IZO

Interview with legendary Russian art scholar John E. Bowlt (Bookslut):

I'm working on a show together with two other curators which is dedicated to this question of the strange relationship of Russian art of the 1910s and the 1920s and astrophysics, cosmonautics, that is space travel. Tsiolkovsky, who I mentioned, plays a role. We're showing paintings and space paraphernalia, rockets, Sputnik, it's that relationship that it's all about. We're doing it for a foundation in Spain, so it'll be in Spain beginning in June.

Brener-Schurz update: Dianne Beal of Galerie Blue Square writes:

We had a Brener happening at Galerie Blue Square last week during a private reception for Igor Makarevich while he was in Paris. There were aggressive shouts of "down with capitalism" etc. but we narrowly avoided the nudity and feces show of Schurz who had evidence from her last performance still visible. Apparently, the respect Sasha has for Igor avoided a bigger scene and they did not show up again for our publc opening of Makarevich's exhibition "Manifestations Conceptuelles" [Galerie Blue Square] two days later.

Dog eat dog (informaworld)?

The article explores what happens when artists attempt to control art in order to 'solve' conflicting definitions of art in the post-Socialist condition with the use of two case studies. (...) In the second case radical Russian artists, such as Oleg Kulik and Alexander Brener, Western artists and curators declared themselves the guardians of standards and norms in their desire to keep the status quo of Cold War art discourse alive and maintain their dominant position within it. The author refers back to the heritage of censorship employed by artists towards fellow artists and to the hidden history of gate-keeping in modern art.

I, for one would like to know more of the "hidden history of gate-keeping in modern art."

Odessa museum claims it has an unrecognised Titian portrait (BBC).

Rare and exotic stuff: Komar and Melamid elephants' art academy painting for sale, $200 (craigslist).

And Alexander Brener and Barbara Schurz drawing in London (Bonhams) (thanks, MK).

Performance and photo artist Natalia Mali tells me she and her boyfriend were asked to an orgy by Alexander Brener and Barbara Schurz. When Natasha inquired what would actually take place, Schurz said it would be a quiet affair and they would read books.

More on Brener at Trolley Gallery (Artnet). The author of the piece, Ben Davis, asked me for my opinion of Brener; it didn't make his cut but here it is: he is a *u**, as far as I can make out, but he's also a committed if nutty artist. What he does is despairing, rude, intolerable yet of course on the edge of meaningful. I argue about this with [various folk]; I mean (the noble cause of the Trolley Gallery aside) if the art world doesn’t need critiquing now, when will it ever?

Breaking news: new Brenner scandal! Last night, during a discussion of the show Butter Sunk by Boo Saville (sister of Jenny Saville) hosted at the Trolley Gallery, London, a brouhaha broke out in the audience. Gallery co-owner Hannah Watson stood up and confronted a man in the audience with the words, "I know who you are. I think you should leave. I know what you're about to do." Panellist Laura K. Jones clicked. "Oh my God, you're not Brenner are you?" She threatened to physically stop Brenner if he tried his usual business (IZO earlier). "This is capitalist shit!" responded Brenner, and at some point lunged at LKJ. "Nobody wants you. London does not want you. Go away," persisted LKJ. The audience was on its feet. Gallery co-owner Gigi Gianuzzi ordered Brenner to leave his property. Brenner's girlfriend was shouting "Capitalist scum!" "You're an embarrassment to women," riposted LKJ (although in private she concedes the girl is quite pretty). At some point the police arrived and Brenner departed, shouting "You capitalist scum, do you not realise what this talk is?" FYI Trolley Gallery is a non-profit enterprise built on socialist principles and begun with a pile of books on a trolley.

