Ice as Element
2013; Routledge; Volume: 18; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/13528165.2013.908063
ISSN1469-9990
Autores Tópico(s)Arctic and Russian Policy Studies
ResumoClick to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes1 All translations, unless otherwise indicated, are my own. I have used the Library of Congress transliteration system, except for those names that have a recognized Western spelling, for example, Yeltsin.2 A brief, but not exhaustive, list includes Alan Kaprow's Fluids (1967, Los Angeles, United States), Laurie Anderson's Duets on Ice (1974, New York City, United States; 1975, Genoa, Italy), Marina Abramović's Lips of Thomas (1975, Innsbruck, Austria; 2005, New York, United States), Francis Alÿs's Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing (1997, Mexico City, Mexico), Zhang Huan's Pilgrimage – Wind and Water in New York (1998, New York, United States), Lynn Lu's untitled (groundless) (2008, Giswil, Switzerland) and on mother's milk and kisses fed (2013, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada) and Hope Esser's Hope and Anchor (2011, Chicago, United States). Based on literature and correspondence with the artists, they all used cast (not harvested) ice. Some made ice-blocks themselves, especially if these were smaller (e.g. performances by Anderson and Esser); others, if they required large quantities of ice (e.g. performances of Kaprow, Abramović and Zhang), or if they travelled to perform at art festivals (e.g. performances of Lu), had ice-blocks made according to their specifications.3 By the expression ‘art squat’ I mean space appropriated for art or for artists’ use, superseding the original, dedicated function. Art Reserve was an art community organized by the artist Aleksandr Petliura (b. 1955, Ukraine). It existed from 1990 until early 1995 and occupied a squat at 12 Petrovskii Boulevard in Moscow.4 Video documentation (in two parts) of this performance is accessible at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xto1Hu_Vjo4 and www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhc6314CmVE5 The direct translation of the title Pesni ledovitoi zhaby is Songs of the Arctic Toad. I have substituted ‘arctic’ with ‘glacial’, as the latter reflects the meaning of the title intended by the artist. The English word ‘arctic’ suggests a geographical place – for example, the Arctic Ocean. The Russian words ledovityi (arctic) and lednikovyi (glacial), on the other hand, have led (ice) at their core. Lednikovyi also has as its root lednik (glacier). The title toad, as Vinogradov explains, is one that lives in glacial ice and can survive very low temperatures. It is not restricted to continental glaciers in the arctic region and can include alpine glaciers at high, mountainous elevations. The word ‘arctic’ would therefore misleadingly suggest the geographical region, whereas Vinogradov wants to emphasize the toad's physiological capabilities. Furthermore, he does not use in his Russian title the word lednikovyi (glacial) but ledovityi because the latter is an unusual word that for him evokes fable and antiquity.6 The poem is an example of zaum’ – a nonstandard poetic language created by Russian futurist poets. It is derived from the Russian adjective zaumnyi (beyond comprehension, too complicated to understand). Zaumnyi language therefore signifies language that is transrational, transsense, metalogical, ‘beyonsense’ (Janecek Citation2012: 1552).7 Some Russian sources, including Vinogradov, identify it as the first squat in the Soviet Union. It was not, however, a squat in the strict sense of the word. The kindergarten at Khokhlovskii Lane was vacated for security reasons, and while the building awaited renovation the authorities sought security guards who were to live there and take care of the building and its backyard and front orchard – for which they were paid a small salary. The building had electricity, heat and running water. In the literature devoted to Kindergarten there seems to be a discrepancy regarding the dates of its existence. I follow the dates given by Vinogradov.8 Bikaponiia of the Celestial Forest is the magnum opus of Vinogradov's oeuvre. The work deserves a level of attention that this article's scope does not allow. I therefore address it briefly and only in relation to Vinogradov's use of the cold as a performance element.9 ‘Dzoings’ is another of Vinogradov's neologisms. The terms mystagogue and Mysteries refer to the ancient Greek mystery cult – the Eleusinian Mysteries – devoted to the goddesses Demeter and Persephone whose sanctuary was in the town of Eleusis. A mystagogue was the sponsor of a mystes (an initiate) and introduced him or her to the Mysteries also offering guidance during his or her preparation for induction.10 The association was established by a group of artists in the early period of perestroika and glasnost’ reforms (25 December 1986, Moscow) to promote and study visual culture.11 In the Russian language the verb zakalivat’ and the noun zakalivanie are used primarily in reference to iron and steel. The analogy of exposing metal rapidly to hot and then cold temperatures has been applied to describing the exposure of a human to variations of temperature, from warm to cold.12 Furthermore, writing about himself in the third person, as he often did, he covertly referred to himself as Jesus Christ: ‘We, the people, were waiting for this deed for a long time, but it was not coming to us as there was no one to begin it. Now Parshek came to earth for the salvation of all of our people’ (Ivanov quoted in Abrarova and Anisimova 1994: 62).13 In the Soviet Union, as in other countries, psychiatric diagnosis was used for political reasons – as a tool of control and repression. In Soviet Russia dissenters – albeit healthy people – were detained and hospitalized systematically. Whether Ivanov was hospitalized for his actual mental illness or for his unwelcome-to-the-Soviet- regime teachings, or both, requires further research.14 The renaissance of Rodnoverie (‘native faith’ or Neo-paganism) in the 1990s was not welcomed by traditionalists who preferred a return solely of the Russian Orthodox Church (Bennett Citation2011: 4).15 A documentary on the life of Ivanov was aired in 1987: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYxeULxBVQE In 1971 Ivanov established Dom zdorov'ia (House of Health) as a commune for his followers where he himself also resided. Since his death, numerous communes of his followers have been established, serving to propagate his teachings, both in the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The whole movement is heavily criticized by the Russian Orthodox Church.16 A lubok (plural lubki) is a Russian popular print, simple in style and with subject matter derived from literature, religious stories and popular tales. Lubki prints decorated houses and inns. Originally they were made using a woodcut technique.
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