Socialism or Art: Yugoslav Mass Song and Its Institutionalizations

Authors

  • Srđan Atanasovski

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i13.185

Keywords:

mass song, socialist realism, partisan art, canonization, amateurism

Abstract

The genre of the mass song is one of the fundamental phenomena in aesthetics and practice of socialist realism. Mass songs are supposed not only to be accessible to the lay audience, but also to be composed in a way that invites the participation of amateurs. Importantly, the institutions which have been disseminating the mass song under state socialism, such as various institutions of education, culture and art, have also served as mechanisms for the normalization of its ideological content. This article summarizes important aspects of the concept of the mass song in general and offers a multifaceted exemplification, before proceeding to discuss the history of mass songs in socialist Yugoslavia (including, by and large, what is usually referred to as partisan songs), with emphasis on the institutional framework through which they were practiced and disseminated, and on specificities that the genre had accrued within the Yugoslav framework. This historical framework of practicing mass songs in Yugoslavia provides a platform for opening the question of intrinsic incompatibility between the project of a classless society and the institution of art. In regards to this, article discusses contemporary practice of Yugoslav mass songs as practiced by self-organized choirs and their new political potential.

Author Biography

Srđan Atanasovski

Institute of Musicology SASA, Belgrade
Serbia

Srđan Atanasovski (1983) holds a PhD in musicology (“Music Practices and Production of the National Territory”, University of Arts in Belgrade, 2015) and works as a research associate at the Institute of Musicology SASA in Belgrade. Atanasovski was awarded doctoral and post-doctoral scholarships by the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation (2010/11; 2015/16). He was engaged in two international scientific projects: City Sonic Ecology: Urban Soundscapes of Bern, Ljubljana, and Belgrade (led by the University of Bern) and Figuring Out the Enemy: Re-Imagining Serbian-Albanian Relations (led by the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory in Belgrade). He teaches at the SIT Western Balkans Peace and Conflict programme in Belgrade. His research interests include music and nationalism, affect theory, soundscape studies, and issues of religious nationalism, among others.

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Published

15.09.2017

How to Cite

Atanasovski, S. (2017). Socialism or Art: Yugoslav Mass Song and Its Institutionalizations. AM Journal of Art and Media Studies, (13), 31–42. https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i13.185