Legacies to the collection of coins and medals of the Belgrade City Museum

Two of the twenty-eight legacies to the Belgrade City Museum are found in the "Collection of Money and Medals": the bequests of Đorđe Novaković and Svetozar St. Dušanić. These collections were donated to the Museum in the 1970s. After a brief review of the concept and the legal status of legacies in view of the Serbian cultural milieu and policies, the paper demonstrates a study of two bequests - the paper banknotes and the Roman coins from the "Collection for Money and Medals". In addition to the short history of each legacy, the manner in which they were formed, including their contents, an attempt was made to search available documentation in the museum archives to demonstrate how the collections were donated to the Museum and "established" as legacies. The work also considers to what extent and with what success the Museum activities have been carried out in practice, namely: preservation, conservation, restoration and documentation filing, as well as communication activities which include exhibitions and education

Their story: From creative writing of female prisoners to restorative theatre performance

Traditional reaction to crime is inefficient and experts are searching for innovative methods of social rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. Restorative justice - an approach that respects interests of all the subjects affected by criminal offence, including victims, offenders and community - is becoming increasingly widespread as an addition to classical, formal judicial processes and punishments. Restorative process is efficient due to its powerful transformative mechanisms based upon dialogue, mediation, negotiation, reconciliation, forgiveness, symbolic rituals, reintegrative shaming, community support and control. Restorative elements emerge in various forms, including innovative programmes of work with prisoners, focused on social rehabilitation and reintegration, in order to prevent re-offending. Some of them implement therapeutic effects of art, as a means to help prisoners to: overcome deprivations, express emotions, heal past trauma, (re)establish healthy relationships, enhance empathy, strengthen self-confidence, rebuild positive identity and reintegrate in the community. On the grounds of Boal's "theatre of the oppressed", various forms of socially engaged theatrical genres evolved, including applied theatre, surpassing the borders of classical theatre and getting closer to performance. Theatre within the prison walls being one of them, we took the example of the theatre performance "Her Story", written and performed by prisoners from Correctional Institution for Women in Požarevac, Serbia. Completed through creative writing workshops and played in this penal institution, it is an example of applied theatre based upon art therapy with strong restorative effects. The points of intersection between restorative process and this theatre performance, make it stand out among other forms of applied theatre, providing it with particularly strong transformative effects. Following the case study of "Her Story", the authors of this paper have suggested further application of similar programmes and their promotion within the community, as an effective method of crime suppression through healing powers of art in synergy with restorative elements.

Industrial heritage and creative initiatives as catalysts of event tourism

The concept of sustainable urban development requires re-purposing of buildings and areas in service of local communities. Industrial complexes which are no longer used for their original purpose are often left to degrade, simply because their demolition requires large investments. In such circumstances, creative sector initiatives were proved to be of multiple importance. They do not require too much of financial investment and do provide authentic solutions for the given problem. Innovation in that domain significantly contributes to the tourism industry, in particular to some forms of selective tourism and to outbound markets whose demands are increasingly difficult to be satisfied by mass tourism products. Among examples from practice, the case of "Ciglana" in Karaburma (Brick factory) in Belgrade stands distinguished, as a place where the festival "Dev9t" dedicated to creativity has been organized. This area contains the memory of various layers and stages of Belgrade's industrialization and it is not under institutional protection. In this paper, the process of its adaptive reuse was discussed, as well as new meanings assigned to it by the festival activities.

Life of the painting after death of the artist

Following the path of the painting after the departure of Petar Lubarda, one of our most prominent art figures, we are faced with the question to what extent we have fulfilled our task to protect the cultural property that was left-donated-to us. Processing the data from the most extensive register in the documentation of the Faculty of Fine Arts, with a multitude of actual and sensationalist titles that follow the life of his paintings, we have learnt about the formation of a rich collection donated by the artist's wife, Vera Lubarda, to the City of Belgrade, about the opening of the Atelier of Petar Lubarda and, shortly afterwards, its closing and falling into oblivion. However, in the light of one century from the birth of our esteemed artist, a need arose for retrospective exhibitions, which have, along with marking the jubilee and forming the Legacy of Petar Lubarda, to some extent corrected the decades of neglect by the expert public and the responsible cultural institutions. With an objective approach to the preserved data recorded by numerous art historians, critics and journalists, which are kept in the Petar Lubarda files, the paper presents the most current events about the life of his paintings in the period from the artist's death to the present day

