Cosmic Shift

Ilya Kabakov, Emilia Kabakov, Boris Groys, Pavel Pepperstein, Dmitri Prigov, Anton Vidokle, Andrey Monastyrsky and Arseny Zhilyaev

A TLS Book of the Year 2017In this, the first anthology of Russian contemporary art writing to be published outside Russia, many of the country's most prominent contemporary artists, writers, philosophers, curators and historians come together to examine the region's contemporary art, culture and and theory.With contributions from Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Boris Groys, Dmitri Prigov, Anton Vidokle, Keti Chukhrov, Oxana Timofeeva, Pavel Pepperstein, Arseny Zhilyaev and Masha Sumnina amongst many others, this definitive collection reveals a compelling portrait of a vibrant and complex culture: one built on a contradicting dialectic between the material and the ideal, and battling its own histories and ideologies.

Paints a compelling portrait of a vast and complex nation battling its own histories and ideologies.

Foreword - Bart De BaereAcknowledgments - Elena Zaytseva and Alex AnikinaIntroduction - Elena ZaytsevaPart One - Past futures1.The nomadic theater of the communist - Keti Chukhrov2.The center of cosmic energy - Ilya and Emilia Kabakov3.The truth of art - Boris Groys4.VDNKh, the capital of the world - Andrey Monastyrsky5.The Communist Revolution was caused by the Sun - Anton VidoklePart Two - Inherited aesthetics6.History of angels - Joseph Backstein7.Concerning abstractionism - Dmitry Gutov and Anatoly Osmolovsky8. Screens - Olga Chernysheva9.Two manifestos - Dmitry Prigov10.The form of art as mediation - Maria Chehonadskih11.Soviet communism and the paradox of alienation - Artemy Magun12.The Russian avant-garde as an uncontrollable beast- Alexander BrenerPart Three - From the archive13. Author, cosmos, archive - Vadim Zakharov14. A binary system - Bogdan Mamonov15. You can call him another man - Maria Kapajeva16. Running to the nest - Andrey Kuzkin17. Brink, kerbside, fence, margin - Masha SumninaPart Four - Russia, today18.A heritage without an heir - Ilya Budraitskis19.Krisis - Dmitry Venkov20.Questions without answers, answers without questions - Gleb Napreenko21.The Utopian Union of the Unemployed - Gluklya (Natalia Pershina-Yakimanskaya)22.Chto Delat? and method - Dmitry Vilensky23.Weakness - Yevgeny GranilshchikovPart Five - Future futures24.Ultra black - Oxana Timofeeva25.Demand full automation of contemporary art - Arseny Zhilyaev26.The Antichthon - Alex Anikina27.I want to be afraid of the forest - Ivan Novikov28.The skyscraper-cleaner pine marten - Pavel PeppersteinAbout the contributorsText creditsImage creditsIndex