Struggle in New York (1976)

Screening

72 Gordon Street

Saturday May 24th

2-4pm

Struggle in New York (1976) is a film by Yugoslav conceptual artist, Zoran Popović.

In 1974, Popović and his wife, art historian Jasna Tijardović, moved to New York. They soon became involved in the city’s underground art world, forming a particularly strong relationship with Art and Language — recently relocated from London.

During this time, Popović and Tijardović contributed articles to The Fox, Art and Language’s short-lived art theory journal. They also invited Art and Language members Mel Ramsden, Michael Corris, and Jill Breakstone to lead a seminar at the Student Cultural Centre (SKC) in Belgrade, an institution closely associated with Yugoslavian conceptual artists such as Era Milivojević, Raša Todosijević, Marina Abramović, Neša Paripović and Gera Urkom.

While the couple moved back to Yugoslavia in 1975, Popović returned to New York in late 1976 to make Struggle in New York, a film that documents the work and material conflicts of artists and activists living in downtown Manhattan.

MoMA interview with Zoran Popović from 2020: