WHITE TEXT/BLACK BACKGROUND
BLACK TEXT/WHITE BACKGROUND

KOLLEKTIVNYE DEYSTVIYA (COLLECTIVE ACTIONS). THE DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE ACTIONS, Photo and Video

JOURNEYS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE. VOLUME TWO

THE DARK PLACE. Photo of the performance by Collective Actions (KD)

25. THE DARK PLACE

Two action’s participants (V. Mironenko and I. Kabakov), were to go to the country, individually and at different times, coordinating their actions by instructions (see appendix). After finding an appropriate field, they were to sit down, facing the forest at a distance of 80-100 meters to it, then find the darkest spot of the forest, photograph it, paint and describe (to a tape recorder).

Then they were to approach the darkest spot and hang there a black oval (plywood, horizontal radius 1 meter; its presence in the big folder was to be discovered by a participant after seeing an appropriate instruction). After returning to initial position they were to photograph the “THE DARK PLACE” and comment their activities to a tape recorder (see participants’ narrations).

V. Mironenko conducted the action on the 5th of April, 1983 near station Krasnogorskaya, Rizhskaya railway line (in the evening).

I. Kabakov conducted the action on the 7th of May, 1983, 10 kilometers from Moscow along Leningradskoye highway (in the morning).

Comment: V. Mironenko fulfilled the plan, except for the main thing: he left a white sheet of paper on the oval. I. Kabakov only painted and photographed the “THE DARK PLACE”, while leaning the oval against a tree. Later he brought it back to Moscow. Therefore, he also failed to conduct the action. (see participants’ narrations).

(The first draft variant of the action was conducted on the 2nd of October, 1981 by N. Alexeev and S. Romashko, with the participation of A.M. in Losiny Ostrov park, Moscow). ]

A. Monastyrski, G. Kizevalter, S. Romashko, N. Alexeev, N. Panitkov, I. Makarevich, E. Elagina.

ANDREY MONASTYRSKI. Preface to the second volume of Trips to the Countryside

MOSCOW CONCEPTUALISM

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