Fictional Realities and Constructive Imaginaries: Committing the Past to the Present

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

This roundtable explores the potential for creating radical, imaginary spaces through historically-oriented dissident art praxis. In a transnational and interdisciplinary dialogue, the discussion encompasses artistic practices across various times and spaces, including the former Soviet Union, the former Yugoslavia, modern-day Russia, Bulgaria, and Ukraine. Elena Konyushikhina explores representations of the Soviet past as a productive space between fiction and reality, focusing specifically on the projects of Arseny Zhilaev and Ian Ginzburg. Kitty Brandon-James discusses the re-appropriation of monuments as sites of resistance and new techniques employed by young artists who challenge and corroborate previous orthodoxies. Alma Prelec analyzes the commemoration of the Spanish Civil War in the Former Yugoslavia, through a particular focus on Ay, Carmela (1987), a Spanish play performed hundreds of times by traveling troupes in 1990s Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia. Through its focus on Spain in the 1930s, the play offered an alternative paradigm for artists to criticize increasing regional nationalisms. Elisa Bailey explores street art in Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Russia, positing that graffiti and the people who make it can be considered as a layer of interpretation just as deserving of our attention as the hands (and regimes) that made, upheld, or decided the futures of its canvases. The roundtable format is chosen to facilitate a fluid exchange of ideas and perspectives in light of the interdisciplinary nature of the dialogue. This approach aligns with the multidimensional character of the topic, fostering a deeper understanding of the intersection between historically-oriented dissident art from different regions.

Sub Unit

• Arts I: Visual Culture, Material Culture, Applied and Fine Arts

Chair

• Alma Prelec, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK)

Roundtable Members

• Elisa Bailey, Lord Cultural Resources

• Kitty Brandon-James, U College London (UK)

• Elena Konyushikhina, Courtauld Institute of Art (UK)

• Alma Prelec, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK)