Naive art as a story about the ethno/cultural identity of Slovaks in Serbia: The example of Kovacica
In this paper, painting is observed as a source for studying the ethnic and cultural identity of Slovaks in Serbia, with the retrospective view to the painters from Kovacica. During the second half of the 20th century there were 60 Slovakian artists in Serbia who dealt with the Naive Art, and 46 of them were from Kovacica. Today, in this majority Slovakian village in Serbia there are 30 people of both sexes who deal with the Naive Art. What do the members of the Slovak ethnic group tell us about their community through their art? Many motives from folk life can be observed in the paintings of Slovakian naive artists. However, the village is not often shown as it is today, but as it was remembered or depicted by the predecessors. On the other hand, multiple social and political changes during the second half of the 20th century, which have continued until today, influenced and changed village life, and also the subject matter of the Art.