M81 NSK
Internal Book of Laws (1985)
NSK – short for Neue Slowenische Kunst, or New Slovenian Art – were a provocative collective founded in Ljubljana in Yugoslavia in the early 1980s. Including (among others) the industrial pop band Laibach, the painting collective IRWIN (M90), the graphic design team New Collectivism (Novi Kolektivizem) and the underground theatre troupe Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre (Gledališče sester Scipion Nasice), NSK were established to explore the relationship between art and totalitarianism. In 1992, in the aftermath of Slovenian independence from Yugoslavia, NSK disbanded and reformed as the NSK State, a hypothetical utopian territory through which they continue to critique the nature of society, government and the nation.
Several theorists have addressed the group’s work, in particular the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, who argues that to be properly subversive in a late capitalist society one needs to take the systems that govern more seriously than those systems take themselves. This is a good description of NSK, whose strategy has been to make explicit the hidden transgressions of contemporary society. In recent years their activities have included setting up imaginary embassies as the site for conceptual art experiments, establishing corporations with no apparent purpose, appropriating fascist symbols in their art and using totalitarian rhetoric.
The individual groups that make up NSK have issued many manifestos over the course of their lifetime. This ‘Book of Laws’ (‘Interne Knjige Zakonov’) was originally written in 1985 for the entire membership of NSK and mimics the language of Soviet art workers’ manifestos of the 1930s.
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Constitution of Membership and Basic Duties of NSK Members
1.
A member of NSK should be hard-working; he should respect the concepts of NSK and its history, be compliant and co-operative in carrying out joint decisions, and irreproachable in administering the general and secret statutory and moral norms of NSK.
2.
A member of NSK is particularly obliged to act in accordance with the moral, political, aesthetic and ethical norms stipulated by the NSK Internal Book of Laws (IBL).
3.
A member of NSK adapts creatively to his environment and is wise in following and complying with the rules set by the authorities regardless of his place of residence or work. He should never, without reason or permission and power vested in him by the Council of the Organization (NSK Council), get involved in any secret political meetings or various plots that could directly jeopardize the existence and sovereignty of the Organization.
4.
In carrying out the exacting tasks, in view of accomplishing the objectives required to attain common goals, the members make use of every means permitted or required by the ‘Law of Action’, should the situation so require (see IBL).
5.
To cherish mutual respect, friendly and brotherly love, assistance and devotion, is a law obligatory for ALL members of the Organization. The entire association should function according to the principles of equality and harmony of internal distinctions.
6.
No personal animosity, no settling of personal conflicts or disputes may enter the Organization. The same holds true, yet even to a larger extent, of arguments related to religion, nationality or political system, which never have and never shall serve the purpose of the Organization.
7.
Once a member is inducted, the association denies each member his own freedom of choice regarding his religious persuasion, and political and aesthetic affiliation.
8.
Each membership candidate must believe in the hierarchical principle and existence of the supreme substance (ICS – the immanent, consistent spirit), occupying the uppermost position in the hierarchy of NSK.
9.
Each candidate must be aware of the past, be active in the present and susceptible to the future. He should be conscious of the tradition of the fundament, should have a feel for innovating experiments and a talent for combining the two.
10.
A member-to-be should be of sound character, emotionally balanced and of sound mental health. He should be capable, with all sincerity and conscience, of answering the following questions
- Do you present yourself before this Organization, with truth and honesty, free of any prejudice that would interfere with your personal dispositions, as a free person and of your own free will, without being forced or subjected to inappropriate pressure, and present yourself as a candidate for membership in this Organization?
- Do you maturely and responsibly claim the status of member in this Organization and its pertaining privileges, having taken a clear stand on the world and its history?
- Do you truly and responsibly pledge to perform your duties for the Organization loyally, respectfully, and in the spirit of its laws and practices?
11.
Once a novice is given his pledge of allegiance, he is required to adopt the principle of conscious renunciation regarding his personal tastes, judgement, and beliefs (…); he is required to renounce his personal practices of the past and devote himself to work in the body whose integral element he has become by joining the Organization.
12.
Novices must respect elder members and the ‘Triple Principle’, which is the supreme designer of the Law of the Organization.
13.
During the first year of their novitiate, the novices belong to the so-called team reservoir and have the status of a student-apprentice. They first learn the law of cause and effect, which applies to the art of genuine domination and genuine subordination.
14.
When praising tradition, history and the supreme principle of NSK, each member must obey the following law of the IBL: a member should never speak of the Organization and its inner principles of action without due respect.
15.
When honouring and exposing himself through self praise, etc., a member should avoid any exaggeration and inconsistencies so as to preserve his individual and collective pride.
16.
Concerning one’s love for one’s neighbour (one’s friends, family, wife and neighbourhood), IBL exceptionally permits members of NSK to practise Christian relations, if these comply with the social system and its system of values, yet advises them to exercise caution in their good deeds.
17.
In his role of a social and civil being, a member should be co-operative and benevolent should the circumstances so require, to the extent that such behaviour and generosity do not harm himself, his family, and his friends in particular.
18.
As a community member and a citizen, a member of the Organization should abide by the laws designed to protect him. He should avoid any punishment and interdiction: in critical circumstances, he should not allow any prejudice, originating from what he does, to instigate a feeling of self-guilt.
19.
When a person expresses the wish to become a member of the Organization, his wish should be given careful consideration and a recommendation submitted only if and when he is found to comply with the principles of the Organization and to contribute positively, in terms of personality and activity, to the strength and promotion of its common interests.
20.
Members are recommended to devote their spare time associating with those who co-operate with the Organization.
THE FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF FRIENDSHIP:
- I shall lavish brotherly respect on you if I know you are worthy of it.
- I shall risk danger and hardships to help you in your time of need, providing this does not harm me nor the Organization.
- In my daily activities and when taking on special duties, I shall first mention your name and then mine.
- I shall support you in your work and self-denial, and shall help you reach these goals as if I were in your place.
- I shall never do unto you what I do not want you to do unto me, unless there is a common reason for that.
21.
If a member knows his place in his home group and in a wider body to which he belongs, and has particularly excelled in his work, he shall be presented with a reward according to his rank and stipulations of the IBL. Should he neglect his work, he shall be excommunicated or punished.