The translations of the Russian and English texts in some works, can be found here
Soccer game
Stool
Potapovsky Lane No. 9, 11, 14 “a” Here are the guys:
Here is where they were born: ...favorite things: *
...vorite thing: **
...my gl...? ***
Where is this ball?
Notice: *
Here are my favorite things; ** Here is my favorite thing; *** Where is my glass?
*FUCK YOU!
When the family moved to Moscow last summer and the son entered kindergarten, the parents realized that he had a talent for drawing. At home and at kindergarten he was always drawing something and was keeping himself occupied for hours. His father wanted to buy him a present for his birthday. He went into a shop called “The Child’s Word” and got him a colouring book in the toy department. Just as he was handing the son the book, his wife, glancing at what he had purchased, shrieked at the top of her voice. Beyond each drawing which represented butterflies, flowers and small steam boats, the words of a dirty and disgusting curse appeared clearly; one could inconceivably say*.
At first glance they were almost unrecognizable, they were so cleverly interwoven with the pattern of the drawing. How did such a abomination come into the toy shop? A precise examination of the letters showed that the words were put together with the drawings at the printing house, so it wasn’t just a coincidence, it was intentional. But who would have an interest in this and with what purpose had he done it? All of this was extremely enigmatic and the parents after deliberating, decided to show the album to a neighbour who once worked at the police criminal investigation department.
*FUCK YOU
Subtitle "In the Communal Kitchen" 1991
This installation was made specifically for the Dina Vierny pavilion at FIAK, limited by its size of 6 × 4 m. It consisted of six tables-cupboards leaning against the wall on three sides and a painting from the "kitchen series" hanging above each one. Everything together-a brown repulsive color border along the bottom of the wall, the same floor only darker, the tables are arranged almost next to each other, they are of identical size and there are numerous dishes on the tables and on the "paintings" — everything together should create a certain “image” of a “communal” kitchen, of communal life. The pair was interesting, the combination of the actual table with dishes and the painting hanging above them. The table was made entirely natural-looking it could have been “sold" for any kitchen, the doors opened and there were shelves inside. It was covered with cheap vinyl, and garnishes were on it, the kind that a "tidy" housewife might leave: grain in closed jars, everything is cleanly washed, swept, towels are hanging on nails specially hammered into the wall. Having such a reverse of naturalism “below," it would seem that the green board hung on the wall together with the kitchen utensils nailed to it (and this is virtually all that is on the "painting") should also be perceived as a natural object of daily life (a board for kitchen possessions). But this did not occur - and any viewer saw that below was a cupboard, and above it was a painting, a horrible one but still a “painting” and all of this had a "normal esthetic effect."
In een kleine vierkante kamer staat een gesloten cirkel van 12 muziekstandaards. Achter elke standaard staat een stoel, alles is klaar voor een kamerconcert. Op de muziekstandaards liggen grijze kartonnen bladzijden met afbeeldingen op het bovenste gedeelte en tekst op het onderste. Aan de zijkant van de pagina onderaan de standaard ligt een pagina met noten en een Engelse vertaling van de tekst.
Een vlieg (getekend op papier) hangt onbeweeglijk boven het midden van de cirkel gevormd door muziekstandaards, op een hoogte van ongeveer 3,5 meter. Het is heel gemakkelijk om hem in de lucht te vinden, ondanks zijn kleine formaat - de muziekstandaards die in een perfecte cirkel zijn opgesteld en vooral hun schuine stand vestigen er meteen de aandacht op.
De kijker loopt om de hele installatie heen. Alles ziet er nogal serieus, respectabel uit: dit is een serieuze tekst, er staan noten, complexe muzikale zinnen op, en vooral de stoelen die vooruitlopen op muzikanten die elk moment kunnen verschijnen en beginnen te spelen lijken aan te geven dat het concert op het punt staat te beginnen.
Waar is de vlieg mee bezig, die onbeweeglijk boven het midden hangt? Maakt hij zich klaar om de muzikanten te dirigeren zodra ze plaatsnemen? Of is het concert al lang aan de gang en hangt ze onbeweeglijk in de lucht, opgeslokt door de prachtige muziek en in totale vergetelheid in de veronderstelling dat het concert om haar en misschien zelfs ter ere van haar plaatsvindt?
