Sanja Iveković. Personal Cuts. 1982

Sanja Iveković Personal Cuts 1982

  • MoMA, Floor 2, 208 The David Geffen Wing

In Personal Cuts, which aired on prime-time Yugoslavian national television in 1982, Iveković counters the official history of socialism. Newsreel images—mass rallies, monuments, and a public address by Yugoslav President Tito—alternate with footage of the artist cutting holes into a sheer black stocking pulled over her face, like the DIY version of a militant’s balaclava. For Iveković, the repeated act of cutting into fabric is emblematic of film- and video-editing strategies such as montage. Revealing the insidiousness of national propaganda and questioning the unified stories told through official channels, she frames historical events as inextricably linked to human ones, ending the video with her face fully uncovered.

Gallery label from 2020
Medium
Video (color, sound)
Duration
4 min.
Credit
Gift of Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley, Anna Marie and Robert F. Shapiro, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis, and Committee on Media and Performance Art Funds
Object number
127.2011
Copyright
© 2021 Sanja Iveković
Department
Media and Performance

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