Chto Delat? in Baden-Baden
29 Oct 2011 - 12 Feb 2012
CHTO DELAT? IN BADEN-BADEN
29 October, 2011 - 12 February, 2012
The Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden is the first German institution to provide a substantial overview of the oeuvre of the Russian Collective Chto Delat? (What is to be done?). The collective was founded in early 2003 in St. Petersburg by a group of artists, critics, philosophers and writers. The exhibition title – “Chto Delat? in Baden-Baden: The Lesson on Dis-Consent” – maybe causes amazement not only because it uses a quote, which was also used by Lenin, but also because the immediate result of mentioning Baden-Baden and Russia in the same sentence seems to evoke a cliché image of wealthy men and young blonde ladies with flashy handbags. The works in the exhibition, however, reflect the complex political and social conditions of present day Russia, whereas the yearning for a debate on originally moral values of communism are unmistakably present.
Chto Delat? integrated their four songspiels in an exhibition architecture developed for their show at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, in which classical elements of political propaganda are reflected equally as the so-called Lehrstücke from the 1920’s by Bertolt Brecht. Together with mural paintings on the time of Perestroika, political flags and installations about the Russian soul, they unify historical incidents with conditions of the present day time. In Baden-Baden of all places, where the historical and contemporary ties to Russia are strong, an exhibition which not merely exhibit visual artefacts, but rather aims at influencing public discourse, seems to promising.
For the opening on Friday, October 28th, 2011, Chto Delat? will feature a concert presented in cooperation with the Theater Baden-Baden, the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe as well as the ZKM I Karlsruhe.
The exhibition was realized by Olga Egorova (Tsaplya), Nikolai Oleinikov, Natalya Pershina (Glyuklya) and Dmitry Vilenksy.
29 October, 2011 - 12 February, 2012
The Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden is the first German institution to provide a substantial overview of the oeuvre of the Russian Collective Chto Delat? (What is to be done?). The collective was founded in early 2003 in St. Petersburg by a group of artists, critics, philosophers and writers. The exhibition title – “Chto Delat? in Baden-Baden: The Lesson on Dis-Consent” – maybe causes amazement not only because it uses a quote, which was also used by Lenin, but also because the immediate result of mentioning Baden-Baden and Russia in the same sentence seems to evoke a cliché image of wealthy men and young blonde ladies with flashy handbags. The works in the exhibition, however, reflect the complex political and social conditions of present day Russia, whereas the yearning for a debate on originally moral values of communism are unmistakably present.
Chto Delat? integrated their four songspiels in an exhibition architecture developed for their show at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, in which classical elements of political propaganda are reflected equally as the so-called Lehrstücke from the 1920’s by Bertolt Brecht. Together with mural paintings on the time of Perestroika, political flags and installations about the Russian soul, they unify historical incidents with conditions of the present day time. In Baden-Baden of all places, where the historical and contemporary ties to Russia are strong, an exhibition which not merely exhibit visual artefacts, but rather aims at influencing public discourse, seems to promising.
For the opening on Friday, October 28th, 2011, Chto Delat? will feature a concert presented in cooperation with the Theater Baden-Baden, the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe as well as the ZKM I Karlsruhe.
The exhibition was realized by Olga Egorova (Tsaplya), Nikolai Oleinikov, Natalya Pershina (Glyuklya) and Dmitry Vilenksy.