Componist V. Tarasov
10-12 vliegen (plastic) zijn opgehangen in een kleine ruimte (2,5 × 2,5 m) tegen de achtergrond van een raam op zo'n manier dat het lijkt alsof ze "zwermen", voor het raam vliegen. In het midden van de ruimte staat een muziekstandaard met partituur van een muziekstuk: "Fly Symphony". Binnenin weerklinkt muziek die speciaal voor deze installatie is gecomponeerd door Vladimir Tarasov - een suite in drie delen die gebruik maakt van een opname van echte geluiden van vliegende vliegen. Voor de kijker - de "luisteraar" - die achter een barrière staat (het is onmogelijk om de installatie binnen te gaan), verandert het ogenschijnlijk gewone gezoem van vliegen, zodra hij goed begint te luisteren, in een nauwkeurig en strak geharmoniseerde vorm van een driedelig concert.
De plaats van dit concert is niet toevallig gekozen en natuurlijk spelen de "omstandigheden van de plaats" altijd een hoofdrol in de sfeer en het functioneren van de installatie. Aan de Loire, op een afstand van Parijs, ligt een prachtig, maar al oud en vervallen kasteel uit de 16e eeuw, waar ondanks de restauratie in sommige hoeken en kamers een geest van verwaarlozing en trieste melancholie heerst.
In één zo'n hoekje - een klein kamertje - is een toilet met een smal raam dat uitkijkt op een nabije toren van het kasteel en met uitzicht op een ver veld en bos achter de berg. Het is moeilijk om je een meer deprimerende en tegelijkertijd vrolijk sentimentele plek voor te stellen: een oud maar eenvoudig stoffig raam, binnen op de vloer ligt gips van de uiteenvallende muren en het plafond, het toilet op de vloer is ook nogal oud, bijna antiek.
... Het Kasteel-Museum wordt vooral in de zomer door toeristen bezocht en dan is de installatie bijzonder succesvol: een veelheid aan echte vliegen verschijnt op het raam (de zonnige kant van het kasteel) en ze vormen een geheel met de kunstmatige hangende vliegen, en hun levende gezoem vermengt zich met de "vliegensymfonie".
The entire installation consists of one large drawing (55 × 45) of a “fly” and 132 pages of typed text, each page of which is enclosed in a glass frame. The installation was specifically intended for the “White Hall" of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and therefore the description of the installation will be based on this dwelling. The layout of the “White Hall” is somewhat similar to an ancient temple and in the wall opposite the entrance there is a semi-circular high recess similar to a distinctive altar, where a sculpture or the most significant work of this hall can be displayed. Precisely in this place, on this wall hangs the drawing of the “fly" in a dark-brown wooden frame. 60 comments made by viewers about the exhibited drawing hang along both sides of the "Fly." The side walls of the hall are filled with texts as well (each page is in a separate matte and glass). Since all the texts are grouped into articles, the intervals between such "group-articles" are bigger than the intervals between each page. At the entrance to the hall the poster for the exhibit hangs on the right, the layout of the exhibit on the left.
It's as though the "exhibit" has been made by four personages: a "philologist," an "artist," an "historian," and a “mathematician." In terms of content, the composition represents a pyramid standing on its top and widening out upward. The drawing of the fly serves as this top, further the "opinions of viewers commenting upon this drawing form two diverging branches coming from it”, further are arranged two articles by a "psychologist" commenting upon these viewers' comments, further in the same order are two articles by an historian explaining the opinions of the psychologist and the comments by viewers, etc., getting wider and "more sophisticated" encompassing and explaining the previous articles. In this way, the verbal material, while remaining similar in appearance, in the internal construction this verbal material has a familiar “plastic" shape.
The theme of the series of exhibits in which the Wewerka/Weiss Gallery participated and actually conceived of the very concept was "My Homeland." To my shame, this thought immediately led me to the idea of making an installation out of flies. Of course, not real ones, but plastic ones, but very similar to real ones only larger. In the gallery there were two spaces that were virtually of identical size. In the first one right after the entrance I arranged a three-dimensional round composition from these flies, resembling a cupola in shape. It was 2.3 meters high from the floor, with a diameter of 1.5 meters. In the second room the flies hung, forming two pairs of lines diverging toward the floor. So that the viewer wouldn't accidentally bump into these two "figures" (and this was entirely possible since you had to see the hanging flies), I built a barrier around each one out of blue ropes; the floor was painted a dark blue color, and a dark brown stripe ran around the lower part of the wall.
