In the education centre of Moscow Museum of modern art hosts an exhibition devoted to the short but colorful history of the Aptart movement. Invented in 1982 as an ironic response to official exhibitions of the time, by 1984 th it has completed its work. But in the history of art forever. Participants Aptart steel by eminent artists, among them Nikita Alexeev, Yuri albert, Konstantin Zvezdochetov, Sergey Anufriev.
the history of the movement and the main exhibits of the exhibition — in a joint material mos.ru and the Agency “Moscow”.
Combining the Aptart was born in a small one-room apartment of artist Nikita Alekseev, for three years, from 1982 to 1984 — which turned into a gallery. It includes most of Moscow conceptualists of the younger generation: the very Alexeev and Georgy Kizevalter (group “Collective action”), Yuri albert, Andrei Monastyrsky, Andrei Filippov, the underground art group “Amanita”, at the time recorded their first and only albums, the Duo of Natalia Abalakova and Anatoly Zhigalov “TOTART”. At the apartment shows the seriousness of conceptual connected with hooligan irony in relation to the late Soviet reality and mass culture.
the Name derived from the English art apartment (the”apartment art”) appeared during a conversation Nikita Alexeev with the artists Mikhail Roshal, the author of “Communication pipe” and the “Iron curtain”, which later appeared in the film by Sergei Solovyov “AssA”, and Sven Gundlaha (“Mushroom”). Alekseyev recalls this event in his book “Ranks of memory”
First a good word used as the title of the first exhibition in the apartment Alekseyeva, then they began to call emerged in the gallery, and then it gave the name to the art movement. Aptart was not a gallery in its modern sense: the artists were having their exhibitions, were not as such curators selling works were rare, with only his and for a symbolic price. The exhibition was also for the — for a limited circle of like-minded people. “Antico” — as the artists called them together. Life in the apartment is not stayed while the guests were looking at some pictures in the kitchen, someone was cooking dinner and tub — washed.
During the rallies, performances and exhibitions apartment was completely filled with work — sometimes the owner even had to sleep in an inflatable boat. Unusual Playground dictated the conditions of exposure. To place, literally climbing on the ceiling. A series of ceiling paintings by Konstantin Zvezdochetov and Sergey Anufriev. can be seen in the premises of the educational center of the Moscow Museum of modern art. Only this will throw back your head, just like the guests Alekseev in the 1980s.
Guests of the exhibition in the Museum of modern art meet “Portrait Vasiliev,” Constantine Zvezdochetova and “A. Monastyrsky. From white to black” by Georgy kiesewalter. First introduced in the 1980s in the apartment Alekseeva, both works are now owned by the Museum. Behind them starts the exhibition of paintings and objects, visited the exhibitions of Aptart and stored today in private collections and the collections of the authors.
a Series of “Songs of our homeland,” the artist Vladimir Mironenko presented in 1983 at the exhibition in the Aptart gallery “Victory over the sun”. The exhibition was held in complete darkness: the participants cover all the Windows and doors and walked around the house with flashlights. Work Mironenko — five sheets of Wallpaper glued pieces of gold and silver foils, between which are inscribed the words of famous songs. For example, in one of his works you can read the words: “I”, “love”, “you”, “life”, “I”, “love”, “you”, “again”, “and”, “again”.
Next to a series of Mironenko — “poster Sz” from the collection of the MANI Museum (Moscow archive of naive art). Sz — a group of artists-actionists Victor Skersis and Vadim Zakharov created in 1980. “Poster z” is a series of eight sheets, which is a kind of self-portrait artists. The augmented autobiography, written in an ironic manner: “SZ living in the USSR, works with 80 in Moscow, has a brand name and loves kids. Loves art and life and is engaged in both. Loves yellow eyes at passing girls and generally…”
One of the most interesting sections of “memories of Aptart” — six video interviews with artists. Olga Turchin spoke with Nikita Alexeev, Vadim Zakharov, Yury albert, George Kizevaltera, Vladimir Mironenko, Natalia Abalakova and Anatoly Zhigalov. With small screens participants in the Aptart recollections of the first exhibitions of the movement and unofficial art of the late Soviet Union.
One of the most hilarious stories tells Anatoly Zhigalov (group “TOTART”). One day, hurrying to Alexeyev, where he started to hang work for the next show, he caught the first available car. The fact that it was a garbage truck, didn’t stop him: the work was neatly shipped and taken to the right address.
Georgy Kizevalter recalls exhibitions in the nature, and how he managed to combine the roles of artist and documentarian, he photographed the work of Apartotel.
of the total number of allocated interviews Vadim Zakharov, as his story, the image on the screen more and more blurred, and by the end of the screen is a picture made of pixels, followed by the voice of the artist. Zakharov lives in Germany, so answers to questions were recorded on their own, unlike other artists who spoke to kurat��rum personally. Speaking about time and about himself, he decided to make his interview video art.
In the documentary section you can get acquainted with the history of the movement, starting with the first exhibition. Here are artists ‘ books, exhibition catalogues, documents describing the concepts of the performances, but most importantly — the pictures.
Here’s one photo of Nikita Alexeev’s sitting on the bed, littered with works of Apartotel, and over it posters “and ice And snow is frozen water”, “Sparrows don’t eat each other”, “Kids just do not know how to speak.” On the other — the image of working groups “the fly Agaric” at the first exhibition Aptart: the artists then turned the refrigerator “the North” in the novel, depicting on the door cover sheet, placing the epigraph on the ceiling, and the texts, monologues of the characters and storylines placed inside the refrigerator.
Here are the pictures of the exhibitions and performances held outdoors. Out under the open sky artists forced a difficult situation to 1983, apartment exhibitions became interested in the KGB, artists were invited to interviews. Their activity was not associated with politics — they just didn’t like the official art and the irony was directed at him. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the apartment began to deteriorate, and in may 1983 in a village near Moscow Kalistovo held a one-day exhibition in the open air “Aptart in kind”. To get to it was not easy: the public was invited on the phone, and handwritten diagrams with the route given only to authorized persons. And yet, the memories of the participants, it was visited by nearly 400 spectators.
Field success was repeated in September by staging a “Aptart behind the fence” in the country participants of the art group “Amanita” brothers Vladimir and Sergei Mironenko. It was exhibition day, where housing works of art were placed directly in the garden.
History of housing of art was over a year before the beginning of perestroika. Each went his own way. Nikita Alexeev in 1987 he emigrated to France, where he studied graphics and participated in exhibitions devoted to the art of the book. In the early 1990s, the artist returned to Moscow, where he continued to work. Konstantin Zvezdochetov together with his friends created the group “world Champions” participated in Moscow and international exhibitions, and continued writing and publishing. In 1994, the artist has published a literary-artistic anthology “Night life”, is now working on several novels and regularly exhibited. A group of “TOTART” continues joint work, the artists spent about 100 performances and events, has published several books, and currently create multimedia projects and video performances.
will last educational centre (Ermolaevsky lane, 17) to 23 andAugust.
