Pavel Pepperstein
25 Nov 2007 - 15 Jan 2008
PAVEL PEPPERSTEIN
"City of Russia"
One of the oldest private galleries in Moscow, “Regina”, is pleased to welcome you to our new exhibition space in Winzavod. We turn a new page of our history and present a futuristic project “City of Russia” by Pavel Pepperstein, artist, writer, critic and art theoretician.
Pavel Pepperstein is not the first one trying to draw the authorities’ attention to the fact that total overhaul of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, which runs parallel to post-Soviet Russia’s economic growth, has not only changed the look of these cities, but also leads to much more serious consequences. While we destroy these cities and call this process “reconstruction”, we have lost and continue to lose much more than old, dysfunctional buildings and narrow streets, which aren’t fit for heavy traffic. We kill off the historical memory and make an attempt upon the nation of Russia’s self-consciousness.
The artist decided to draw the authorities’ attention to this problem with a radical gesture (in the context of Russian art-world’s connections to the higher powers). Pepperstein authored a letter addressed to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and governor of Saint-Petersburg Valentina Matvienko, where he puts forward his understanding of the problem and discusses variants of solving it.
“When the soul of these cities is destroyed, no achievements on the way to rooting these cities and Russia as a whole in the world economic structure can justify these changes,” – writes Pavel Pepperstein. “The consequences of killing off these fascinating and mysterious souls would be very grim for the country. First of all these bereavements undermine “The Meaning Of Russia”. This meaning cannot be put into words, but is profoundly felt on a deep level by Russia’s inhabitants and outside world alike. It cannot be reduced to the idea of economic growth and progress”.
Pepperstein thinks it’s possible to save the historical sights and unique atmosphere of both capitals, in spite of the irreversible nature of destructive process in Moscow. The artist doesn’t address the authorities’ sense of shame, he is not bent on counting the losses. His suggestion is worthy of Solomon: let us impart the capital status to a new entity, a new city to be built somewhere between the old capitals. It is to be called City of Russia. And Moscow and Saint-Petersburg are to be open-air museums.
This new capital comes alive in Pepperstein’s new pictorial cycle, “City of Russia”. The artist depicts a futuristic city, encumbered in science fiction architecture, which simultaneously brings to mind Russian avant-garde’s massive scale utopias seeking to reinvent the space, architectural projects of the 1920s, which relied on new social theories, and Russian’s space age faith in the future (the 1960s). This project is not purely artistic. It has social and political connotations, which are close to other great endeavors of oil giant countries trying to reinvent themselves on an international scale (think Dubai). Of course, Pepperstein’s propositions still look purely utopian from a pragmatic point of view. Then again, the history of Russia shows that even outstanding utopias can become reality.
"City of Russia"
One of the oldest private galleries in Moscow, “Regina”, is pleased to welcome you to our new exhibition space in Winzavod. We turn a new page of our history and present a futuristic project “City of Russia” by Pavel Pepperstein, artist, writer, critic and art theoretician.
Pavel Pepperstein is not the first one trying to draw the authorities’ attention to the fact that total overhaul of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, which runs parallel to post-Soviet Russia’s economic growth, has not only changed the look of these cities, but also leads to much more serious consequences. While we destroy these cities and call this process “reconstruction”, we have lost and continue to lose much more than old, dysfunctional buildings and narrow streets, which aren’t fit for heavy traffic. We kill off the historical memory and make an attempt upon the nation of Russia’s self-consciousness.
The artist decided to draw the authorities’ attention to this problem with a radical gesture (in the context of Russian art-world’s connections to the higher powers). Pepperstein authored a letter addressed to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and governor of Saint-Petersburg Valentina Matvienko, where he puts forward his understanding of the problem and discusses variants of solving it.
“When the soul of these cities is destroyed, no achievements on the way to rooting these cities and Russia as a whole in the world economic structure can justify these changes,” – writes Pavel Pepperstein. “The consequences of killing off these fascinating and mysterious souls would be very grim for the country. First of all these bereavements undermine “The Meaning Of Russia”. This meaning cannot be put into words, but is profoundly felt on a deep level by Russia’s inhabitants and outside world alike. It cannot be reduced to the idea of economic growth and progress”.
Pepperstein thinks it’s possible to save the historical sights and unique atmosphere of both capitals, in spite of the irreversible nature of destructive process in Moscow. The artist doesn’t address the authorities’ sense of shame, he is not bent on counting the losses. His suggestion is worthy of Solomon: let us impart the capital status to a new entity, a new city to be built somewhere between the old capitals. It is to be called City of Russia. And Moscow and Saint-Petersburg are to be open-air museums.
This new capital comes alive in Pepperstein’s new pictorial cycle, “City of Russia”. The artist depicts a futuristic city, encumbered in science fiction architecture, which simultaneously brings to mind Russian avant-garde’s massive scale utopias seeking to reinvent the space, architectural projects of the 1920s, which relied on new social theories, and Russian’s space age faith in the future (the 1960s). This project is not purely artistic. It has social and political connotations, which are close to other great endeavors of oil giant countries trying to reinvent themselves on an international scale (think Dubai). Of course, Pepperstein’s propositions still look purely utopian from a pragmatic point of view. Then again, the history of Russia shows that even outstanding utopias can become reality.