Home of one of Malevich's Black Squares and many of Russia's most important contributions to the history of 20th century art besides, it's the place where many of Moscow's artists and art historians (I am told) first gained a sense of direction and purpose in things art historical.
The 1979 building, however, is also waterfront property on the Moscow River.
Yesterday, there was a second picket/meeting to show popular opposition to proposed plans to replace the building with commercial property and move the space to some other as-yet unconstructed building, off "to the curb." You can see pictures of the protest on the page of the lj user nefte. (You may, if you look carefully, recognize a certain blue hoodie among the protesters.)Personally, I'm conflicted. Of course, I support the protection of sovereign art spaces and reject the notion of profit and commerce elbowing its way into all available and unavailable space in the center of the city. Of course.
But unfortunately, I wouldn't say that the Tretyakov or TsDKh are the kinds of art spaces I would want for Moscow. They are stuffy, poorly hung, with boring and/or non-existent programming and generally seem to serve little affirmative purpose apart from keeping treasured works of art out of the rain and hosting interesting book fairs. I wish the art-loving population of Moscow would go to the streets demanding truly sovereign art spaces not controlled by an old-guard bureaucracy that is uninterested in moving beyond 1979 or by wealthy oligarchs and their art-appreciating girlfriends. It may seem like the urgent issue now is to hold the line and protect the space art already has. But from the generally sombre mood of yesterday's protest, it seems to me that some more inspiring plans for the future (new space, new structure, more than what's already there instead of going back to the same old thing) may be what's really in order now...
3 comments:
1) It's so awesome that you went!!! It looks like it was butt-ass cold, too. I LOVE your hat!!! But young lady - what are you doing without a proper coat?!!! That protest apron is not gonna save you from dying from pneumonia :).
2) Am not particularly impressed with the Moscow art-world turnout :(. It's a small world, but not that small. (Though nice to see a few familiar faces). This against the background of more bad news for the St. Petersburg "Memorial"...
3) The decoration of the Gorky Park entrance collonade - particularly funny/sad in this context.
4) Am also totally with you on conflictedness. Even if the building is preserved - and I think it should evade the sad fate of, say, the Palast der Republic, which it somewhat resembles, it's in terrible condition and would have to be shut down for some (knowing Russian - long) period of time for that. And yeah, it would be amazingly nice if aforementioned splintered art scene had some sort of vision for the future which was more than everyone complaining that there aren't enough institutions and then not doing anything to change that. But because in the situations of the begging of a crisis to which no one sees an end, it is unlikely that people will convincingly be able to paint a picture of a brighter future, it seems to me all the more important that we not be robbed of the past, as utterly imperfect as it is. It's not the spaces' fault they are being so poorly used (the one guy who tried to do any programming in the GTG got fired), but the old guard will have to retire eventually - so in twenty years, if there's still a there there, these spaces might take on a new life. Optimistic, I know :). And the protest is radicalizing someone like DM, who is one of today's better young artists, so may be she and others will be able to build on the solidarity later...
5) Again, thanks for reporting on this!!!
Meant to say *situation of the beginning of a crisis*. Though other way works too :).
1) Yes, it was indeed freezing. Anything for art.
2) I, too, thought of my beloved Palast. But that building, to my eye, was so much more beautiful...if no better utilized.
3) I appreciate your longer view on history...it may be the only view that's realistic here, sadly. Yes, the turnout was pretty small, no matter how you spin it.
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