Friday was the opening of the exhibition Peter Pavlensky in Prague. Absolutely shocked, wrote a lot of letters. Argue with me about it.
Was very impressed by both the exhibition and he Pavlensky, who was a long discussion. I didn’t know he was so piercingly cold and smart. From the artist expect emotion and impulse, and here — neither the one nor the other. But if you think about it — art, Pavlensky does not mean sensual. Its origins — not in the emotional sphere, and moral. It is a philosophical treatise, expressed through performance. Its shares concise as aphorisms. And no rush at all, and there is a smart calculation.
Pavlensky — if not as a person, as a hero of his works alone. This is important because art Pavlensky is not about civil resistance and regime (for which you need not stand apart and together) and of personal resistance lies. Personal resistance is a battle you are always alone. No one ever will not help you.
Art Pavlenkova — the resistance lies. That’s about what I was thinking all day yesterday. Resistance lies is a very difficult thing. Lies in fact is not just a series of incorrect data. This is a complex social contract, unconscious prisoner: I pretend not see what you pretend you don’t see what I pretend. The contract itself is not evil. For example, I pretend I’m not hurt, and you can see that I’m pretending, but behave as if you believed — we do each other bedspreads lies, and it allows us to part friends. But these covers has its own life and its own power — and having once created it, so it is not just to throw.
Therefore, the resistance lies is not confined to the presentation of the truth. If this were so, then the corruption scandals would not leave a stone unturned. But if the veil be pushed to the side, people stretched it to themselves. Here we see that he stole, but he pretends he didn’t steal and we don’t believe him, but pretend to believe, and he pretends to believe what we believe. To all, we are again wrapped in a blanket and sit in the sweltering heat.
The first lie requires special inner jerk, funny jerk, strangely associated with the texture lies. This breakthrough, in fact, occurs in the same place where there is a lie (Red Square, Lubyanka, HHS), but not built on the rejection of the invoice lies. Its essence is to commit an act that is not shifting the blanket to the side and tearing its very fabric. Exposing those who take part in it. Ment, cutting pliers barbed wire, enveloped the naked body of the artist as naked as the artist himself. He is strange and scary. Or, at least — to the viewer a strange and scary to imagine yourself in his place. The spikes of the barbed wire crashing into the naked body, there is some terrible, textured, the primitive truth. It’s a sharp piece of iron, piercing the skin. To break her, not enough finger strength, so you need pliers. You can bring a cloth to cover the body to hide it from prying eyes — but the body will not disappear. How does not disappear however, covered with a blanket of lies.
The symbolism of barbed wire, nailed to the pavement of the scrotum, burning tires — is secondary. They only put the act deal with lies in an understandable context. This fight makes sense, always and everywhere, regardless of context. It is, perhaps, eternal.
I had never noticed this obvious features of all of the shares Pavlensky — they are neatly and simply designed to the authorities as long as possible were forced to interact with exposing their situation. This, in essence, receiving from the repertoire of street circus, in which the audience (sometimes unwittingly) become part of the show. In this case, the participants of the performance, the result of calm and calculation, becoming officials. Pavlensky, who arrived scrotum to the pavement, quietly sits and waits until the power starts to react to it, playing with it, and for him this whole political spectacle. Amazing that the government can not respond. Quite can not.
Naked artist in the middle of the red square is a political action.
Naked artist in the middle of red square with a white rag is a political action.
Ment, explaining on the phone that he needs otkovyryat naked artist from the red square — is a political action.
The trial of the artist, who arrived for the eggs themselves to red square is a political action.
Psychiatric diagnosis rendered shrill sane, clear thinking artist is a political act.
During the notorious askomin talk about anti-Putin propaganda I come to the same thought — this problem is much more non-Russian scale. The regime has found a simple way of dealing with the truth: throw the man so many interpretations of reality that finding the truth will have a lot of resources. (Incidentally, this is also the case when a lie cannot be fought in presenting the truth, as the truth becomes only another version of the overloading capacity of the man). This problem is not Putin’s Russia, is a new challenge to mankind, because in essence, therefore, you can paralyze any available information field. And I still think that a systematic solution of this problem lies not in strengthening the position of “good” media. Humanity can cope with this, but having a totally new mechanism to counter the lies, not built on its direct denial.
And here, maybe, art, Pavlensky is an origin of such a mechanism.
It is curious that near Pavlensky exhibition opened on Friday no less interesting, but much more understandable for me, the exhibition Victoria lomasko about the protest movements of 2011-2015. A very noticeable contrast. Have Lomasko Association — Pavlensky concept alone. Have Lomasko, “the common people” in Turkey — the image of Superman. Have Lomasko in each work betrays feminist idea and creativity Pavlensky is, in essence, a series about the adventures of a well folded macho.
However, I do not see between them essential contradictions. These are two exhibitions on two different front lines on the same war. There is the struggle waged by the society against the regime of unfreedom and injustice, a struggle that the man himself, and always alone, leads with his personal freedom. These battles are different because it is possible to live, wrapped in a blanket of lies, even in the freest country in the world. And you can be free as Pavlensky — rotten to the core mode. These battles are different and rely on different forces. One needs solidarity, the other with the courage to face the enemy one on one. One important kindness and compassion, the other with the ability to cut off his ear lobe.
I’m really not familiar with contemporary political art, and I can’t say how Pavlensky secondary. Maybe there are still such, but I have not heard. The action of Pussy Riot in the HHS had a similar effect — but I think a lot of it was found by accident. No one knew at the time of arrest of the participants that the action did not end, but only begins, and that the actors in it become, and the Russian authorities, and the Church, and the international community. At least, the early commentaries to the action was not about that. Pavlensky deliberately doing something that PR did it, it seems intuitive.
Interestingly, and power from the experience of Pussy Riot made some conclusions. At least I can’t find other explanation for the fact that Peter is now on the loose.
It’s a pity that I’m such a rogue in the sense of the philosophy, Culturology and politology. None of this I never really studied. Probably because it’s already happened a hundred times, someone before me thought, and fits in some very interesting contexts.
Argue with me about it.