A Word To The Wise, or, Whither Brener? Alexander Brener now has his own IZO category (IZO). How should he in future navigate the difficult waters of the London cultural scene? Well, as intro, I should say he is preceded by a kind of analogue, the Cultural Terrorist Aaaron Barschak (Telegraph). Barschak had some impact, but seems to have faded away. So the omens are not all that good. But how to precede as an artist, if one were Brener? First, I think enough impact and cred, if that is what it is, has been achieved by focusing on smallish events and institutions: the Kabakov show, the Colony Room, the Approach W1 gallery. Apart from anything else, the streetwise operators at these places will tend to play Brener down to deny him the publicity. So, what is required for maximum artistic or art-critical effect is a ratcheting-up to take on the Establishment. That means, if a private show is to be targeted, it should be at somewhere like White Cube Gallery and by an artist such as Emin, Gormley or Hirst. Alternatively, Brener could aim for a state institution: Tate Modern, maybe (I wouldn't choose the Royal Academy because it is held in such high regard by the ordinary folk of Middle England). The recent Rodchenko & Stepanova opening at Tate would have been a great mise-en-scene for a Brener event. Third option: an elite event of broader cultural-political significance such as the annual Spectator Party, attended by politicians, top media folk etc. Also: throwback: Brener at the ICA last September (Spoonfed).

UPDATE: with reference to the question posed by Ruth Addison (IZO, earlier, bottom of post), Ekaterina Degot writes to say that Brener used to use pre-packed shit, at least that's what he did in the Pushkin Museum in the early 90s (thanks, ED).. Furthermore:

When he was masturbating, however, he obviously could not apply this method, and nothing ever came of his masturbation (pun intended).

Breaking news: at a show of new work by Evan Holloway at The Approach W1 last night (11 February), Alexander Brener (Brenner), according to my correspondent, "did a horrid thing on the floor - and smeared the words ‘sold out’ with it over the window". Evan Holloway has been in touch and seems philosophical: many wouldn't be. UPDATE: I'm told that on 12 February Brener was shown the door at a Gagosian opening by two big security guards and ended up performing a striptease at Simon Lee gallery. FURTHER UPDATE: I'm told Brener left Berlin and moved to London after multiple gallerists sued him. I'm planning a creative road-map for Brener on Monday. FURTHER UPDATE: Mark Kelner writes:

And would you be so forgiving if he laid his hands on your Faibisovich  or Schnabel?  I must say that if "performed" with feces, (a striptease I can handle), at/on my gallery, I would be forced to action. I'd be  happy to do time in defense of an artist's work, except that is for  Komar and Melamid, who'd consider his result a "collaboration."  Perhaps, as gallerists, we should sign a clause plainly expressing  what to do if Brener strikes. Obviously, we're dealing with mental  illness and perhaps a cry of jealousy concerning Kulik's important  rise to legitimacy. Anyway, what's the upside for himself and the  gallery that he hits? Publicity? Notoriety? I'm not so sure. Plus,  London is easy target. If he really wants to make a statement: Try  that act in Moscow, beginning with Triumph and ending at Vinzavod. On  the other hand, if I had enemies in London, I'd hire Brener to visit  their vernisages. Concurrently, I'm all for performance art, but I  also have taste. It's a conundrum.

I take Mark's points absolutely. I would be appalled if Brener did something like this in my gallery. I have loads of sympathy for Evan Holloway and his gallerist, Jake Miller. I was doing my best to enable a Citizen's Arrest of Brener by Laura K. Jones (or perhaps, in this context, Laura Cojones), a loyal supporter of The Approach W1, until the executive decision was taken to minimise Brener's publicity. Perhaps mental disturbance, perhaps jealousy of Kulik are implicated here, although if true, they yet wouldn't invalidate Brener's work as art (or anti-art commentary). What are artists without their pathologies? But there is another angle, I think, and we can, at least if we're not directly affected, step back and consider that, too. Specific instances to one side: Brener calls the art-world's liberal bluff; he won't be assimilated; and that may be a useful critical function. I think it is. And since contemporary art is a kind of art criticism, it's a creative function, too. Is there any other working corrective to the glitz, the money (apart from bankruptcy)? Maybe one day Brener'll shit in my gallery and I'll feel differently, I know. But – maybe a crude analogy – sometimes we accept (most of us) that some war or other is a necessary evil, although we personally very much wouldn't want to get killed in it. Re: doing it in Russia: he did, at one time, although maybe the consequences today would be an order harsher. Below, Brener's 1994 performance Why Wasn't I Included In This Show? Not a bad piece.

