Dejan Lukic

THE ISLAND EMPIRE
(Or to Rise and to Fall)

Summer School
Cres, Adriatic Sea
2020
 

The Island

Retreat to an island is a form of movement that serves as a necessary step to establish a proper rhythm of life: the ebb and flow. We thus enter a Summer school, like a troop. Since this one occurs on an island surrounded by the Adriatic sea which dominates not only the horizon but also the entire microclimate, its flora and fauna, our philosophical and physical engagement will be tied to its potent atmospheric presence.

To that question so dear to the old explorers - "which creatures live on deserted island?" - one could only answer: human beings live there already, but uncommon humans, they are absolutely separate, absolute creators, in short, an Idea of humanity, a prototype, a man who would almost be a god, a woman who would be a goddess, a great Amnesiac, a pure Artist, a consciousness of Earth and Ocean, an enormous hurricane, a beautiful witch, a statue from the Easter Islands. There you have a human being who precedes itself. (Gilles Deleuze)

Cres island is a place where everything slows down and where we can hear ourselves think. A place from which we can assess the enormous turmoils on our planet with a necessary distance, before we jump back into their foils. A place where both nature and politics are tangible: surrounded by the crystal blue Sea, populated with rare plant and animal species, each bears traces of its Communist past (being part of ex-Yugoslavia), Habsburg history (being part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), and of the earlier cultures of the Venetian Republic and ancient Roman Empire. Hence, the creative configuration of art-ecology-politics will be theoretically investigated and experientially engaged as soon as we leave the classroom. In fact, the classroom itself will become the outside and vice versa.

We will dive into the main theme which holds it all together, just as it at the same time puts all in flux. The Sea: taciturn, surging, immanent, open, smooth, with different degrees of depth. (Should we not be like this too?) Water, salt minerals, rocks that surround it, all affect our skin and the layers of our thought in turn. The sea is physical (a space of swimming, diving, sailing), metaphysical (a source of inspiration from fairytales to the bible), biochemical (the origin of earthly life), and political (a site of travel, immigration, colonization). 

Content

We will follow a syllabus, an outline of works by artists, anthropologists, philosophers, writers, evolutionary biologists, and composers, all of which have been intensified by the Sea - a natural and thinking force. Some of the authors include Reinaldo Arenas, Clarice Lispector, Vilem Flusser, Diderot, Tomasi di Lampedusa, Yukio Mishima, Theophrastus, Curzio Malaparte, Ladislav Klima, Rudolf Steiner, Gyorgy Ligeti, Alejandra Pizarnik, Paul Scheerbart, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Lygia Clark... You don't have to be familiar with any of them; the retreat will be your introduction. The important aspect of these "obscure" authors, outside of the mainstream, is that they redefine our relations to the world by introducing unpredictable variables into our life-worlds.  

Notes

We will follow and record sound-images on the island. For example: sometimes composers tap into these sensations and make them audible:

In addition, after these notes, can we agree with the vibration of the words below which posit algae as a principle of perfection?

I now no longer like anything but what is amorphous, soft, lukewarm, damp. The monstrous vegetation of the algae, of hair soaked in sea salt and the salt of sweat. (Michel Leiris)

Activity

This retreat is a small-scale operation with patient attention to every detail. For only in fragile conditions, with rarified ingredients, can wide-ranging, impactful results and experiences occur.

The contents of the readings, the surrounding ecosystem, and the history (and prehistory) of the island will frame our daily sessions:

• 3 hours lecture/workshop based on the reading, hearing, smelling

• Walking, swimming/diving, foraging, kayaking

• Movement exercises corresponding to some characteristics of the flora and fauna of the island

When taken together, these intellectual-kinetic modalities constitute "spiritual exercises", as these used to be called centuries ago. In addition to mastering concepts that lie at the core of life, you'll learn about specific plants, animals, insects, and geographic features of your temporary habitat. Following your instinct, you'll choose one of these to become intimately connected with (by inhabiting its characteristics, not symbolism): a totem that will be your guide even after you leave the island. For the goal is to receive some extra apotropaic and tutelary power.  

There's a guest-instructor each year: a professional diver, local fisherman, performance artist, biodynamic gardener, marine biologist, etc. All daily exercises are fused with the ideas explored in class workshops. 

Production

You will produce a series of multiples - as reactions to discussed themes and experiences of the week - that may include texts (as writers), sounds (as composers), drawings, images, videos (as artists), dishes (as chefs), performances (as dancers), design proposals (as architects), or concepts (as philosophers). If none of these suits you, you can learn how to swim butterfly or how to do a high-dive with somersault (but you have to learn it well). Furthermore, you can continue your work after you return from the island and keep up a correspondence with the instructor and classmates.  

Accommodation

Food

Aligned with the designated concepts and with the island landscape, some meals will be constructed by Vitalist Cuisine, headed by Joshua McCarty. Biodynamic wines from local vineyards will be selected in the same vein, following the same pulsation, by Alex Norsic. Food and drink will thus be an important part of the overall nourishment which ties the physical and metaphysical dimensions together.  

Furthermore, there will be one “open table” evening (inspired by Eva in Burgenland region of Austria): a free dinner for anyone to join, a stranger, both local and foreign.

Logistics

The fee is $2000 and it includes:

• Course fee

• Accommodation in a shared room (double occupancy) in Stanzia Castellani

• One meal per day

• Excursions

Maximum number of participants is twelve. Instead of application send a summary of your interests from the contact form below. Be genuine. If you took the pre-school online series, you'll have a priority here. 

A detailed list of readings and activities will be distributed few weeks before the beginning of the retreat. 

Finally, themes and materials change each year, like sea-foam or like vaporized clouds. If your attendance went exceptionally well and you wish to return in the following Summer, your fee will be waived.