The Europe-Balkan and primitive-civilised antinomies in Micić's Zenit Magazine

Abstract

Ljubomir Micić was the founder of Zenitism and the editor of Zenit, the international avant-garde magazine published in Zagreb and Belgrade from 1921 to 1926. Sharply criticising a decadent European culture after the Great War and accepting progressive avant-garde ideas, Micić praised the New art founded on the principles of NEO-primitivism and Russian constructivism, following the technological and scientific progress of the 20th century. Analysing the Zenitist Balkanisation of Europe project led by Barbarogenius, I will point out to Micić's attitude towards the old continent, his efforts to oppose the image of the Balkans as "the inner other of Europe", and his aspiration to revive European culture with the primordial Balkan energy. Declaring the Balkans the sixth continent, the geographical space of the poets, Micić postulated a model of cultural barbarism by which he stood against the established primacy of Western European nations over those that were characterised "less civilised". This paper aims to point out to Micić's understanding of the relationship between the Balkans and Europe, as well as the so-called primitive-civilised opposition, in order to highlight internationalism, pacifism and cosmopolitanism as the key elements of his Zenitosophy