On Art

380 Pages·2018·3.831 MB·English

by  Ilya Kabakov

On Art

On Art
ilya kabakov
edited with an introduction by
Matthew Jesse Jackson
translated by
Antonina W. Bouis and Cynthia Martin
with Matthew Jesse Jackson
the university of chicago press
Chicago and London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2018 Ilya and Emilia Kabakov
All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce individual texts or images by Ilya and
Emilia Kabakov must be sought directly from them.
Preface and Introduction © 2018 The University of Chicago
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever with-
out written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles
and reviews. For more information, contact the University of Chicago Press,
1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637.
Published 2018
Printed in the United States of America
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 1 2 3 4 5
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 38456- 6 (cloth)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 38473- 3 (paper)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 38487- 0 (e- book)
doi: https:// doi .org/ 10 .7208/ chicago/ 9780226384870 .001 .0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kabakov, Ili a Iosifovich, 1933– author. | Jackson, Matthew Jesse, editor,
writer of introduction, translator. | Bouis, Antonina W., translator. | Martin,
Cynthia L. (Russian teacher), translator.
Title: On art / Ilya Kabakov ; edited with an introduction by Matthew Jesse Jackson ;
translated by Antonina W. Bouis and Cynthia Martin with Matthew Jesse Jackson.
Description: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2018. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: lccn 2018031839 | isbn 9780226384566 (cloth : alk. paper) | isbn
9780226384733 (pbk. : alk. paper) | isbn 9780226384870 (e-book)
Subjects: lcsh: Art. | Art, Russian. | Art, Modern—20th century. | Installations
(Art) | Conceptualism. | Art—Philosophy.
Classifi cation: lcc n6999.k23 a35 2018 | ddc 709.47—dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018031839
This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1 992
(Permanence of Paper).
Contents
List of Figures vii
Preface xi
Introduction, by Matthew Jesse Jackson 1
Culture, “I,” “It,” and Favorsky’s Light (“Rhombus”) (1980) 10
Nozdrev and Pliushkin (1981) 24
. . . Everything Is in the Turning of the Pages (1981) 31
On Emptiness (1982) 35
The Creator Looks at His Work Twice (1982) 43
Dust, Dirt, and Garbage (Dust as an Object
of Contemplation) (1982) 45
Discourse on the Perception of the Three Layers, Three Levels,
into Which an Ordinary, Anonymous Written Product— Notices,
Slips, Menus, Bills, Tickets, etc.— May Be Broken Down (1982) 50
Epistemological Thirst (1982) 54
Not Everyone Will Be Taken into the Future (1983) 57
New Rhombus (1983) 60
Without Culture (1983) 63
Park of Culture (1984) 66
From The 1960s and the 1970s: Notes on Unoffi cial
Life in Moscow (1982– 1984) 68
The Artist- Character (1985) 139
From An Apologia for Personalism in the Art of the 1960s:
An Impassioned Monologue on 23 June 1986 (1986) 155
vi contents
Conceptualism in Russia (1986) 203
Edge, Border, Crack (1986) 209
Art Has No Unloved Children (1987) 218
How I Became a Character Myself (1989) 226
A Story about a “Culturally Relocated” Individual (1994) 230
From On “Total” Installation (1995) 246
Text as the Foundation of Visual Expression (1995) 253
On Risk (1997) 255
On Cézannism (1997) 257
The Spirit of Music (1997) 260
Public Projects, or the Spirit of a Place (2001) 263
Why Was It Necessary to Use the “Character” Device for the
Exhibition Rather Than Signing My Own Name? (2004) 270
Nikolai Petrovich (Commentary) (2008) 273
From Catalog (2009) 276
Translation Credits 357
Bibliography 361
Index 363
Figures
All works by Ilya Kabakov, unless noted otherwise
1 Ten Characters, mixed media installation, New York, 1988, 6
2 The Shower, colored pencil and ink on paper, 1974, 76
3 Hand with a Broken Mirror, object, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1965, 78
4 Head with a Balloon, object, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1965, 79
5 The Boy, object, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1965, 80
6 Colored Cubes on Gray Board, a.k.a. Cubes, oil and enamel on wood, 1962, 81
7 Three Colored Ovals, oil and enamel on wood, 1963, 82
8 Conditional Refl ex, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1965, 83
9 Walk (Bicyclists), a.k.a. Ride on a Bicycle, oil and enamel on Masonite,
1966, 83
10 Queen Fly, oil and enamel on Masonite and wood, 1965, 84
11 In the Room, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1966, 84
12 Arm and a Reproduction of a Ruysdael, object, wood, oil and enamel on
plywood, 1965, 87
13 In the Corner, enamel on Masonite, 1969, 88
14 Pipe, Stick, Ball, and Fly, objects, oil and enamel on plywood, 1966, 89
15 Couch- Painting, object, oil and enamel on canvas on plywood, 1967, 90
16 Machine Gun and Chicks, tempera and fi ller on Masonite, 1966, 90
17 Day and Night, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1966, 91
18 Whose Fly Is This? oil and enamel on Masonite, 1967, 91
viii figures
19 Who Wrote This Poem? a.k.a. This Line Was Written by the Poet Nekrasov, oil
and enamel on Masonite, 1966, 92
20 Bublik (The Bagel), oil and enamel on plywood, 1970, 97
21 Berdyansk Spit, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1970, 98
22 All about It, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1971, 99
23 Where Are They? oil and enamel on Masonite, 1971, 99
24 Flying, ink on paper, 1970, 100
25 Answers of the Experimental Group, objects, oil and enamel on Masonite,
1971, 101
26 This Is the Sea. This Is the Sky . . . , oil and enamel on Masonite, 1970, 102
27 Taking Out the Garbage Pail, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1980, 103
28 Sunday Evening, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1980, 103
29 List of Persons, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1982, 104
30 Chart of Hope and Fear, 1984, 115
31 Sitting in the Closet Primakov, album from Ten Characters cycle,
1972– 1975, 126
32 The Joker Gorokhov, album from Ten Characters cycle, 1972– 1975, 127
33 Looking Out the Window Arkhipov, album from Ten Characters cycle,
1972– 1975, 128
34 Next Stop— Tarakanovo, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1979, 135
35 The Little Water Sprite, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1980, 145
36 Hello, Morning of Our Motherland! oil and enamel on Masonite, 1981, 146
37 Chambre de Luxe (Deluxe Room), oil and enamel on Masonite, 1981, 146
38 Gastronom (Grocery Store), oil and enamel on Masonite, 1981, 147
39 Tested! oil and enamel on Masonite, 1981, 147
40 The Beetle, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1982, 148
41 Abramtsevo House- Museum Estate, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1982, 149
42 The Mokushansky Family Schedule, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1983, 150
43 The Plan of My Life, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1983, 151
44 First Snow, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1983, 152
45 Nikolai Petrovich, oil and enamel on Masonite, 1980, 274
46 Labyrinth (Album of My Mother), mixed- media installation, 1990, 278
47 The Man Who Flew into Space from His Apartment, installation, Moscow,
1985, 307
figures ix
48 Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, The Palace of Projects, mixed- media installation,
1998, 325
49 The Toilet, mixed- media installation, Kassel, Germany, 1992, 346
50 Flying Paintings, oil on canvas, 2009, 348