Culture from simulation to simulacrum and back

Reality show or Reality TV programme is a symptom of the new pairing of the metaphysic of the "two worlds" and the contemporary technology. To analyse it as a symptom - i.e. a set of related signs - we need to use semiology of the media, separating the key codes as sets of rules and protocols for signifying practices that produce such TV programmes. In the analysis, these codes, taken here in their minimal but most important numbers, are shown as also the codes which produce everyday circulation of our representations and discourses, and open up a series of new questions. For example, to what extent is the reality show an image of everyday life, is it a simulation (imitation, mimesis) of it, or is it a simulacrum, as a structure of signs, which is beyond the old opposition of a model and a copy? Or perhaps, what we witness is a turn in communication where everyday picture of the world becomes a simulation of this simulacrum, that is an imitation of a reality programme as a pairing of metaphysics and technology?

The correspondence between Nikola Tesla and Orville Wright kept in the scientist's legacy in the Nikola Tesla museum: On the occasion of the 165th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla and the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, have worked and created in the United States of America in the period comprising the last two decades of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. All three of them were visionaries and creators of the modern technical age. In the Tesla's legacy, apart from his personal and technical items, press clippings, monographic and serial publications, there are also about 156,000 sheets of archival material which cover his entire life and work, both chronologically and thematically. Among these testimonies there are four original documents (a concept of a condolence letter, a copy of the sent condolence letter, a brief gratitude note and a formal invitation) that were exchanged between Nikola Tesla and probably Orville Wright, between 1912 and 1920. The oldest preserved document of their correspondence is the concept of Tesla's condolence letter to Orville Wright on the occasion of the death of his older brother. Two approved patents for the Wright brothers' aircraft model have been preserved as well, which testifies of the scientist's interest in their work and aviation research in general. Researching the correspondence between Nikola Tesla and Orville Wright, as well as the other documents from the scientist's legacy preserved in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, we have tried to highlight the details of his acquaintance with the Wright brothers, that is, a small fragment of his life and work which has remained almost unknown until today. Results of the research, presented in the form of a scientific research paper, contribute to a better understanding of the aviation history and reveal new details from the life stories of our renowned scientist and the two famous aviation pioneers. The publication of exclusive documents from Tesla's legacy is a contribution to the wider scientific community and a new reference point for all the researchers who are to cover similar topics in the future.

Symbolism of the heart

From the earliest times, the heart has been one of the most studied organs. We can find records about this organ dating from the very beginning of written history, and we understand that different beliefs have been associated with it before. Very early on, people have noticed that the heart occupies a central place in the body, that the cessation of its work means death in both humans and animals, and that excitement changes the rhythm and the manner of its functioning. However, in addition to the physiological function of this organ, throughout history, the heart has been given various magical and religious meanings. In today's world, the heart has overcome the notion of a sign and has become a symbol of love, connection between people and affection. In this paper, different meanings of this symbol throughout history to the present day are presented, with the aim of understanding it in a cultural context.

