Peristil in Split Turns Red to Mark 50th Anniversary
- by croatiaweek
- in News
Red Peristil (Photo credit: kvartaarta/Instagram)
Artists in the Dalmatian city of Split have marked the 50th anniversary of the iconic action ‘Red Peristil’, which was first performed on January 11, 1968, by turning the central square of Diocletian’s Palace red on Thursday.
Locals and tourists got the opportunity to enjoy a usual site as reflectors flooded the square with red lighting.
Red Peristil was an urban intervention in Diocletian’s Palace performed on 11 January 1968, when the main courtyard of the Palace was painted red. This was also the name of the group responsible for the intervention, which was formed in 1966.
The group had a destructive approach similar to Marcel Duchamp’s post-urban art of the 1960s. A number of other actions were recognized as the work of the same artistic group.
The illegal attack on public property was made more controversial by the choice of the colour. Red was seen as an act of provocation towards communism.