Why flies, and what does this have to do with the assigned theme? Of course, the connection is entirely speculative, but on the other hand, in terms of genre this is a certain grotesque, in the spirit of Swift or Maeterlinck. I set as my goal to find the reason why for me, for us in my homeland, today and for an unforeseen period in the past life goes on so infinitely badly, excruciating and hopelessly, ridiculously and sadly, and not finding reasons for this internally, I found them on the outside. This reason-the enormous civilization of flies suspended above and encompassing the entire territory, extending upward almost to the very edge of space and in width occupying the entire territory from Minsk to Sverdlovsk. We shall not go into the veracity of this explanation-it is no better and no worse than everything that has been proposed on this account. At least it possesses, unlike other explanations, sufficient fullness. And this theory has, unlike all the others, one advantage-it cannot be refuted: research and verification are only in the very beginning stages.
The installation is accompanied by a summary of this theory, drawings, sketches, as well as a collection of the fly "hierarchy."
The Tenants' Club of Moscow Housing Project No. 8, the gathering place for tenants and block association members, is where lectures and people's courts are usually held. An important event was scheduled there, for the end of the month of March, in the year 1984: a public showing and critique of paintings displaying dangerous bourgeoisie qualities attacking our Soviet way of life and denying our ideology. The presence of prominent critics and art historians was planned.
In preparation for this event, the paintings and posters that normally adorned the walls of the club were removed, and the workmen were to begin hanging the "creations" destined for the critique and brought in for that purpose earlier that morning...
Suddenly, someone delivered a very odd message. Something unusual, indeed unheard of, was about to occur in Moscow. Apparently, someone or something was to appear in the city that evening, and not just anywhere, but right in the middle of the club hall. Of course, the hall had to be cleared immediately.
There could be no question of any art critiques now. Everything brought in earlier was instantly pushed against the walls, clearing a sort of circle in the center of the room. And, sure enough, this singular event, anticipated by some with eager impatience and by others with grave apprehension, took place at exactly eleven o'clock that night. There is no single description of what happened the reports of various witnesses maintain the most adamant discrepancies. However, one inexplicable circumstance was obvious to all: after all of the commotion had subsided, the entire floor in the center of the hall was littered with groups of little white people, constantly moving around...
Following the suggestion of the committee appointed for the purpose, everything in the hall was left intact, precisely as it had been at the very moment that these events had happened. The committee decided to erect a temporary bridge over the central clearing, first, in order to ensure that nothing would be damaged, and secondly, to keep vigil over the strange visitors who could be observed only with the aid of rather powerful binoculars.
The installation "The Life of Flies" was exhibited in the Cologne Kunstverein in January 1992. The long dwelling of the Kunstverein was divided into 4 halls which adjoin one another in a suite.
Hall 1: "The role of flies in economics, politics and culture."
This hall is thematically divided into sections: 1) Flies and the Economy; 2) Flies and Finance; 3) Flies and Politics; 4) Flies and Fine Arts. The materials of the first three sections are located on two slanted tables, material of No. 4 is near the paintings and drawing that are hung along the walls. In the beginning of the viewing there is a pillar on which is affixed a glass case on a small podium on which is lying a fly in the middle of a small structure.
Hall 2: "On the civilization of flies on the territory of Eastern and Europe and Western Siberia."
The theme of "The Civilization of Flies" is located in this hall. In the middle of the hall on the other side of a barrier, the viewer sees two structures hanging in the air made from 500 flies that are arranged in a special way. Along the walls are two stands with explanations and sketches and one glass showcase with exhibits.
Hall 3: "A Concert for a Fly" and "Tabular Poetry"
The hall is devoted to two themes: "A Concert for a Fly" and "Flies and Tabular Poetry." On the long wall to the right of the entrance hangs a large painting (2.60 × 4 meters) and to the right of it are 40 drawings—commentaries that accompany this painting. In the corner of the opposite wall there is something like a concert going on. This arrangement is called "A Concert for a Fly." Closer to the corner there is a fly hanging in the air (cut out of paper and colored) and around it is arranged an amphitheater, music stands with texts and notes standing on them. Besides these, on these same pages there are drawings. The fly here, as often happens in chamber orchestras, is performing the role of both the conductor leading the musicians and a soloist playing along with them.
