A Vignette for Peter

An exhibition on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the birth of the writer and playwright Peter Božič

Today we see Peter Božič (30 December 1932–10 July 2009) – certainly one of the most important and prominent figures (and occurrences) in Slovenian culture and society of the second half of the 20th century – as a writer, rebel, thinker, and cultural worker with his heart and soul. His world was full of reflections, revolt, visionary work, and social activism but it was unquestionably marked most by the cultural and theatre manifestos that he incessantly wrote down and proclaimed, as he realised that culture had to have its autonomy. And in all probability culture did have much more autonomy in the past century than nowadays, perhaps with an even more independent gaze into the future and into intellectual freedom. It meant an unburdened alternative that with its content and artistic reflexive disposition lay foundation for the expression of the individual stance permeated with more democratic elements.
We should not forget Božič’s clearly expressed thought that "art is the sole space of absolute freedom” since "art has a clear position; the autopoetics of art is the essence that defines each author, at once lucidly outlining his recognisability and the content physiognomy” (conversation with Vladimir Gajški, 2002). We should also not forget the publishing of his letter to Ivan Cankar, written in the mid-1970s, on his childhood-teenage experience of the "successful” second world slaughter and the loss of faith in ideals and values, in the more righteous world of absolute truth, freedom, love, "when you sacrifice your life for those ideals and when by renouncing them you surrender yourself to the redeeming suffering” …
(Original text by Mojca Kreft)

The exhibition was prepared by the National and University Library and the Municipality of Ljubljana on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the birth of writer and playwright Peter Božič.

Authors of exhibition: Ines Vodopivec, Ph.D. and Maša Kodrič
Material setup: Centre for the Preservation of Library Material NUK, Marjan Rus and Marko Dolničar
Photo: National Theatre Museum of Slovenia Archive

Peter Božič in Ljubljana Photo: Marijan Pal, Arhiv SGM

Photo: Arhiv SGM

Photo: Sonja Lebedinec, Arhiv SGM