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In the editorial Boris Vezjak writes about the dilemmas that have been opened
up by the refugee crisis and that demand an authentic position of solidarity. "If Islamophobes, bigots, nationalists and racists have no difficulty with solidarity towards refugees because they see no reason for it, this nevertheless still remains a
quandary for all those who are at least in principle inclined to help them," writes
Vezjak, and cites some specific moments of confusion of leftist politicians and intellectuals during the current refugee crisis, and in the context of the "Je suis Charlie" slogan also draws attention to forms of false solidarity that arise while following
human tragedies digitally. "No politician should appeal for a political solution to
the problem without at the same time showing a very human face", comments
Vezjak in regard to the reluctance of some leftist politicians regarding personal and
concrete assistance to refugees.
Visual arts editor Nataša Kovšca interviews internationally renowned photographer Klavdij Sluban, who is French with Slovenian roots. He is known for his
photographic cycles from travels around the world. Sluban’s photographs are kept
at numerous prestigious museums around the world, and in recent years he has
also been a frequent presence in Slovenia, both through holding exhibitions and
by giving photography workshops for young people. In the interview he also speaks
frankly about his workshops with juvenile detainees and teen gang members in
Brazil, Guatemala, and Salvador. "It frequently happened that a good photograph
brought them the first praise they’d ever heard in their lives," remarks Sluban, in
one of his several frank and shocking statements about these young people.
Art for the benefit of children, besides the immanent aesthetic experience that
it offers, also serves adults for educating children for art and for life education
through art. As with an adult audience, an audience of children is not monolithic,
although adults often conceive of or categorize it according to generational or development levels. However, children also differ in their personal and class habituses
and inherited or acquired cultural capital. Categorization into age groups of readers/viewers is intended to be of help in advising and marketing for publishing
houses as well as librarians, for people who work in theatre as well as for educators
and parents. But after reading a book or watching a performance, these people
often question whether it was really appropriate for a particular age group of children.
One such misunderstanding was also the external reason for the theme of this
issue, which has been prepared by Emica Antončič and to which psychotherapist
Katarina K. Erzar and two puppet theatre artists – director and dramaturge Jelena
Sitar and actress and animator Elena Volpi – have contributed articles.
Katarina Erzar introduces a new view of the essential connection between the
child and the adult and integrates findings from neuropsychology and new fields
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DIALOGI 2015 7–8 SUMMARY
Summary
of research on the foundations of humans’ innate musicality, which authors have
termed communicative musicality. An understanding of the earliest relationships
through musicality opens up a hitherto unimagined depth of insight into the meaning and role of the arts in child development.
Puppet theatre cannot be a branch of education, since it is an institution of
culture, regardless of the age of the audience, argues Elena Volpi. Nevertheless, puppet theatre harbors great educational potential, but the concept of "educational"
theatre needs to be clearly defined. In this regard, different aspects of artistic experience and expression need to be considered along with the fact that children are
capable of enjoying an artistic experience from an early age. A theatrical piece
aimed primarily at children will only achieve its full potential when it is not
dumbed down, but rather created from an ethical desire to enable an artistic experience for children as equal audience members.
The changed conditions of growing up for today’s children, characterized by
early contact with virtual reality, place new tasks before puppet theatre, observes
Jelena Sitar, who provides three examples from contemporary puppet theatre production in Slovenia that are characterized as experiential theatre.
In the literary section we publish an excerpt from the play by Zdenko Kodrič
called Flies in the Switch Factory and new works by three poets: Jurij Hudolin, Petra
Koršič and Muanis Sinanović.
In Cultural diagnosis Blaž Lukan analyzes the performance by students from
the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television Just before the Revolution: How I Became a Terrorist. Tina Poglajen writes about the films of Danish
screenwriter and director Susanne Bier, a member of the Dogma 95 movement.
Žiga Brdnik presents the film The Tribe by Ukrainian director Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, which is entirely free of voice and music. Tanja Tolar introduces the work of
painter Ablade Glover, also called the grandfather of Ghana contemporary art. Martina Potisk reviews the most recent novel by French-Slovenian writer Brina Svit,
titled Slovenian Face (Visage slovéne), which was first written in French and then
translated by the author into Slovene. The novel is a documentary on Slovenian
emigration to Argentina. Finally, Robi Šabec presents the book The Bus of Rosa
Parks, written by Fabrizio Silei and M. A. C. Quarello about the incident that triggered resistance against racism in the USA in the 1950s.
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