Hall 4: "Flies and Philosophical Discourse"
The entire installation consists of one large drawing of the "Fly" (55 × 45) and 132 pages of typed text, each page of which is encased in a glass frame. The installation was intended especially for the "White Hall" of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and therefore the installation will be described for this dwelling. The layout of the "White Hall” is similar that of an ancient church and in the wall opposite the entrance there is a semi-circular indentation resembling a distinctive altar where there might be located a sculpture general the most important work of this hall. It is precisely in this place on the wall that the drawing of the "Fly" hangs in a thick dark-brown frame.
On both sides of the "Fly" are hung 60 commentaries, the comments of viewers about the exhibited drawing. The side walls of the hall are also filled with texts (each page in a separate matte and under separate glass). These are viewers' commentaries, articles by the "personages": the philologist, mathematician, historian and artist.
A few words about the general atmosphere reigning in the installation. The dwelling represents a series of halls in a boring, not heavily visited Soviet scholarly provincial museum with rather awful light. There are no windows, all of the expositions and texts are intentionally illuminated with dull yellow electric light-bulbs. The ceiling and lower part of the walls are painted gray, which are usually painted dark-brown in official offices. Everything together creates an atmosphere of hopeless boredom, a boredom about which it is said that "even flies die from it".
In May 1991 a large artistic program was supposed to be executed, a unique kind of festival organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Utrecht by the name "Night Lines." The artists were supposed to create their compositions from various lighting objects, since everything, the entire show, the entire festival, was intended to begin and take place at night. The participants could choose the objects and the places where they wanted to erect their works. I chose the wall of the city police department, a large old brick wall which was completely empty except for one window which I knew would definitely be illuminated at night - after all, it's a police department. I conceived of a plot for a future installation that was appropriate for this place - a plot in which the main element would become a search for someone, something.
I made a large frame from neon green tubes with transverse lines in the middle and inside of this frame, and at equal intervals of 14 minutes blue wings would appear either along the edges or along the top or near the center line, and each phase of their appearance is accompanied by a text arising from beneath the frame on the right and left sides. These texts are dialogues between a man and a woman, each time different ones (called by name and patronymic as is customary in Russia, i.e., with great precision*). The woman asks and the man answers: "Whose wings are those?" "I don't know." This repeats three times, moreover, the wings change their position three times.
In the fourth position, all 6 wings appear simultaneously, and the inscription "No one knows whose wings those are" lights up underneath them. After this phrase fades, the entire cycle begins again. The rhythm of the appearance and changing of the wings and the repetition of the entire cycle created to a certain degree a bewitching impression, especially in combination with the continually burning "unsleeping" window where the silhouettes of the police personnel could be seen: the shining window and the figures beyond it were included in the overall composition. Without a doubt, this was a paraphrase of advertising announcements, but with its ridiculous, absurd nuance.
I don't know, perhaps the police chief liked the humor of this installation, but a short while after the end of the festival, I learned that it was decided to leave this installation on the wall permanently.
Here are all hour phrases in sequence:
Phase I: The wings are on the side and the text below:
Anna Petrovna Rys: "Whose wings are those?"
Boris Pavlovich Koss: "I don't know."
Phase II: The wings are up above, the text below:
Olga Ivanovna Bobrova: "Whose wings are those?"
Ivan Igorevich Gorin: "I don't know."
Phase III: The wings are to the sides of the center line, the text below:
Lydia Markovna Popova: "Whose wings are those?"
Pavel Ilich Kostin: "I don't know.
Phase IV: All the wings appear simultaneously in their respective places, the text below.
"No one knows whose wings those are."
* There is also a connection here with the place where the installation is located.
The installation takes up the entire wall, from floor to ceiling, to a height of 2.8 m. Furthermore, it extends onto the side walls by 1 m 80 cm. There are old pieces of cardboard, old boxes scattered around, buckets of paint and other such garbage strewn on the floor. All of this represents some strange interior.
