In Paris, one of the key figures of the once popular FEMEN movement, Oksana Shachko, committed suicide. After herself, she left rather mediocre works in a vulgar genre, better known to the general public as "Mother of God in sneakers" or "Jesus with Mickey Mouse." And also a note: "You are all a fake". In English. Appealed, apparently, not to her former companions in running around with a bare bust, but to her new circle. To the European bohemians, who were so enthusiastic about FEMEN shares some other years ago.
When a beautiful 30-year-old woman decides to part with life, not deprived of the attention of men - this is always more than pure tragedy, rather than reasons for analysis. Yes, and the psychological state of Oksana Shachko, judging by the memories of her friends, long left much to be desired. And the reasons for this, apparently, were deeper than the emptiness surrounding it. It is possible that the reasons were also medical.
But still this death is an occasion to once again reflect on the fate of Russian actionism (it is the Russian, in fact, that the FEMEN formally originates from Kiev) at this strange time, when politics itself began to resemble modern art more than the modern art that is becoming seriously modern.
Somewhere in Berlin, on a boat without light and water, the family of one of the key participants in the art group Voina, Oleg Vorotnikov, known as the Thief, is trying to survive. Somewhere in Paris, the protagonist of Russian actionism of recent years, Pyotr Pavlensky, is sitting in the dungeon. The face of Pussy Riot Nadezhda Tolokonnikova dissolved somewhere in the diamond haze. It all looks as if Russia has wiped out, cast out these demons, plunging them into a proper inglorious existence.
But it only looks like that, because in reality everything is completely different. The "War" group in Russia was awarded the State Prize "Innovation". The thief and the deceased several years ago in Domodedovo Leonid Ye ***** Nikolaev ran around FSO cars near the Kremlin and turned over the cars of the traffic police in St. Petersburg. For the latter, of course, they detained and were accused of hooliganism. Then ... released on bail!
Once in the wild, the actionists burned the paddy wagon in the courtyard of the police department. Everyone knew who did this. But the police did not find anyone.
Pyotr Pavlensky set fire to the door of the central entrance of the FSB building on Lubyanka Square. Once again: he set fire to the door of the central entrance of the FSB building. And do you know what happened to him? Nothing for it was not.
Pussy Riot paid for his performance more harshly - a real conclusion. But no matter how much I watched this case (and I devoted quite a lot of effort to protecting Pussy Riot from public prosecution), the more I was convinced that no one wanted to plant them. And that this was some sort of confluence of circumstances, from which it was already impossible to get out without losing face. And as soon as it was possible to release the participants under an amnesty - they were immediately released. After her release, Maria Alekhina lives as if nothing had happened. Popular girl in Moscow, dear. And Nadezhda Tolokonnikova flung herself headlong into her sudden worldwide fame. And God grant her good luck.
"War" did not escape from Russia. Being under all sorts of subscriptions, the actionists illegally traveled to Europe at the Biennale. At the Biennale of their proposed event scared. And they would immediately go back, but the illegal channel closed. And they just could not drive back. And remained.
Pyotr Pavlensky fled from Russia. But not because he was persecuted for his actions. And because of the murky and bad history of the accusations that were expressed in his address. It was about trying to rape the actress "Teatra.doc" and beating her ex-boyfriend, who got to the camera.
With FEMEN, the death of one of the participants who opened this column, the same happened - they were not pursued in Ukraine. The only criminal case that was opened was closed, and if someone demanded to deal with the organization, they were the organizers of the manifestation ... in France, which took place in 2014. But nevertheless they decided to leave.
That is, the picture is quite unambiguous. To what all these people did, in Russia and in Ukraine were very difficult. But they did it - and Russia (and Ukraine), gritting his teeth, tolerated this and tried to understand what they really needed.
Europe to everything that these people do, reacted very simply: someone was put in jail, and someone has crossed out of life, as if they are not.
You can, of course, write off what is happening to the differences of political actionism from actionism as such. Oleg Kulik, barking at people as a human dog without any political overtones, is now a respected man in the world, a professor in practice. Art group "War" - his students, dragging a miserable existence. Somewhere at some point the line dividing pure art and meeting was crossed. For example, a huge member on a drawbridge in front of the FSB building in St. Petersburg is a pure art. And the burning of a car wagon (the doors of the FSB, the doors of the Bank of France) is no longer art, but terrorism. This is a fairly simple point of view, which would immediately be challenged, say, by my friend Marat Gelman. Which, by the way, he himself left Russia for Europe, because there are some incomprehensible "Cossacks" who take to judge art even before they read the primer. However, I have not heard anything about Marat helping the "War" or Pavlensky there, in Europe. Because Gelman is primarily a businessman. And then we see a possible second reason.
In the art of "War", Pavlensky and the FEMEN movement there is no business. It's not for sale. Beautiful face Tolokonnikova sold - that's good, it's please. And asshole, armed with cans of gasoline - this, sorry, losses alone. The explanation is even simpler, but much more correct.
However, we are not going for simple explanations - we need something conceptual. And I'll give you this conceptual now. In fact, everything is obvious. Today's Russia has culturally focused on the past, not on the future. And what can be modern art with a focus on the past? Is that too focused on the past.
Modern Europe is, on the contrary, completely rushed into the future, completely forgetting about the roots. And - it is paradoxical! - modern artists who oppose the system, suddenly turn out to be monstrously obsolete. Because with the system no one is fighting. The system is configured, with it all ok. A modern European and an American fights exclusively with the outside world. He struggles to prove his own worth. Radical feminism, body-building and all this universal harassment is the context in which politics looks hateful and boring. We've got a comic book on Booker! That is, literature has already been canceled! What, to hell, political actionism ?! What is the "Mother of God in sneakers"? Yes, who cares?
And it is quite possible that Oksana Shachko understood this before others. Just did not understand that the fake is not around. Fake is she in her European circle.
We are all with you - a fake in this new world.
And this, by the way, explains a lot not only in art, but also in politics.
The author's point of view may not coincide with the editorial position.