Marko Ristić
[from the Avantgarde Museum]
Biography
Pesme / Poems
Marko Ristic is one of the main protagonists of the Serbian Surrealist scene. During his stay in Paris in 1926 -1927 he had the opportunity to meet André Breton and the Surrealist Circle. A Visit to Breton's flat filled with surrealist works, inspired the concept of his Surrealist Wall, where in time, surrounding the Owl by Max Ernst which became the Wall's backbone, he included works by Yves Tanquy, Andre Masson, African masks and fetishes. The Wall wasn't finished until the 1960's.During his stay in Paris, Ristic also created the La vie mobile cycle, which consists of eleven collages and two drawings. The cycle included fragments of maps, newspapers, postcards, photographs, letters with stamps, colored papers, cards, invitations, newspaper ads and other memorabilia collected in Paris, which enhanced the different impressions of the city which had inspired him. The Title La vie en mobile was taken from the poem by Vane Bor. The visual and textual segments had equal importance. Discontinuity and the aggressiveness of the fragments caused confusion in the eye of the observer and were its main features.
After his return from Paris in 1928, Ristic published the anti-novel Without Measure, and during the same year in collaboration with Vane Bor, a series of photograms in Vrnjacka Banja. Ristic's Photograms from this period were characterized by overlapping motifs which achieved an bizarre atmosphere. Ristic and Bor also published the book M'VRAUA in single edition. Only the collage entitled “Immoral” (contrasting humorous texts with confusing imagery) was preserved and was published in the almanac "L'Impossible" 1930, edited by Ristic.
The first issue of Almanac, among other things, published the Surrealist Manifesto as well as a series of twelve of Ristić's collages entitled “Crustaceans on the Chest”, and a screenplay by Aleksandar Vučo. The collages were based on the silent movie principles, with visual narrative interrupted by texts.
Ristic was also one of the editors of the magazine "Surrealism Here and Now" in 1931. and 1932, which marked the end of Serbian Surrealism. Nevertheless, he continued his artistic and publishing activities. In collaboration with Vane Bor he wrote the book Anti-wall. He continued writting lyrics and poems, and during 1938 contributed to the Parisian magazine "Minotaure".
Ristic's poem Turpitude was confiscated and banned by the State Prosecutor in 1938 "because in its entirety it is a crime punishable under the Law of the Protection of Public Security and Order in the Country". Ristic received this rulling on July, 17, 1938. This Paranoid - Didactic Rhapsody, as indicated in the subtitle, was a surrealistic poem in which the author, in accordance with the principles of surrealist aesthetics, incorporated eroticism, war and daydreaming. It was illustrated with drawings by Krsto Hegedušić. Following the ruling, the entire edition of Turpitude was destroyed. However, police officials kept a few items which were later found at flea market, while only one copy of the book remained with Ristic. Magazine Delo published Turpitudefor the first time in 1955.
During the World War II Ristic spent some time in captivity, and since 1944 his political texts have been published in the magazines "Politika / Politics" and "Borba / Fight". Ristic is one of the founders of the magazines "Svedočanstva / Testimonials" (1952.) and "Delo / Work" (1955). In 1951 he was appointed Yugoslav ambassador to Paris and became a member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb, through written correspondence.
Marko Ristic was born in 1902 in Belgrade, where he earend his degree at the University of Belgrade in 1925. He died in Belgrade in 1984.
Marko Ristic (1902-1984)
Issu d’une vieille famille belgradoise, il est le chef de file du mouvement surréaliste serbe. C’est la culture française qui offre son cadre au jeune écrivain. Francophile il collabore étroitement avec André Breton et entretient tout au long de sa vie d’intenses échanges avec lui.
Il introduit le premier Manifeste du Surréalisme (1924) dans la revueSvedocanstva, quelques mois après sa parution en France. Il est alors rejoint par pléthore de jeunes écrivains tels que Dusan Matic, Monny de Boully, Dorde Kostic, tous, notons-le, francophones.
Le mouvement suscite un vif intérêt dans le milieu intellectuel belgradois. Cependant, ces jeunes avant-gardistes vont vite être contestés. On leur reproche une trop grande influence française, ce qui leur vaut également d’être taxés d’arrogance, voire de pédanterie. Ristic se heurte donc, dès ses premières publications, à l’incompréhension de ses contemporains.
Ristic publie ses premiers ouvrages dans les années 30-40 alors que la toute jeune Yougoslavie sort difficilement de cinq siècles de domination extérieure (successivement ottomane et austro-hongroise). Ce contexte historique rend l’accès aux courants littéraires mondiaux difficile, et le patrimoine culturel yougoslave reste assez modeste. N’oublions pas que la notion de langue littéraire serbo-croate n’apparaît qu’au XIXe siècle avec l’Accord de Vienne, mené par Vuk Karadzic et Ludevit Gaj.
L’extrait du poème Turpituda est assez représentatif de cette génération d’écrivains et de son mouvement. Le Passé, obscur, sale, décadent, se trouve confronté à un avenir tout aussi brutal que menaçant.
De cette confrontation incongrue, d’où émanent anxiété et noirceur, va naître une envolée onirique enivrante et magique. Le texte, malgré toutes ses ombres, insuffle un parfum de rêves, qui fera triompher la Turpitude, fusion d’un passé, encore proche, sombre et archaïque, et d’un monde moderne apportant peu d’espoir.
Bibliography in Serbian, French and English at the Serbian Surrealism website.