The whole wall is decorated with a colorful panel-fresco, executed on paper and depicting typical subjects of Soviet propaganda on the theme "Happy Soviet Life Today." Here there are young pioneers relaxing on the seashore, and views of the construction of new buildings, and a landscape of "the city of the future." Everything is in the style of Socialist Realism, but without any particular care. A few large white screens are leaning against the wall next to the panel: all kinds of schedules and plans written by hand in a precise "clerical" handwriting. There is a long barrier in front of the installation, and to the right and left are tables and benches. There is a placard on the table on the left: "For intellectuals," on the right: "For the Average Person."
There is a multitude of notebooks of varying content on all of the tables: "On Conceptualism in Russia,” “What is the meaning of ‘white’ in the paintings," "About this installation." Among these texts is "Kharitonov's Story" which tells us about the "character" who lived in this room, and why, actually, he "went crazy, undressed and ran away naked."
On the table with the sign "For Intellectuals" there are historical, sociological, metaphysical texts connected with this installation and its interpretation. On the table "For the average Peron" are just the opposite: plain, regular stories-explanations based on common sense (like “Kharitonov's Story," etc.).
On the outside, the “Russian" pavilion at the Venice Biennale (former Soviet) looks as though it is still unfinished: wood has still not been removed from the building, and the whole thing (and the territory surrounding it) is surrounded by a dense wooden fence, like any place where there is construction going on. Nevertheless, above this entire territory, high above the trees, resounds festive music which by its very sounds invites the viewer to step inside, to see the spectacle which has been prepared for him.*
The viewer enters through the main doors of the pavilion "Russia." Inside there is the same working disorder that there is outside. The repairs have not been finished yet: there are buckets of paint everywhere, boards, bricks, garbage, but at the end of this large, semi-dark space, lit only by dim electric light bulbs, the exit is visible, the blindingly shining light of a sunny day.
The viewer exists onto a small terrace and sees in front of him a courtyard surrounded by the same fence. At the end of it, right next to the fence itself, he discovers with surprise the newly built and covered with fresh paint "Pavilion of the USSR." It is much smaller than the first pavilion (5/9.2/4.6 m), its size is similar to that of a small shed. But this "little shed" is very ceremoniously and festively decorated: all the attributes of the Great Soviet Epoch shine on its walls: the hammer and sickle, red stars, holiday slogans, flags, the emblem of the Soviet Union is in the center.
A metal pole with four loud-speakers support the roof. From them blare “to the whole world” a cheerful Soviet song of the 1950's, triumphal marches full of hale and hearty spirit and inexhaustible energy... This "little pavilion" is the territory of a world which has not disappeared anywhere, but is only hidden, concealing itself behind the façade of another. Standing in the depths of the courtyard, it is merely waiting for its own hour to return to the place from which it was recently expelled.
* This state of heightened curiosity is familiar to everyone who has ever heard such sounds coming from behind a fence at fairgrounds and who has wanted to buy a ticket quickly in order to get into this mysterious, enigmatic world.
In essence this is again the idea of presenting one's life, the story of one's life in the form of an installation. This time I did so when I turned 60 years old. The installation represents a large and long (17 m) boat with two stairs, one at the beginning and one at the end, via which the viewer can ascend onto the deck and then descend from it. Having ascended, he sees before him 25 large open cardboard crates standing on the deck in complete disarray, as though they have been temporarily dragged and left there. Each crate, if you look into it, is filled to the top with all kinds of household junk, like when a person packs up everything without sorting it in order to go away: a coat, shirts, shoes, children's toys. There is lying on the top of each one a piece of cardboard on which photos, small objects and texts are glued. The texts are brief fragments of recollections about an episode in my life, only 5-6 lines long.
Wandering through the crates, continually moving toward the opposite end of the boat, the viewer understands that before him in the crates is the entire baggage of the life of a person, different during each period, and simultaneously, his movement inside the boat between the crates toward the exist is movement along someone else's life. Each crate represents its own period with its own name. The last crate is empty.
The association which could arise from the travels through the boat among crats is that of Charon's boat transporting human souls to the other side of the Styx River. In any case, this is the image that stood before me when I was pondering this installation.
Love, love, where have you hidden?
The cold wind of life is blowing all around,
It carries former dreams away from me—
Again my soul is indignant in anguish and fear.
Cold wind! Cease!
Return to me those wonderful moments!