Duboka svest o istoriji Žan Rišara Bloka - jedna jugoslovenska epizoda

Francusko-srpski književni i kulturni odnosi često su proučavani na osnovu primarnih izvora, ali i na osnovu ličnog i profesionalnog odnosa umetnika i pisaca iz ove dve zemlje. Upravo ovakva istraživanja upotpunjuju istraživanja istoričara. Zato ćemo u našem radu ispitati odnos francuskog intelektualca, novinara i pisca Žan Rišara Bloka (1884-1947) prema srpskim i jugoslovenskim piscima i intelektualcima. Ovaj, danas nepravedno zaboravljeni, pisac rođen je i umro u Parizu. Učestvovao je aktivno u Prvom svetskom ratu, u kojem je ranjen čak tri puta. Nakon rata sarađivao je s francuskim listovima levičarske političke orijentacije. Godine 1921. pristupa francuskoj Komunističkoj partiji, a 1923. godine osniva čuveni književni mesečnik Evropa, koji i danas izlazi. S početka Drugog svetskog rata zbog svog jevrejskog porekla i političke orijentacije traži azil u SSSR-u. Tokom rata u Moskvi je radio kao radijski novinar i svakodnevno se obraćao Francuzima. U Francusku se vraća 1945. godine. Njegovu porodičnu kuću, s velikom bibliotekom, u naselju Merigo u Poatjeu Nemci nisu dirali, dok je stan njegove majke, koji se nalazio u centru grada, potpuno demoliran. U ratu ovaj pisac gubi više članova porodice. Analizirajući francusku i srpsku štampu, neobjavljenu arhivsku građu i reportaže ovog pisca, pokušaćemo da rekonstruišemo kako je Žan Rišar Blok bio prvi koji je stupio u kontakt sa srpskim đacima u Poatjeu i kako on za srpske intelektualce ostaje nepoznat sve do Španskog građanskog rata. Takođe, pokazaćemo i njegove aktivnosti u Jugoslaviji, njegov odnos prema jugoslovenskoj politici i kulturi, kao i učešće na prvom Kongresu jugoslovenskih pisaca. Budući da je kulturni transfer išao dvosmerno, u radu ćemo predstaviti i ne tako obimnu, ali svakako važnu, recepciju dva romana ovog autora I Kompanija i Španija, Španija! na jugoslovenskom prostoru. Upravo na taj način otvorićemo mogućnost da se i drugi istraživači zainteresuju za ovog intelektualca u kontekstu kulturnih odnosa Francuske i Srbije.

Research of public libraries audience

This paper is a proposal for a methodologically based monitoring of the changes in habits and needs of library audiences, i.e. changes in access to library services, in the circumstances of the changed communication models caused by the wide use of information and communication technology. It presents audience research in the context of strategic planning in libraries, and points out terminological categories that could serve as a starting point for further research. Using the case study method of Novi Sad City Library, the paper categorizes the audience in two groups which proved to be right for quantitative and qualitative monitoring: according to the preference of the audience for certain content - permanent, occasional, potential and inaccessible audience types are defined, and according to the methods of addressing - users of funds and services, audiences in the narrow sense and online users are defined. Young people turned out to be a strategically relevant target group. The research has shown that the youth are the widest digital media consumers and that their primary goal is infotainment - a combination of a low percentage of information in highly entertaining packages. Members of young population do not recognize the library as a place of interest, so it is necessary to develop adequate channels of communication with them, in a way typical for this group. The paper shows how the model of the Novi Sad Library can be applied as a strategically based audience research in other public libraries, and gives an example of a user experience testing model (UX) and its final result - designed library services. Previous researches by Leo Appleton and Gina De Alwis were used in the paper. At the core of the designed service is participation, as a model of creating instead of consuming the prepared content.

Constructing of the narcissistic artistic character in the autobiography of Salvador Dali: Salvador Dali with an insight into the painting metamorphosis of narcissus, and the Dali museum/bequests

By applying the methodology of transdisciplinary studies, this work examines the phenomenon of Narcissism and narcissistic artistic character in the autobiography of Salvador Dali "I am the genius" (The Secret World of Salvador Dali), in the paining "The Metamorphosis of Narcissus", and in Dali's original poetry through the prisms of mythology, psychoanalysis and psychosexuality by constructing of the narcissistic character (artistic "Persona") as a model for identity strategies in contemporary art practices. The text is analysing some of Dali's unique personality characteristics and creative and personal expression, with a special insight into his childhood and the term of narcissistic personality structure according to Sigmund Freud, also analysing the key-role of Gala Dali. The text includes some postulates of the art movement of Surrealism that Dali applied in his work, from the "Surrealism Manifesto" and the Surrealism practices. In a case study, the text analyses the painting "Metamorphosis of Narcissus", its content, symbolism, style and visual elements. A possible influence of Sigmund Freud is described, and Dali's original method of "Critical Paranoia" is elaborated. The closing sections are describing the fascinating dimensions of the personality cult that Dali and his narcissistic character reached in the last years of his life. A special focus is made on the musealisation of Dali - his numerous museums and bequests, memorials and collections, the founding of which has contributed to the building of a permanent monument to the artist and finally to the establishment of his status of a mythical personality - the "Dali" brand.