400 Meters Statue

Statue “Europe”, 400 m, project Zurab Tsereteli, 2010 Meters 400 Peter The Great statue, 98 m, Moscow Zurab Tsereteli, 1997 300 London Tower, 120 m, Olympic park Anish Capoor, 2012 Lenin, 100 m, project Merkurov, 1938 Palace of the Soviets, 200 400 m, project B. Iofan, 1930s 100 72 2.6 MOSCOW PUBLIC ART XXth Century Statue “Europe”, 400 m, project Zurab Tsereteli, 2010 by Daria Nuzhnaya What is Moscow public art? Methodology As the method I found it essential to establish the frames of the term itself. The core of my countries. I concentrated on comparison of the different historical periods in Moscow, analyzed leaps that happened in the installation of the memorials during the 20th century and found the prerequisites why this happened. Focusing on periods of transition from one historical period to Meters 400 Peter The Great statue, 98 m, Moscow Relevance The topic of public art in Moscow has been widely discussed for the past 15 years (1997 – the Zurab Tsereteli, 1997 because of its installation produced great discourse about whether it should be standing in Mos- cow or it should be demolished. Conclusion 300 The history of Moscow public art had his own different way of developing. But what is the stage London Tower, 120 m, Olympic park public art in Moscow is standing now? Does the today's strategy in public art so different from Anish Capoor, 2012 strategies in Europe or USA? What are the tendencies and who are the contemporary artists in Russia? Lenin, 100 m, project Merkurov, 1938 Palace of the Soviets, 200 400 m, project B. Iofan, 1930s 100 73 PUBLIC SPACE Image caption There are different interpretations of the term qualitatively – contemplating the art, talking From left to right. “Public art”. Some cultural critics say that about it and debating it. Art enabled people to Alexander Calder "La Grande Vitesse", Grand not every piece of art displayed publicly can explore the city in a different manner. Rapids, Michigan, 1951 actually be treated as a form of public art. Does this mean that public art should always Pablo Picasso, Untitled, Chicago, 1967 be discussed and always create social activity Valie Export " Aus der Mappe der Hundig- keit", Vienna,1968 random monuments that were installed in pub- and social debate? I’m sure that it does. Public Altman, design for decoration of Palace lic spaces with regard to history or historical art could have every form of appearance, any Square for the 1st anniversary of the Revolu- personalities. It is also not merely a statue or tion, Dvortsovaya Ploshchad, Saint-Peters- burg, 1918 sculpture in a park. PA is a dialog. It is also an embodiment, the main thing is – once it comes Alexander Brener, performance with Oleg indicator of a city’s creativity. Art aims at com- to the public space and people notice it, this Kulik "Wild dog", 1994 munication between the city and its residents. form of public life immediately captures atten- Monuments of Soviet Leaders, hall in Krasno- It should be a provocation that inspires dialog tion and becomes a topic for discussion. That presnenskaya metro, 1935 between a person and art, calling forth ideas is what happened with gigantic Peter the Great and reactions. Therefore, an individual’s reac- monument, the Sholokhov monument on the tion could be called a contemporary art piece. Boulevard Ring and many other art pieces in During my research, I understood that it is Moscow. These monuments have provoked - lic space as “Public art”, because this term they be installed to begin with - that they im- usually means something more than a banal "Peter The Great Sculpture created the con- sculpture. There were no art movements, as for social attention, becoming hot topics. there were in European countries in the late From this point in my research I will refer to in a form of public discussion." Boris Grois 60s, when artists went outside the museums every “art” piece or activity that was displayed to public spaces, to address city residents. or had occurred in a public space, be it a This movement was a conscious step toward monument, a park sculpture or any forms of the appearance of new forms of activities in social art activity, as “Public art”. the city. People started to pass their free time From this point in my research I will refer to every “art” piece or activity that was displayed or had occurred in a public space, be it a monument, a park sculpture or any forms of social art activity, as “Public art”. MOSCOW PUBLIC ART 74 Public art Career The oldest forms of art appeared in ancient times. Public art transformed through history, rep- resenting different forms of religion and authority. Then there was a transition process when art Performances initiated by artists in public spaces became independent from these aspects. This began taking place even earlier, starting with happened in Europe and the USA. In Europe in “dada” performances in Zurich during the First the 