Don’t carry off those miraculous visions—
I will pay them tribute again with my fervent heart!
Oh, carafe, filled with transparent water,
Why have you broken over me?
The fragile pieces, shattered and ringing,
Shimmering under the moon, go rushing along me.
There’s no way to hold in my crazy head
The wonderful images floating aloft,
And they, not leaving any trace in my memory,
Will disappear forever just like the carafe.
There are no cares for young years:
Blossoming springtime is everywhere...
And we are given a full chalice
For happiness and delight.
But the years rushed past quickly,
Everything has disappeared, spring is over,
The living stream has fallen silent in the woods,
And there is merely one drop left in the chalice...
Dressed in the heavy armor of sleep
I stood for a long time in the gloom.
The distant sound somewhere could
Not penetrate the depth of sleep
But a light came to me from inside,
Moving the stone around me,
And my soul was liberated
For the life of another day.
It’s impossible to live on earth!
Michail Zjoerajev
Lipetsk
It is well known that the ecological situation on the surface of our Earth is formed in such a way that because of overpopulation, the development of industry and transportation, and the overall poisoning of the environment, the life of the majority of the population, not only in the cities but in the so-called ecologically clean regions as well, will soon become not only dangerous, but simply impossible. In these conditions, the settling of two previously uninhabited zones the depths of the large oceans and high above the surface of the Earth-becomes not only desirable, but in essence, inevitable. It is interesting that both options turn out to be connected to one another perhaps directly. The fundamental difficulty of life in the air-surmounting the gravitational field of the earth-can be solved in the most unexpected nonetheless technically entirely feasible way, as discussed in the proposed project.
It is entirely possible to diminish the gravitational field of the earth with the creation of energy rings that are enormous in size and convey mass (or, which is the same thing, the vector) from an upward direction in the direction opposite to it. Such hermetically isolated rings can be constructed only in the depths of the ocean of air and inside of them, naturally, enormous zones for habitation. Humanity, in this way "having lost its weight" can freely acclimatize in the depths of this ocean of air, assimilating to a new expanding environment, using as a means of existence either the very surface of the earth or building residences or "fields of habitation" in the air environment itself, in its pure, unpolluted space.
A low flight above the earth
N. Solomatkin, Chauffeur
Kishinev
The human thought about the possibility of free flight above the Earth as a rule has become connected to various variations of certain air apparatuses, mechanical wings, and, in recent times, with jet engines and rockets and at the sametime, among these projects, there are a few projects for flight without any devices whatsoever, low and high above the Earth at slow or high speed simply as a "normal" human being in his simple physical existence. And nonetheless, this is just as inherent to him as walking, eating, and drinking. Confirmation of this is the continual readiness and desire of each person for such "natural" flight. But the whole matter, which was paid no attention to before, rests not in the person alone, but in the situation, or more precisely, in the special field which forms around the person (or which he himself forms) and which "holds" him in the air and directs him in it. This field should be very strongly energetically charged, and ready to set off in flight, the "pilot" himself should actively communicate and perceive it. This simple experiment which will confirm and demonstrate for you the veracity of this position, will permit you yourself to test this in practice.
Set off for the woods with two of your close friends and take a supply of fine metal poles about 2 meters high. Having selected a small meadow, insert the poles into the ground at a distance of 4-5 m from one another in such a way as they form a small corridor, formed by two "half-moons" turned with their top arcs toward one another. Ask your friends to take up opposite positions on both sides ofthe "corridor" and in the center of these "arcs." Now ask of them to concentrate on the same thing, for example, the topic of yesterday's conversation. That conversation is also well known to you. Concentrate on it. Now, having stood at the beginning of the "corridor," take a running start, and in the middle of it, try to flex your legs and then stretch them out. You will see, to your great surprise, that you can fly a short distance. The reason is the powerful energetic field that is formed by your friends and which you have joined. The metal poles have merely intensified its concentration.
