Off-top: a while ago the Blue Noses caused a scandal by demonstrating many similarities between works by famous Russian contemporary artists and those of Western artists. Their thesis was that Russian contemporary art is essentially derivative. But I suggest that the appearance of strikingly similar works by different artists is not a Russian-related phenomenon: it's a kind of a zeitgeisty thing, or maybe these are Platonic Forms? Below, an example of close resemblance between the works of two non-Russian artists: Zoe Leonard's Tree (1997), consisting of a chopped-up tree imported into the white gallery space, bolted back together and held up by cables; and Anya Gallacio's that open space within (2008), consisting of a chopped-up tree imported into the white gallery space, bolted back together and held up by cables.