1960s, there was an art movement, when World War and continuing with Joseph Beuys artists came from the museum halls to the city and Valie Export performances after the Second spaces – they started to exhibit art on the streets. World War. This movement was initiated by such artists as A bit later, in 1974 Russia, the well-known Richard Serra, Henry Moore, Jean Tinguely, Niki Buldozer exhibition took place. The intention of Saint de Phalle etc. The sculptures were incorpo- artists that organized this exhibition was to have rated into the environment and, therefore, created an opportunity to exhibit their art and show it to a cultural identity for the place. the public. It ended unsuccessfully, but years later, the artists got the chance to exhibit their art and for a city itself appeared in the USA with at the Izmailovskiy pavilion. From the 1976, the such programs as the Art-in-Public-Places group CD, a.k.a. “collective actions,” appeared. Program, commissioned by the National That was the start of Moscow conceptualist art. CD held performances outside of the city in appeared in Chicago that was not dedicated suburban areas. to historical personalities was a Picasso cubist - sculpture. Once it appeared, there were a lot of tion and performances in public space in Mos- proposals to replace it with a traditional statue. Another example was Alexander Calder’s “La the beginning of changes in society, in this case Grande Vitesse” that immediately became an – the beginning of the end of the authoritarian identity sign for the city of Grand Rapids. The political regime and appearance of democracy. logo of this sculpture was even printed on rub- Richard Serra, Titled Arc, 1981 bish bins. The earlier period of public art is very the installation the propagandistic art pieces. 75 PUBLIC SPACE Dzerjinskiy Demolished in 1991 Gagarin Kalinin 6 installed 3 installed 1 demolished Karl Marx Lenin Kirov Gertsen 5 installed 80 installed 5 installed 4 installed 3 demolished 18 demolished demolished 2 demolished 1000 Chaotic process of memorials installation. Frunze 800 7 installed app number - unknown 600 app. number of memorial installed: 800 400 200 Lenin’s monumental Start of the “Leniniana” propaganda 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Standing in public Demolished Timeline shows the censorship from soviet Installation - demolishing process perestroika During the Soviet period in Moscow, propagandist art. And the art pieces display history, lessons of ideology appears in every sign in the city. It started nature and politics. We have to keep this lesson to with the 1st Soviet National Commissars decree introduce in to Moscow. Let’s call it – monumental about monumental propaganda. The program propaganda”. Monumental propaganda consisted had strict propagandistic censorship - it consisted not only of monuments, but also visual art, mosa- of two parts: 1) Getting rid of old monuments ics, and memorial boards on buildings. (all signs of Tsarist times and Orthodox religious In 1924, after Lenin’s death, there were huge “iconoclasm”– to promote atheism); 2) New monu- debates about the installation of the monuments. ment strategy. The list of monuments that should be installed in public space consisted of famous there should be Lenin monuments in public revolutionaries (Spartak, Brut, Gertsen), writers and spaces or not. poets (Lermontov, Pushkin, Gogol’), philosophers Suddenly the process began – chaotically so. (Scovoroda, Mendeleev), artists, composers and Lenin memorials were built and installed eve- actors. rywhere in the country. Every sculptor had to Therefore, there was a proposal to install 66 produce them. The he authorities had to stop put monuments dedicated to historical personali- an end to it, mostly because the quality of the ties, but only 33 were installed during the years Lenin memorials was in most cases awful. Here, of Lenin’s monumental propaganda in Moscow. the process of demolishing and the creation of the Before the 1918th there were 11 monuments About 7 monuments from the time of the Tsars control apparatus began. The decree from 1925 installed. During the Lenin's monumental propaganda 7 were demolished. about the “installation of Lenin memorials” created monuments from Tsar time were demolished The monuments were installed randomly, ignoring a special body that would control the quality and the sculptors’ work, highlighting the start of the the Tverskaya square alone. The city was covered “Leniniana” – another period of Lenin memorial During the Lenin's monumental propaganda 33 monuments were installed. 3 monuments in propaganda art pieces. installation, which lasted for 60 years. During the from this program are still standing in public space Where did the idea of putting ideological art pieces Soviet period, approximately 81 Lenin monuments everywhere in the city come from? were installed.

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