Systems, Change...etc

I think I am beginning to grasp the ideas put forward in the introduction by Zizek. It seems that all these different examples are linked through what he explains as the 'hidden transgressions in the system."
After reading an article on Laibach's activity it became clear that they confront the system with 'their own normally supressed codes'. They do this through disturbing or provocative juxtapositions and as mentioned in that clip below, through irony and cynicism. Through approaching issues in a different way, through music, film, posters and art. etc, they reveal the meanings they want to make known and they do this succesfully. This is evident as they had a great impact and caused much contraversy in response to their work which extended public debate. I suppose there was success in that they initiated discourse. It seems that the works were heavily focused on the politics within Slovenia and the countries relationship with Germany.

I think there is a lot more to it than I have understood, but hopefully it will become clearer in class.
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I thought I would just mention a work that I am familiar with, which although very different, shares the same initiative for social and political change. It relates to the idea of community that we have been discussing in the last few weeks. I really like this work because of the use of colour to impact the community and initiate positive changes.

The capital city of Tirana in Albania was transformed through the use of colour. Elected in 2000, Mayor Edi Rama initiated a project whereby the facades of decaying buildings within the city were painted various colours.
The intention was to change the atmosphere of the decrepit city through the use of colours as a visualisation of signs of change. The project was successful in that the inhabitants of the city began to feel safer about their surroundings and it encouraged reunification, giving a sense of community. “There was need to give to the people something which could show that there would be change after a decade of freedom without any space/system. “ (Breaking away from the past communist system)
On the street level, the spaces were not used as businesses until after the painting where citizens felt the roads became safer and they began to open up small businesses. People also started to pay tax. “It was a way to get everyone to feel belonging. The colours were a catalyst for the feeling that. Colours gave a purpose. Opened a debate. Helped to built a consciousness of common space, and a feeling of community.”

The general feeling of hate of public space was reversed because of the colours. I think this work is just beautiful in it's simplicity and its profound positive impact on the whole community.