Radovanović, Vladan (EN)

Radovanović Vladan, *5 September 1932 Belgrade, Serbian composer, music theorist and multimedia artist involved in synthetic art. He studied composition under M. Živkovic at the Belgrade Conservatory. After graduation, he taught theoretic subjects at the K. Stanković Musical School in Belgrade (1956–1971). In 1972, he set up the Electronic Studio at the local radio station, which he directed until 1999. He taught multimedia art for postgraduate students at the University of Arts in Belgrade in 2000–2012. He received honorary doctorates from the universities in Columbus (Ohio, USA) and Belgrade (Serbia). Together with other artists, he founded groups “Mediala” (1958) and “SINTUM” (1993) as well as the magazine “Rock” (1969).

The beginnings of his creative path (1950s), developed on the basis of various arts – music, visual art, literature and new media, are connected with the culture of Yugoslavia, which was separated from avant-garde trends. This explains the lack of understanding of the contemporary environment for innovative artistic ideas, including hyper-polyphonic compositions, conceptual art (Projects, 1954), minimalism (Chorales, 1955–1956), haptic art (1956) and multimedia art (1957). Since the early 1960s, he has been involved in electronic music, realising his works and projects in experimental music studios in Warsaw, Paris, Utrecht and Budapest. He has organised his own exhibitions and performances in Belgrade, Zagreb, Amsterdam, Ghent, and Ferrara. He has received numerous awards for his electronic compositions, e.g. in Belgrade (1971, 1979, 1998), Bourges (1979) and the so-called Radio Oscar – the G. Zafrani Award at the Prix Italia competition for Sphaeroön (1984).

Literature: [collective work:] Синтезијска уметност: Једномедијско и вишемедијско стваралаштво Владана Радовановића, 1947–2005, Kragujevac 2005; J. Novak Синтезијски доручак у купатилу – Владан Радовановић, Молитвени доручак под окриљем белог анђела, “Novi zvuk” 2005 No. 26, pp. 95–99; K. Томашевић Разговор с поводом: Иновативан и аутентичан стваралац – Владан Радовановић, “Muzikologija”  2017 No. 23, pp. 287–302; I. Medić The impossible avant-garde of Vladan Radovanović, “Muzikološki zbornik”, 2019 No. 55, pp. 157–176; M.T. Maglov Dream Master: Conversation with Vladan Radovanović, “INSAM: Journal of contemporary music, art and technology” 2020 No. 5, pp. 9–18; Б. Јарић, Сакрално и космичко племе звука: Разговор с Владаном Радовановићем, композитором и вишемедијским ствараоцем, “Muzički talas” 2021 No. 27, pp. 30–39; M. Milin Music in Vladan Radovanović’s ‘art synthesis’ works, “Contemporary music review” 2021 No. 40, pp. 545–569.