Ruth Addison, Triumph Gallery, is interested in the technical aspect of a Brener performance:

The one thing I find intriguing is  that he can manage it on demand. Do you think it requires rigorous pre- performance preparation? Viz Comic used to have a character called  Scat of the Antarctic who was always suggesting fig rolls and malt loaf to fellow explorers stuck in a tent with him at the end of the world.

In a tent at the end of the world with Alexander Brener: now there's a thought.

The recent party marking the closure of London's ancient Bohemian hang-out The Colony Room was attended by legendary performancer Alexander Brener and his wife Barbara Schurz. Schurz improvised a striptease performance. She was advised that striptease didn't cut it in this hard-core artists' hang-out. So ten minutes later she improved on herself with a public urination performance, after which she was escorted out of the club. Below: the striptease (photos by Marta Larsson) (thanks, ZZ).

Sensational Alexander Brener/Barbara Schurz info received from Zinovy Zinik:

Yesterday i visited a [private view for the Ilya and Emilia Kabakov exhibition at Sprovieri Gallery, London] and bumped there into my friends Alexander Brener and his partner Barbara Schurz, who after a few drinks improvised a striptease. She has a beauitiful tight arse and well-trimmed pubics (which were much more impressive than the exhibits). Brener joined her in exhibiting his private parts and then both tried to climb onto Kabakov's bed (a part of the installation), the bed collapsed and the pair preferred to depart in haste.

The Kabakovs' bed may be viewed currently at the gallery (Sprovieri). Photos © Zinovy Zinik 2008.

UPDATE: Brener (in hoody thing) - Schurz - Kabakovs' bed:

Marat Guelman remembers Oleg Kulik's first performance (galerist, in Russian):

...as I understand it, this concerns his first performance. In which Brener also took part. Oleg couldn't say, in the presence of his then greatest rival, Brener, "Let's not do it." It was their joint performance. Brener led Kulik on a lead and shouted out poems. After that evening Kulik's fantastic fame began, and with it Brener's jealousy of him.

Ekaterina Degot provides comprehensive history and analysis of the show Forbidden Art at the Sakharov Museum (IZO, passim) and the subsequent prosecution of its organisers, Yuri Samodurov and Andrei Erofeev (Open Space, in Russian). She asserts:

Anyone who has been paying attention will be in no doubt that contemporary art here is merely a cover for ultra-right forces who weant to destroy the Sakharov Museum.

She deals with the question of intimidation, by the example of prosecution, of curators and museum directors; but, of course, no-one admits to actually having been intimidated. Although it's happening, for sure. For example, Elena Kovylina's film Dying Swans, a bloody piece of minimalist baroque in which a killer stalks a ballerina, shown recently at Rabouan Moussion Gallery in Paris, was commissioned originally by the Contemporary City Foundation in Moscow, whose director, when he saw the finished product, refused to show it, citing fear of reprisals.

Degot also offers a grown-up sweep at the scandal-artists such as Blue Noses, PG Group and Voina, who use sex as part of their shock tactics:

As the art historian Catherine Millet wrote in her book, The Secret Life of Catherine M, when as a young woman she couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, she usually proceeded to oral sex.

Oh, the old oral sex get-out, I'm so tired of it...

Beneath the cut: an article of mine, Shut The Duck Up, that was printed in the March 2008 issue of the journal Index on Censorship  (for some mysterious reason, Index doesn't publish its articles on the internet). It covers some of the territory as Degot; it's out of date now (Alexander Sokolov is no longer Minister of Culture, for example), but may be of interest. UPDATE: it just so happens that that particular issue of Index on Censorship (March 2008) last night won the Periodical Award at the Amnesty Media Awards (Jeremy Dear).