Life of an NGO - Leading Politics Without Government

© (RED)

You are young and strong willed? You know what you want to achieve in your nearest future? Or actually you have no clue about the future, but you have some bright ideas at the present, which could change exactly your future and the society you're living in? Just start a magazine, make an art workshop for kids, help to prevent poverty in Africa, set up a football match against racism, create a workshop to clean your city - do whatever is good to keep society curious and aware about certain meaningful topics - and an NGO is one of the best to do it!

Like in the beginning of the world there was a purpose of creating something (if we believe that was this 'cosmic' dust transformed into the planet Earth we inhabit now), and creating starts mainly with an idea. An idea which survives the times, circumstances and problems. The same can be referred to the creation on a non-governmental organization (further NGO). Mainly in the beginning it's just a small group of enthusiastic people sharing the same interests about certain topics and a big desire to influence the on-going affairs in on a local or global level (feeling the urge of preventing certain problems/speaking out about global consequences in local communities/alter 'unhealthy' thinking etc.).

Architecture - Real Estate of Mind

Architecture - not just a science of building stable houses with different shapes and accessories, according to current fashion... and architects - not just brave knights of future thinking drawing chimneys and projecting constructions of new libraries in their imaginative mind, while speaking with you... there's definitely something more... more professional and dealing with responsibility - for creating or improving living environments for countless generations...

However in all times an architect as an image of a person, architecture and the profession of the architect were profoundly defined terms in the consciousness of society and it won't change its' meaning despite strong influence of differentiated social contexts. It stays as real estate presenting all kinds of emotions carried within the creation process...

Ljube - The Child of Nature

The jeans jacket borrowed from friends, 'The Beatles' and sparkling flames of ardour coming from young generation wishing to change this world - that was in the 70-ties. Times are changing and passing by. But the sparkling flames have remained together with gained life experience. And the jeans jacket - that's his own property now, like the sparkling flames that are left now for other young generations.

He's wearing glasses in style of Dandies. He's smoking and making gestures, while telling the witty shortcuts of life stories, which unconsciously make the whole impression of the person he is now. He's telling that English wasn't sufficient to know in his youth, but clothing in 'manner of capitalism' was just a weird way to show the protest against existing dogmas of socialism, expanding horizons, not just seeing everything as a red square or green triangular (it depends how you perceive the conditions of proposed way of living in every political regime).

He's been attracted to art since childhood. He remembers himself drawing everything that was in his daily outlook. And this daily view was pleasant for a young artist to explore his talent and passion for art. The art of nature. The love of nature. The nature that saves and that kills. The nature that is saved and is killed. In many ways. This is his message to society - to save the environment! And show the exact problem through the flowing moves of a paintbrush.

He's blusterous, calling himself 'Narcissist' and why not? He has all rights to do that, as this story is only about his version of this world: through art, inside art and in crossroads of it. Nevertheless, the art is winning this game, even if everything is against it.

His activities can't be described in a few words, it's just like a feeling that can be only understood or not, like art itself. Beside our topic of Graffiti, which is also one of the expression fields of Ljube he makes art workshops (since 1993 in Art Association ZUM93, now ZUM 2002) around Macedonia, with this action letting the society know that nature is dying because of our own non-sense. Maybe painting the dead fish and polluted forests in an impressionistic way is not really helping nature directly, but people buy the paintings, people see the exhibitions and the true feelings of artists and the story every painting keeps inside. Beside the activating art in non-governmental way and saving the nature, he is Professor of Arts, working in a school in Struga and helping young talents to find themselves in the world of creating, despite the fact that art still remains an amateur profession ruled mostly by enthusiasts. 

The true child of nature. Maybe he will continue with Ljubeism as kind of new religion, which will take masses to follow him and create the beauty, leaving the messages to the world... 'You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one...' [John Lennon 'Imagine']

The Oxygen.

Starting with the rhythm of hip-hop and a skin-head guy rapping on the radio microphone. Talking hard. The composition number one says the title: 'The Oxygen'.

The Oxygen - the dance of lungs. And the story goes on... about a girl from the big city and the boy from the provinces both called Sasha. Their love starts as usual sentimentally and suddenly noticing that lungs are dancing, the oxygen comes in bigger doses. Love in this case is compared to Oxygen - at least somebody made an alternative phrase of describing 'Butterflies in Stomach'. And butterflies appear either in a few significant moments of the movie. 

But the plot is more complicated than just love among two youngsters likely smoking weed in front of big monuments. The problem goes deeper, and for comparison the lack or either loads of 'Oxygen' can cause all the biggest mistakes made by mankind. And examples are given in the next compositions of the movie. Full track contains 10 of them, covered in simple and easy discussion on present day topics skillfully using the elements that create the modern culture of the youth. Talking about Islamic countries, 11th September 2001, which was all made in name of big 'love' (shown in videos of war and named as 'LOVE PARADE'), and youth dependent on drugs, suffering either from big love or lack of it. The next composition called 'Amnesia' tries to provide a solution - 'Organize your brain clinical amnesia. Organize - I don't remember anything, anything, anything...'.

Movie is precisely describing the youth of the world, portraying the life of Russian example. The mixture of scenes similar to ideology and performance presented in  'Pump Up the Volume', 'Trainspotting' and 'Run Lola Run' appear in the flow of pictures, taking the best part of it. Outstanding thinking, hippies running naked in the field of weed, rebels and all those who are in search for understanding in this world. Ironic, containing delicious comparisons, excellent game of words, which touch, take over and settle down in memory. The above mentioned 'Dance of Lungs', 'Provincial Fur and Fleas of Big City', 'Heart in a Shape of a Big Double-Bed' and many others made by this hard talk of storytellers, alternating with visualization containing scenes of decelerated reality and as well impressive surrealism [e.g., girl walking on the moon in black gumboots decorated with colorful flowers, break-dance mixing with sound of broken glass]. The movie speaks to you and your conscience.

Organize your brain Amnesia and add some Oxygen!