Damjan Kozole: The essence of OHO is the idea that this civilization is useless

The avant-garde art collective OHO, founded in 1965 and active until 1971, is one of the most fascinating phenomena not only on the art scene in Slovenia and the former Yugoslavia but also across Central and Eastern Europe. In OHO Film, director Damjan Kozole ensures that it does not fade into obscurity, showing how the perspectives of this unique group remain relevant and applicable to contemporary times

 

 

It was uncertain from the very beginning of production whether we would be able to obtain the copyright for all OHO projects. Even the members of the OHO did not believe we would. But in the end it worked for us. Producer Danijel Hočevar has a lot of credit for that.

 

The OHO spirit was born in Kranj in the early sixties, precisely in 1963, and then spread first to Ljubljana, where the OHO group was formed in 1966, then throughout the former Yugoslavia, to Zagreb and Belgrade. They also exhibited in Sarajevo, in the Đuro Đaković gallery, I don't know if that gallery still exists. OHO (OKO /eye/ + UHO /ear/ = OHO) quickly spread throughout Europe and the world, reaching the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1970. After this significant success, which at that time represented one of the greatest achievements of Slovenian and Yugoslav art, when they could start a serious international career - the OHO group dissolved itself because they rejected any thought that the value of a work of art lies in its price. The essence of OHO is the idea that this civilization is useless, too anthropocentric and too focused on people, that we must develop a new civilization that will be fairer to all beings and all things in the world. OHO is not just a cult avant-garde group, but a specific cultural phenomenon that dealt with the visible and immaterial through art, philosophy, sociology, science and coexistence with the earth and nature.

 

This film was initiated out of a deep respect for OHO, their ideas, and the comprehension that all the actors of this incredible story are still here - with the exception of the Šalamun brothers. We want the viewer to immerse himself in the world of OHO from the sixties, to experience it as if that world still exists. And to return to reality only when we slowly exit the movie. You cannot write a precise script for this type of film because you discover something new almost every day. Something you didn't expect surprises you. We worked on the film for more than three years; we edited it for almost two years We had to find a balance between factual credibility, balance between artists, respect for their fascinating works and cinematic poetics on the other hand. I wanted the film to be not only informative, but, above all, inspiring. There is no mythologising, just life, and the use of diverse material to maintain the pace of the film, to keep the focus until the end. Co-screenwriter Urška Jurman and co-screenwriter and editor Matic Drakulić worked with me on demanding editing process.

 

The ending of the film is particularly impressive. The life and artistic philosophy of the members of the OHO group are very applicable even today. We are surrounded by anthropocentrism, consumerism and the destruction of the environment, and they, like the prophets, advocated art that communicates and coexists with the earth and nature about sixty years ago. Were they clairvoyant or just farsighted and wise?

Above all, they were honest. During their entire lives. They could have been famous, possibly rich artists. However, they consciously gave it up.

After international successes, collaboration with the famous American artist Walter De Maria and an exhibition at MoMA, they made a conscious decision to self-discontinue OHO. They decide to leave the world of art and "move into life". Marko Pogačnik, the ideological leader of this fascinating story, would stop me now and say, no, Damjan, OHO only formally ended then, but the spirit of OHO lives on.

Today, these people are: Marko Pogačnik, Iztok Geister, Naško Križnar, Milenko Matanović, David Nez, Matjaž Hanžek... half a century older, but they are still young people. Their energy, creativity and enthusiasm for constantly changing things is young. When you meet them, you feel that the spirit of OHO is still very much alive. And not only that it is alive: Biljana Tomić says in the film that the world is only now entering the phase opened by OHO. And I think that the only chance for the survival of this crazy world, in which profanity, weapons, wars and genocide are normalized, is, once it sobers up, to live according to OHO principles. And they say that the individual is important, that the collective is important, that coexistence with nature is important and - that human nobility is important. These are OHO values. What fascinated me most about them during this long filmmaking process was how consistently they all lived their ethical views throughout their lives.

 

The film premiered in Slovenia at the end of June. How was the film received and how do Slovenians today look at the OHO group, are they proud of its existence?

The OHO film was previewed as part of the European Capital of Culture at the outdoors, in the ruins of the tower in Vipavski Križ. It started its journey where the OHO story ended, in the Vipava Valley. In a symbolic way, the circle was thus closed. Everyone gathered - Milenko Matanović and David Nez came from the USA, only Iztok Geister was missing. It was really touching. There were a lot of people and I felt our collective relief that the film was finished and would be available to the public with a lot of previously unavailable OHO artwork.

I don't know if we are even aware of how much OHO influenced all of us, Slovenian and also Yugoslav art. In her autobiography Walk through walls, Marina Abramović says that OHO were one of her inspirations at the beginning of her career, that they impressed her with their radicalism and attitude towards nature. Their motto was: art must be like life and life must be art. You can't create anything if you don't live it. OHO is quite well-known in Slovenia, but only based on a few projects, and the most famous is of course the Triglav installation. But OHO is much more than that.

I hope we made a film that will be an inspiration for today, especially for the younger generation. And a reminder to those who say that there was no freedom of spirit in "dark" socialism. This film explores what the ideas OHO can offer us today. Working on this project I realized that they have a lot to offer. However, the OHO film is not only a film about an exceptional artistic group, but also a story about a certain time, about transience and... about human dignity.