A TLS Book of the Year 2017 In this, the first anthology of Russian contemporary art writing to be published outside Russia, many of the country's most prominent contemporary artists, writers, philosophers, curators and historians come together to examine the region's contemporary art, culture and and theory. With contributions from Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Boris Groys, Dmitri Prigov, Anton Vidokle, Keti Chukhrov, Oxana Timofeeva, Pavel Pepperstein, Arseny Zhilyaev and Masha Sumnina amongst many others, this definitive collection reveals a compelling portrait of a vibrant and complex culture: one built on a contradicting dialectic between the material and the ideal, and battling its own histories and ideologies. “Fascinating ... packed with original essays, projects and even conceptual fiction.” ― TLS Book of the Year 2017 “With contributions from an impressive list of artists, curators, theorists and historians, this book offers an incredible insight into not only contemporary writing on Russian art but writing as art in Russia.” ― Adrian George, previously curator at Tate, and author of The Curator's Handbook “Fascinating! More proof of the continued vibrancy of Russian art: modern, postmodern or cosmic, despite the fringe ideas increasingly becoming mainstream.” ― Alena Ledeneva, Director, UCL FRINGE Centre “An excellent initiative to shed light in the English speaking world on Russian writing about and by contemporary artists. It will help give them a broader audience and spark important cross-cultural debate.” ― Andrew Jack, journalist for the Financial Times “A fascinating collection of essays, full of stimulating paradoxes, which perfectly reflects the intensity of debate on the contemporary Russian art scene, as precarious in everyday life as it is majestic in its cosmic dreams.” ― Ekaterina Degot, Alexander Rodchenko School of Photography and New Media, Moscow “Zaytseva and Anikina's comprehensive anthology illuminates the constellation of Russian art across realism and fantasy, Communism and Cosmism, orthodoxy and perpetual revolution.” ― Gilda Williams, author of How to Write about Contemporary Art “Theory and practice are brought together with clarity and conviction in this powerful selection of aesthetic statements.” ― John Bowlt, Director, Institute of Modern Russian Culture “Long overdue, this anthology is the first to reveal the idiosyncratic and singular perspectives of leading contemporary artists from Russia. Together, the texts offer a portrait of creative resistance from what Bart de Baere calls “the virtually invisible center of the world”.” ― Kate Fowle, Chief Curator, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow “Cosmism is the lure, when a revived mysticism is the order of the day. But this collection is more energetically eclectic than that. It provides a window into three generations of artists and critics – Soviet, Post-Soviet, and today.” ― Peter Osborne, author of Anywhere or Not at All: Philosophy of Contemporary Art Boris Groys is an art critic, media theorist, and philosopher. Anton Vidokle is the founder of e-flux. Cosmic Shift Russian Contemporary Art Writing By Elena Zaytseva, Alex Anikina Zed Books Ltd Copyright © 2017 Zed Books All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-78699-324-3 Contents Foreword – Bart De Baere, ix, Acknowledgments – Elena Zaytseva and Alex Anikina, xv, Introduction – Elena Zaytseva, 1, Part One Past futures, 1 Keti Chukhrov The nomadic theater of the communist, 25, 2 Ilya and Emilia Kabakov The center of cosmic energy, 33, 3 Boris Groys The truth of art, 53, 4 Andrey Monastyrsky VDNKh, the capital of the world, 69, 5 Anton Vidokle The Communist Revolution was caused by the Sun, 91, Part Two Inherited aesthetics, 6 Joseph Backstein History of angels, 111, 7 Dmitry Gutov and Anatoly Osmolovsky Concerning abstractionism, 127, 8 Olga Chernysheva Screens, 157, 9 Dmitry Prigov Two manifestos, 171, 10 Maria Chehonadskih The form of art as mediation, 191, 11 Artemy Magun Soviet communism and the paradox of alienation, 209, 12 Alexander Brener The Russian avant-garde as an uncontrollable beast, 231, Part Three From the archive, 13 Vadim Zakharov Author, cosmos, archive, 247, 14 Bogdan Mamonov A binary system, 259, 15 Maria Kapajeva You can call him another man, 267, 16 Andrey Kuzkin Running to the nest, 283, 17 Masha Sumnina Brink, kerbside, fence, margin, 301, Part Four Russia, today, 18 Ilya Budraitskis A heritage without an heir, 313, 19 Dmitry Venkov Krisis, 333, 20 Gleb Napreenko Questions without answers, answers without questions, 341, 21 Gluklya (Natalia Pershina-Yakimanskaya) The Utopian Union of the Unemployed, 353, 22 Dmitry Vilensky Chto Delat? and method, 371, 23 Yevgeny Granilshchikov Weakness, 383, Part Five Future futures, 24 Oxana Timofeeva Ultra black, 399, 25 Arseny Zhilyaev Demand full automation of contemporary art, 413, 26 Alex Anikina The Antichthon, 433, 27 Ivan Novikov I want