An encounter with one’s angel and with other angels for many continues to be an unsolvable problem, and since the majority of people consider it to be unsolvable under any circumstances, the very thought of such a possibility seems insane and not subject to discussion. And this is entirely in vain. The facts and the testimony of numerous eye- witnesses attest precisely to the opposite. But in analyzing these occurrences, few among these witnesses have paid any attention to the place, or more accurately speaking, the “level of space” where such encounters occur most often. The analysis of many of them indicates that the probability and most likely the actuality of such encounters occurs at a height of approximately 1200–1400 meters above sea-level, in mountainous regions, correspondingly on mountains with these heights. Of course, many people have been on mountains of this size, and nothing happened to them. But there is one circumstance which is not always taken into consideration. An encounter with an angel or with angels is always an extreme incident, it always occurs at times of crises and at turning points in a person’s life, and the person himself, in need of such help, summons the angel.
Our project for such an encounter artificially creates such a situation of “a call for help”. On a large empty space near a city or better in a remote agricultural region, tall ladders are erected running vertically upward which could reach the indicated height of 1200 meters. Today’s materials (light alloys) allow the construction of necessary durability, and wires running downward every 50 meters allow the ladders to have anti-storm stability. The person, having decided on an ascent to the top of a ladder, must be prepared that
it might take 2 days to realize his plan. But, being near the top, winding up high above the clouds, left alone to his own resources in windy and inclement weather conditions, he creates—it will arise—that crisis moment when an encounter with his angel will become inevitable.
How can you make yourself better, kinder, more decent? More than one generation of moralists, thinkers and religious figures have racked their brains over this problem of how to rid oneself of the majority of one’s shortcomings, faults, in a word, how to change in a better, more moral direction. The majority sees the only possibility for change by the person himself, of his internal “I,” others see it in strict adherence to moral laws, still others see it in the renunciation of earthly temptations and in following a religious path.
Each of these ways is correct, having set out on it you can achieve the desired goal. Not refuting any one of them, our project foresees yet another possibility. It consists of a daily procedure which despite its apparent simplicity, can turn out to be extraordinarily effective.
You need to make two wings from white tulle fabric, using the same sketch that is appended to the project, and also leather straps for attaching these wings on your back and fixing them in place. After this, having stayed alone in your room (this condition is fairly important, for both the productivity of the impending activity, as well as for avoiding undesirable reactions on the part of other people in the family) you should put on the wings, and sit completely without anything to do and in silence for 5–10 minutes, after which you should turn to your usual endeavors without leaving the room. After 2 hours you should repeat the initial pause again. After 2–3 weeks of daily procedures, the effect of the white wings will begin to manifest itself with greater and greater force.
The wings should be kept under lock and key in a special soft case in a mirrored closet.
Anna Lwowna Semina: “To whom does this apple belong?”
Oleg Borisowitch Lepin: “I do not know”
The installation is built in the “backyard” of the Fridericianium (where the exhibit Documenta is going on in the main building) and consists of an almost exact copy of toilets that were built in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Russia in the provinces near bus stops and train stations. Each of us is familiar with these dreary small stone structures, smeared outside and inside with white lime, with filthy curses written on the walls, soiled and neglected. The sight alone invokes loathing and vomiting. There are broken windows beneath a low roof. The entrances for men and for women are on opposite sides. The doors, which are always opened, are painted a dark red-brown color. Inside is the same horrendous, revolting appearance. Between thin walls are small cement raised places, in the middle of which are black round holes. It never even occurs to anyone to sit down on them, and they “sit down” standing up, squatting, as we say “in an eagle position.” Of course, no doors were even intended for these “stalls,” and anyone entering the toilet can see perfectly who is “taking care” of their needs and how they are going about it. The men’s and women’s halves are not different in any way.
Such a toilet, almost exactly, is built at Documenta. But the viewers, standing in two lines (women and men separately), once they are inside, see a totally different picture. No, the internal space has remained unchanged, exactly as described above, but that which is arranged inside is completely uncharacteristic and impossible for a toilet. It is a typical Soviet two-room apartment (in the men’s half is the living room, in the women’s half is the bedroom) with normal furniture: a table covered with a tablecloth, a buffet, a couch, chairs, wall-unit with books; in the bedroom is a bed, a children’s corner with a small rug with toys, paintings on the walls. Everything has a normal, lived-in, “everyday” appearance: dishes are still on the table from dinner, a jacket is hanging on the chair... Life is going on here normally. A quiet, decent, friendly family lives here, and it’s possible that they just stepped out for a minute to see the neighbors ...
And this is ‘normal’ life in a toilet... Is it necessary to explain further the metaphor of this installation?