KOLLEKTIVNYE DEYSTVIYA (COLLECTIVE ACTIONS). THE DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE ACTIONS, Photo and Video
JOURNEYS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE. VOLUME FOUR
44. THE BOOTS
Before the audience’s arrival over a small clearing in deep forest a strong rope was stretched at two and a half meters’ height. In the center of the clearing (under the rope) a pair of leather boots was set on wooden pegs, bottoms up. To their heels wire loops were attached.
As soon as the audience gathered on the clearing side, N. Panitkov detached himself from the group and headed to the left, in the deep of forest. A few minutes later he appeared from there holding rubber straps in his hands with iron hooks attached to them. After approaching the boots, N. Panitkov rose and stood on the boots (it took him quite an effort, as the rubber straps were stretched almost to the limit), trying to keep balance, and grappled the hooks to the wire loops on boots. Then he straightened his back, jumped and catched the rope above his head, thus releasing the weight of his body from the boots, which disappeared in the woods at once, dragged away by the rubber straps. Panitkov proceeded movement to the right, away from the audience along the stretched rope, holding it with his hands and feet. When he disappeared in the woods, A. Monastyrski and S. Romashko cut the rope and N. Panitkov collapsed.
Pieces of the rope, cut by A.M. and S. R., were distributed among the audience with labels describing the action’s factual account. The action was accompanied by the sound of a tape recorder invisible to the audience (it rested in the nearby shrubs). The recording consisted of noises of cars driving by (a road could be visible from the spot where the action took place).
Moscow region, Savyolovskaya railway line, field near the village of Kyevy Gorky
15th of June, 1986
N. Panitkov, A. Monastyrski, I. Makarevich, G. Kizewalter, S. Romashko, E. Elagina
Viewers:
I. Kabakov, V. Mochalova, Yu. Leiderman, E. Gorokhovsly, Nina, M.Chuikova, N. Abalakova, D. Prigov, I. Nakhova, T. Didenko, I. Bakshtein, A. Rappoport, V. Mironenko, S. Gundlakh, S. Anufriev, A. Prigov, O. Razumovsky + 3 other persons
