In defense of art

The Youth Biennale presented its main exhibitions

“In Defense of Art” was the title of the column in the Young Artist magazine, beloved by many of the 80s generation. Thanks to this section, we learned about all the main characters of the world art scene, about the main trends in contemporary art. Moreover, these trends and names (Dali, for example, or Francis Bacon) were branded on the pages of “Young Artist” by Soviet ideology, but their art was described so deliciously that everyone guessed: these are the favorite artists of the magazine’s authors, and the materials about them are the only “readable” ones. in the publication.

After looking at the main exhibitions of the II Moscow International Biennale of Young Art, I suddenly realized that the thesis was again relevant. And without ideological equivocations. On the same day that the exhibition “Vis-a-vis” opened, curator Daria Kamyshnikova presented the exhibition “Freedom and Freedom” at the branch of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Ermolaevsky Lane, 17). After the successfully conceived and visually convincing program “Vis-a-vis” (see “Vremya Novostei” of July 2), “Freedom and Freedom” is perceived as some kind of report by graduates of the MMSI school. There are a lot of things, participants from different countries, all their works are housed on four floors of the museum according to the principle of a post-war communal apartment. As Raikin says: “And in the bathroom we will pickle cucumbers. This is such a snack!” Convergences and rhymes are random. Nothing is connected plastically or meaningfully. Example. One artist made giant ants out of paper, and his work was placed directly in front of the metro maps of cities in different countries embroidered on white tablecloths. Why, you ask? What is this: a horror movie with mutant ants attacking the great cities of the world? Or was there just empty space here, so they squeezed it in? There are no clear explanations, no navigation throughout the exhibition. The Nozdryov syndrome, which was discussed in the previous article (when the theme of the border turns into an apology for absurdist limitlessness - “on this side of the forest is mine and on the other side of the forest is mine”), was fully manifested at the exhibition in Ermolaevsky. Nobody showed respect to the audience; the directing was done poorly. Art turned out to be defenseless.

Similar claims can be made to the exhibitions on the territory of the “Project Factory”. Arseny Zhilyaev’s curatorial program “Rare Species” is unsuccessful. Topic: how did I become an artist? Citizens speak out on the topic, many of whom are unknown to anyone even in the art community. When I went to the exhibition, I thought: well, to be honest, there are five matrices. Well, how can you become an artist and achieve such a life? First, I read a lot of smart books. Second, I saw enough great masterpieces. Third - hanging out in clubs. Fourth, my parents tortured me and forced me to go to a children's art school. Fifth - generational syndrome. That is, everyone in the family is an artist - and so am I. All five matrices at the exhibition were worked properly. Everything was done awkwardly. Some books are spilling out of checkered market bags, some scribbles are pinned to the wall. Nothing is going to be included in the art message. The exception is the plastic clauses of those who have something to say precisely as an accomplished artist with their own background. I remember Yegor Koshelev with an excellent installation - windows, inside of which there is expressionist painting on the theme of social aggression, Arseny Zhilyaev himself with photographs, reflection on the theme of Soviet and post-Soviet childhood (the same purely personal, hard-won feeling was expressed by him in the wonderful installation of the exhibition "Vis- a-vi”, where the artist himself read Sartre from a video screen, and photographs were collected under the screen - artifacts of Soviet everyday life, a time when Sartre was thought of as a breath of freedom in a general suffocation), Ksenia Sorokina with a model of the fragile scenography of an imaginary performance... In general art once again turned out to be defenseless, packaged into matrices and clichés.

Things are a little better with the review of graduates and students of the Rodchenko School of Photography and Media Art in Moscow. Curators Vladislav Efimov and Katya Lazareva gave the task: to photograph forbidden, borderline places: from airport terminals to fences of private property. It turned out well. Of course, students are a long way from the sophisticated voyeurism of David Lynch’s films, but there are some good ideas. I will highlight two works. The first is an octagonal object by Via Muragina made from photographs, where the wires and fences on each of the faces become a mirror repetition of themselves inside the figure. Wire and fence guard wire and fence. The schizoid circle closes. Another work is Daniil Zinchenko’s video “Mausoleum”. The famous ziggurat of Shchusev on Red Square with the unburied body of the leader of the world proletariat suddenly begins to shake, grin the teeth of the Kremlin wall and bark menacingly at the spectators. It's getting really scary. Then you remember that Mr. Zinchenko is conducting a deconstructive dialogue with the futurists. It was their 1914 collection called “Roaring Parnassus”! The work is a reference for the exhibition. It’s a pity (or maybe it’s natural) that not all students are able to present their ideas in the same plastically clear, non-chatty and to the point way.

In conjunction with the exhibition of students from the Rodchenko School, I would like to note the absolute success of the Biennale, which fully corresponds to the theme “In Defense of Art” - the exhibition “Stroganovka. Expanding the boundaries..." It took place in the exhibition hall of the Stroganov Art Academy on Volokolamsk Highway. Graduates and post-graduate students of the academy took part, among whom were Alexey Dyakov, Daria Surovtseva, Rostan Tavasiev, Egor Koshelev, Roman Sakin, who became leaders of the modern art process... The works shown were mostly recognized, participating in the best gallery and museum programs. They adequately formed a new image of the venerable interiors of Stroganovka. And they became an excellent social message. Because the fact of their presence inside the seemingly stronghold of academic conservatism became a tectonic shift in the entire value system of the traditional art school. The wise generals of Stroganov immediately led the process. At the opening they said that, they say, Stroganovka has always been characterized by the process of integrating the current and innovative. And at the cradle of the avant-garde forge - Vkhutemas - we stood, and in general... We only support “for”. And it is clear that this fateful decision was not easy for them.

I consider the guest book to be the best exhibit at the exhibition. From it one can understand what genuine passions are boiling in the venerable academy. What a split new art creates between conservatives and innovators. The main theme is the chic gesture of Rostan Tavasiev, who hung between the columns of the lobby, where until now Apollo Belvedere and the bust of S.G. reigned. Stroganov, garlands of plush carrots. This is shock and radicalism no worse than Kulik’s dog! However, Rostand himself does not consider his work to be radicalism. Simply, in accordance with the ideas of the Enlightenment of the 18th century, he made a visual metaphor of the school as a paradise garden in which talents are nurtured (after all, Levitsky depicted Demidov with seedlings and a watering can against the backdrop of the educational home he supervised). However, the public of Stroganovka took Rostan's work (as well as the work of other participants in the Expanding Borders project) as a personal insult. Here are typical entries in the guest book: “Shameful work! It’s a shame, comrades” (signed “Nyura. 3rd grade “A”); “It sucks! The university is deteriorating! Oleg Kabakov - g... Horror! (without signature); “Simply terrible! Disgrace!" (signature “cook Ravshan”), “I’ll shove this carrot... into you” (signature illegible)... The more valuable are such entries: “Peace to the world” (signature “lovers of Korean carrots”), “What can I say? Of course, this is not Karl Bryullov, but the guys have a unique vision of the world. We can wish them creative success” (initials “AN”)... During the vernissage, the initiators of the landing of contemporary art on the territory of the Academy, professors of the Moscow State University of Art and Industry named after S.G. Stroganova Vera Dazhina and Kirill Gavrilin showed me a piece of paper taped by a certain well-wishing person to the exhibits with the inscription “Contains no signs of art.” It can be perceived as a conceptual document that “the ice has broken” and the battle to protect art is in full swing.

Sergei KHACHATUROV