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ELECTRIFYING CATHOLICISM IN BREČEVIĆI - PART 5

Đani Brečević is a self-taught artist, living as an outsider in a rural setting due to his artistically oriented work and flamboyant way of life. I and my cousin connect quite naturally; as we are the only ones working even remotely close to any cultural production. We are joined by the same sensation of being familiar strangers in strictly defined social settings.

My father (R.I.P.) left this rural background as a 13-year old, opting for the life of a sailor. He instilled a strong connection in me to this particular regional background. Dad used to return every year with us to the village spending a month or so helping out and working the land on his vacation time. I remain a “foreign familiar face” here, free to come and go as I wish among people who knew my father, grandfather and greatgrandfather, whereas those who remained here all their lives need to handle a somewhat narrower set of expectations.

I can’t really imagine how it is to develop an artistic identity within this rural setting – although it relates to urban communities of “gastarbajters” (guest workers), the obvious class aspect that leads to different types but similar functions of social control.

Part 5 out of 6 

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