Slobodan Braco Dimitrijević: Passers-by whom I met by chance at 13.15, 16.23 and 18.11

Braco Dimitrijević, Passers-by I met by chance at 13:00, 15:00 and 16:23 on February 18th, 1971 [Inc Edu]
Braco Dimitrijević, Passers-by I met by chance at 13:00, 15:00 and 16:23 on February 18th, 1971 [Inc Edu]
POI Number
06
Typology
Square
Country
Croatia
Municipality
City of Zagreb
District
City Center
Address
Trg Bana Jelačića

While we are standing on the main Zagreb square, let us remember another key artistic gesture of the 1970s, the one of Brace Dimitrijević, produced for Zagreb Salon Proposal Section, the same year as Kožarić's The Grounded Sun.  For 1971 Proposal section of the Zagreb salon that dealt directly with the position of the art and artist in the urban public realm a visual artist Braco Dimitrijević sent three proposals to the open call: a proposal for painting tram rails and surrounding facades, a proposal for hanging Japanese flags on buildings and a proposal for placing large-format posters of random passers-by on buildings. The temporary intervention (Casual Passer-by I met at 13.15, 16.23 and 18.11) was realized. Comment on the positioning of posters in the city center in the past, but also now. Dimitrijević's iconic work was later presented temporarily in many parts of the world. Of provocative gesture tackling individuality in public space, but also emphasizing causality, this work is one of the key examples of early conceptual practice locally and internationally.

By placing posters with images of passers-by, Dimitrijević resemanticizes the political field of the street. In a series of posters depicting the faces of passers-by filmed on site and placed in that space, he goes a step further in resemanticizing public space. On the facade of the building, which is intended exclusively for posters of political figures, representatives of the political life of the system at the time, he places anonymous people. He thus confuses, leads to criticism and thinking. Even today, this gesture would not go unnoticed and would at least open a series of questions in the eyes of observers. In doing so, we become aware of an essential component of art in public space where the street is not understood as a neutral platform, and the work is derived from the conditions defined by public space.