In 1913, at the Champs-Elysées theater in Paris, the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet “Le sacre du printemps” (The Rite of Spring) stirred significant unrest in the audience. The groundbreaking ballet challenged established norms, pushing the boundaries of music and movement aesthetics. Instead of adhering to the traditional Western emphasis on symmetry and harmony, Stravinsky’s music featured convulsive, asymmetrical rhythms and dissonant harmonies. Meanwhile, the choreography by Vaclav Nijinsky deviated from the elegant and ethereal movements of conventional ballet, presenting what contemporaries described as “ugly,” “exaggerated,” and “primitive” movements.
This departure from the accustomed beauty of ballet disturbed the audience, disrupting their expectations. The radical departure from convention left the citizens of Paris feeling that the denial of ballet’s rules and conventions equated to a denial of their civilization. Stravinsky and Nijinsky had touched upon the aesthetic and moral principles of the culture of their time, inducing a sense of fear that resonates even today in a similar societal segment.
The day after the premiere, a French newspaper headline encapsulated the public’s reaction: “Barbarism!” This negative response reflected the perceived affront to established cultural norms and the discomfort provoked by the innovative and provocative nature of the ballet.
Jasmine Cibic’s work, “Her Barbaric Luxury” (2022), presented in the context of an exhibition, draws upon this historical reference. A collection of wrought iron sculptures, reminiscent of protest banners, plays with the arrangement and rearrangement of words used by critics against the progressivity of the Rite of Spring. Through this artistic expression, Cibic explores resistance to the rupture of continuity, as well as the conditioning of femininity and grace. Notably, the initiators of this rupture were cultural newcomers from the edge of (and beyond) Europe, triggering another layer of societal defense mechanisms: a sense of superiority and a desire to preserve one’s central position.
Artists Šejla Kamerić, Jasmina Cibic, and Selma Selman converge in spaces challenging established social patterns and claiming their own space. Through their unique practices and personal experiences, these artists aim to raise awareness of exclusionary mechanisms, suppression, and distortion within society.
Excerpt from the exhibition text by Martina Marić Rodrigues.