Posts Tagged with Soviet architecture
From 28 January till 28 February 2015 in Visual Research Center took place exhibition-research “Superstructure” that presented
documentation of key architectural buildings of Soviet modernism in Kyiv,
schemes of residential districts, implemented projects and projects that
existed only on a paper. The exhibition prolongs tradition of tremor and
admiration of Soviet modernist architecture, very reasonable, but not till the
end conceived and and conceptualized. Exposition of exhibition was supplemented
by lections and discussions, among which was lecture of Georg Schöllhammer that
from 2002 have been working over researching project “Trespassing Modernities” ,
devoted to architecture and urban development of Soviet modernism and its
historical origin. For me, as for an artist that works with aesthetics of
Soviet architecture, the exhibition helped to study out the sources of visual
language that I use.
Exhibition “Superstructure” is not unique
research on architecture of Soviet modernism and represents rather trend,
existing in world scopes. Apart of one of printed editions of ArtUkraine
journal, a number of photo-books, albums and photo essays of photographers from
around the world present documentation of everything from monument to bus stops
that actually also worth it.
Georg Schöllhammer that also actively
researches and documents phenomenon of Soviet architecture, rises important
question at the lecture – what will be lately with this entire heritage lately?
Today many from these unique objects do not function. Bus no more drives, where
bus stop is, not finished cinema for 300 people will never will be finished, as
nobody needs cinema for 300 people today.
Exposition of exhibition "Trespassing Modernities"
Alexander Burlaka, one of initiators of
exhibition “Superstructure”, taps in the answer to the question, making the
post on facebook with image that depicts fragment of decoration at Palace
Ukraine subway station. The image recalls ancient ruins, that today have incontestable
status of cultural heritage and oeuvres that stay open art protected by laws or
placed into museums with proper conditioning and other conservation conditions.
What makes “Superstructure” exhibition significant
is hidden in texts that accomplish every project. They describe the historical
background and concepts of architects and actually together with images lead to
interesting conclusions.
Let’s go back to extracts from texts:
Musical theater of Florian Yuriev
… At the beginning of 1960th at the
time of campaign of fight with abstract art, exhibition of abstract painting by
Florian Yuriev in Kyiv Architect House was closed, work physically destroyed and
Yuriev himself was expected to be excluded from Architects Union. Yuriev
managed to escape from catastrophe with the help of argument that his mistake
took place at the territory painting, but not architecture, so there is no
sense to punish him as architect.
At the beginning of 1960th Florian
Yuriev created his own vision of “synthesis of arts” in a project of light and
musical theater that should have become platform for a new art discipline,
called “music of light”. Yuriev stated that “music of light” – independent style
of art and transmission of colors, organized in a special way, may cause in a
special color perception of the audience. With this purpose Yuriev created
light-musical orchestra and designed special space with perfect transmission of
light and sound...
Photo of grishasergei
from Livejournal
Crematorium project by Ada Rybachuk and Vladimir Melnichenko
… Rybachuk and Melnichenko discard first
edition of the project for crematorium by Miletskyi that designed it as just
functional building. Instead, they create their own concept of crematorium as therapeutic
institution. To help participants of funeral ceremony overcome psychological
trauma, Rybachuk and Melnichenko
develop idea of Park of Memory with authorial landscape and monumental Wall of
Memory and unique Halls of Last Respect. Architecture of these Halls should had
been deprived from any associations with industrial process of cremation; this
is what had shaped their unusual form.
Halls of Last Respect were designed in collaboration
with artists of monuments and engineers and
embodied important idea of that time about “scientifically-based artistic consciousness”.
Figurative forms of Halls of Last Respect resulted both from difficult
technological process and avant-garde artistic ideas…
Photo by Anton Petrov
Conclusion that arises from projects and their
descriptions at “Superstructure” exhibition – projects, presented in examples,
as many others, presented at exhibition, reflect practices and tendencies that
had been developing in art in world scopes. They consider elements of
installation, conceptual art, science and new technologies. According to many criteria,
these objects could be treated also as contemporary art pieces that were
created and exposed outside traditional for that time exposing spaces. Owing to
misunderstanding of subject of art and logics of its development, government suppressed
only experiments with classical media in gallery space; at the same in
architecture it was possible for artists and architects to embody quite interesting
and authentic experiments, reflecting the spirit of time. Consequently, these
architectural pieces are not simple buildings and bus stops, but also large-scale
and serial art projects, financed by the state. From such point for view, it is
possible better to understand incredible interest to them and desire to
document them, as they represent also important part of history of art in USSR,
heritage that due to its undervaluation and indefiniteness not protected from
destruction and demolishing. At the same time, these works carry much more
experiment and actualness than kilometers of political realistic paintings that
have filled up museums and that represent traditionally art of Soviet Union. And tradition of which develop Kyiv Academy of
Art and many other educational art institutions of Ukraine.
If we range the cultural heritage of Soviet
Union in such way, it’s possible to make a conclusion, that development of
contemporary art at the territory of Soviet Union wasn’t terminated by
repressions but rather made a shift to related areas and like architecture and
exterior decoration. Such way of looking at the history of art in Soviet Union
also makes much more clear and logical significant works of some contemporary
artists. The most bright and obvious examples could be found among works of
Zhanna Kadyrova, in which forms refers to tradition of Soviet architectural modernity
(that also defines the form of works – sculptures) but the ideas are rather reflecting
new capitalistic reality.
Work of Zhanna Kadyrova
Also is quite representative the work of
Nikolay Ridnyi – honors board. Unlike Kadyrova, he exhibits casual fragment of
Soviet reality and at the same time architectural object as a ready-made artwork
in gallery space, postulating in a such way that placed in gallery space this
object is already piece of art.
Work of Nikolay Ridnyi, Photo pinchukfund.org
Finally, I can cite as an example my reference to simple architectural forms
from the past in my project “Snow City”, where forms and structures create
visual language that I use working with up-to-date topics.
Exposition of my project "Snow City", photo Maxim Belousov
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