Russian Radical Art of the 1990s: Actionism, Video, and Post-Soviet Transformation

Nele Sasz's 2003 essay analyzes Russian radical art during the 1990s, focusing on visual forms like actionism, video, and film within post-Soviet societal changes. The text distinguishes Moscow actionism from conceptualism, noting its emergence in the early 1990s as a reaction to new Russian capitalism and commercialization. Key figures include Anatolij Osmolovskij, Oleg Kulik, and Alexej Shulgin, whose works often invaded public space. Video art developed alongside rave culture and cyberpunk philosophy, with early practitioners like Vladimir Kobrin and Kirill Preobrazhensky. The essay examines Svetlana Baskova's 1999 film 'The Green Elephant' as a situationist transposition of actionism to cinema. Other notable works include Vladimir Epifancev and Oleg Shishkin's late-night TV show 'Drjema'. The analysis connects these movements to broader cultural shifts, including the influence of Western products and the role of mass media. The essay references events like the first international Video festival in Kansk and discussions in publications like Chudozhestvennyj Zhurnal. It concludes by noting a contemporary return to painting and photography aesthetics, moving away from the explicit intensity of 1990s radical art.