From the "Beyonsense" exhibition, 2012
For its first solo show in the U.S., the transnational collective examines the "anti-modern" through a mashed-up lexicon of anthropological artifacts and today's pop culture
Slavs and Tatars, an anonymous collective of international artists rooted in Slavic and Eurasian cultures led by a Polish-Iranian duo, has come together for a major show at one of the world's most prominent art institutions, proving anew that the anthropological gap between Warsaw and Mecca isn't quite as vast as one may think - and that the transcultural bridge may well stretch across the Atlantic.
The members of Slavs and Tatars are scattered across the world, yet all of them are invested in addressing the evolution and hybridisation of tradition, language and politics across the "area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China known as Eurasia". For Project 98 they have built upon their already voluminous body of works which take cultural codes and etymological games to create a new vision of modernism with a humorous twist. The title of the exhibition, Beyonsense, takes its name from a translation of zaum - Russian Futurist experiments with "transrational" language and poetry by artists and authors at the turn of the 20th century, along with a play on the name of one of pop culture's most recognisable names - Beyoncé.
Such reversals and replacements in text-based works of art are meant to challenge the established history and geography of the region, using witty and unexpected mash-ups to illustrate the complex portrait of the East and the intricacy of its ties to the west, which have in recent years been overly simplified by the politics of ideology and war games. Slavs and Tatars use art to bring the East and West closer together in an authentic, thoughtful way. The project also calls attention to the broader picture of intellectual thought, remarking on the dramatic turn of events that can take place within a decade or two, instantly shattering much of the progress of mankind's approach to society, philosophy, politics, culture and community.
As the collective explains in its own words,
The best names are those which foster a certain tension within them, pushing at extremes. One of the best we’ve come across thus far is the title for Werner Herzog’s 1970 cult classic Even Dwarfs Started Small. Humor is important, especially when delivered with the side-splitting Slavic sense. The ability to bring together - in one space, one page, one voice, or in this case one name - two ends of the spectrum previously considered antithetical or incommensurate is crucial to our understanding of the world around us.
Courtesy of Slavs and Tatars, 2012
The exhibition also features a reading room with a number of text-based works and print volumes, which incorporate original Farsi, Russian, English, Hebrew and Latin texts and images to create a setting for reflection on the metaphysical aspects of cultural heritage, its transmission and its collectivity, encouraging visitors to remain in the space and engage more closely with the ideas explored in these projects.
The Beyonsense installation is presented as part of Project 98 at the Projects Gallery on the second floor of the MoMA New York, organised by Gretchen L. Wagner, Sue and Eugene Mercy, Jr., Assistant Curator, Department of Prints and Illustrated Books. The Elaine Dannheisser Projects Series, started in 1971 to promote emerging artists and new art, has been made possible in part by The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art. Additional support was provided by the Sharjah Art Foundation and Pasargad, New York.
Founded in 2006, Slavs and Tatars is made up of artists across the globe from Poland to Iran. The group conducts interdisciplinary research on the history, culture and politics of the Eurasian borderland and attempts to revive the culture of the region through various works, happenings and lectures. By breathing life back into the vast, misunderstood and often forgotten region, the artist collective aims to "resuscitate" Eurasia. Drawing upon deeper layers of meaning exemplified by tradition, custom, performance, language, anthropology and politics, their works are emotional, humorous and still very determined in their message. The group's work takes a hybrid approach to art, encompassing art objects, installations, performances, public interventions and publications which often reference authentic archival sources, such as ancient Zoroastrian calendars, Persian road maps, and Azerbaijani cartoons from the early twentieth century, as well as pop culture. They call themselves "archaeologists of the everyday".
The works of the collective are also on show at New York's Abrams Art Center between the 6th of October - 18th of November 2012, commissioned by the Forever & Today, Inc. foundation, titled Never Give up the Fruitdrawn from the legend of Uyghur Khoja Iparhan, known as the Fragrant Concubine who was bestowed with an enticing honeydew aroma. She was kidnapped to pleasure the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but refused to submit and "never gave up the fruit." The legend in its current guise explores the concept of resistance and self-preservation, especially among Chinese cultures at home and abroad. See more at www.foreverandtoday.org
Warsaw's Raster Gallery is also hosting a selection of works by the collective (as a local offshoot of the MoMA New York show) on from the 28th of September -10th of November 2012. For more information, see: www.raster.art.pl
Author: Agnieszka Le Nart
Source: MoMA, Slavs and Tatars, Société Perrier
Read more about the project in Beyond Berlin, Beyond Belgrade, Beyond Bukhara by Slavs and Tatars at www.moma.org
See more on Slavs and Tatars at www.slavsandtatars.com
Thumbnail credit: From left: Revoliutsionnaia khrestomatiia futuristov (Rye-Word: A Futurists' Revolutionary Reader). 1918. Illustrated book with letterpress illustration by Vladimir Mayakovksy on cover. 10 11/16 x 7 13/16" (27.1 x 19.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of The Judith Rothschild Foundation; Beyoncé Giselle Knowles