did not show up, so the rest of the group decided to do the show without the drums, which resulted in a very unusual minimal, almost ambiental industrial fell of the concert.

Unfortunately this was also the last appearance of Tomaž Hostnik, who a mere ten days afterwards committed suicide. His powerful but strange shout at the end of the show is unforgettable. For all these reasons the concert later acquired the name Touch of Evil.

Tracks:

1. CARI AMICI SOLDATI 00:00 – 02:57
2. JARUZELSKY 02:58 – 07:17
3. DRŽAVA 07:18 – 10:12
4. SVOBODA 10:49 – 17:29

Author of the photo in this post: Jane Štravs

Apologia Laibach

admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:06:51 +0000

Tomaž Hostnik 08. 11. 1961 – 21. 12. 1982

admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:31:26 +0000

Tomaž Hostnik was born on November 8^th 1961 in Medvode near Ljubljana. He joined Laibach as a member of the group in 1981, firstly as a gramophone manipulator and later as lead vocalist (already Laibach’s third). He was a co-author of the Laibach Manifesto – the 10 Items of the Coventant – and he accepted the position of an anonymous engineer of human souls and the principle of collective authorship. Of the four Laibachian pseudonyms (EBER-SALIGER-KELLER-DACHAUER) he received the name ‘Ivo Saliger’. He also wrote a poem Apologia Laibach, which has become recognized as another – poeticised – manifesto of the group. Tomaž also contributed important artworks to the first Laibach Kunst exhibitions in 1982. His most memorable public performance was at the Novi Rock festival in Ljubljana’s venue Križanke, on September 10^th 1982, where he performed as Laibach’s frontman, dressed in the uniform of a Yugoslav Army officer, greatly resembling the demeanour of Slobodan Milošević, who ascended to power only few years later. During the show a bottle was thrown which cut Hostnik’s face and he began to bleed, but he finished his performance regardless. His final concert with Laibach was in Zagreb, on December 11^th, in the Moša Pijade venue. This concert became known as ‘The Touch of Evil’. On 21.st of December Tomaž Hostnik committed ritual suicide by hanging himself from one of the most powerful Slovenian national symbols – the kozolec (a wooden hay rack) near his hometown, Medvode. Laibach disapproved of his act of suicide and posthumously expelled Hostnik from the group, returning him to his private identity. Despite this, the group often referred to him and dedicated various projects to him, including an installation entitled APOLOGIA LAIBACH, created around Hostnik’s self-portrait. R.I.P.

See diverse photos of Tomaž Hostnik
Installation Apologia Laibach
Novi Rock performance

KOHLE IST BROT video clip

admin — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:21:30 +0000

See a short clip / visual report from the KOHLE IST BROT underground show in the Coal Mining Museum of Slovenia, in Velenje, October 19th, 2012.

Click here to see the video clip.

Laibach soap, presented in the clip, was part of the LAIBACH KUNST GLÜCK AUF installation in the museum and can be obtained as a souvenir on Laibach WTC (http://wtc.laibach.org/schwitz-aus/)

YUGOSLAVIA: FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END

admin — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:15:27 +0000

Laibach is included in the ambitious exhibition, titled: YUGOSLAVIA : FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END, held the Museum of Yugoslav History / Museum May 25 in Belgrade, located next to Tito’s Mausoleum.

Exhibition, which was already opened on 1st December and will run till March 3rd 2013, will form the basis of future permanent exhibition of this institution. The current exhibition will run for three months, with an open invitation for dialogue, and after the reaction of academic and professional public, will result with the permanent exhibition on the history of Yugoslavia. Laibach is presented as one of the phenomenon within the cultural sphere, foreseeing (and foretelling) the end of the country.

Three years went on preparations for this documentary exhibition, and in its realization participated regional author- curatorial team. However, this is not an exhibition that simply chronologically lists important events and people, but addresses the phenomena that marked and created an entire society. Debates, surveys and interviews, to complement the discussion on the country by the end of the twentieth century disappeared from geographic and political maps.

According to the official statement of the Museum of Yugoslav History , the objective of the exhibition is to create a space that will be a modern, attractive and fair way to introduce visitors to one of the most interesting and controversial nation-building experiments of the twentieth century. Link: http://www.mij.rs

Die Macht der Finsternis

admin — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:26:44 +0000

Laibach is contributing music for Die Macht der Finsternis (The Power of Darkness) by Leo Tolstoi, the new theatre production in Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, directed by Sebastian Baumgarten. Premiere is on 24th November, 2012, at 19.30h. (Photo by Philip Bussmann)

More info.
See the trailer.
See the video used in the show.
See photos from the play.