А. Монастырский, Н. Панитков, И. Макаревич, Е. Елагина, С ...

motor (9 rounds per minute) standing on the screen‘s right. It was revolving continuously in the course of
the whole action, reeling on itself a white thread from a spool behind the screen (invisible to the audience)
(for description of the "Soft handle" see the "Russian World" performance).
Left and right screens were placed on a white wall and were of similar size three times larger than the
middle stroboscopic screen. Under the right screen on a purple cloth there was a tape recorder previously
used in the "Russian World" performance.
The slide film was shown according to the following scheme:
1. The visual sequence of the first 10 minutes of the film was limited to the empty glass-sided middle
screen blinking at a slow rate. Under it there was the "Soft handle", revolving and reeling up the thread.
Soundtrack for this phase of the demonstration contained the final part (30 minutes long) of the "Jupiter"
action soundtrack titled "The Trains; The Barrel" ("The Trains" part); it was played back through a large
stereo with two speakers standing behind the audience‘s backs by the opposite wall.
2. At the 11 th minute of the performance right and left screens were switched on with similar black-andwhite
slides picturing "Emblem I": shield with man looking at watch (it was used as "object-frame"
during the "Jupiter" action). The slides remained on the screens for 3 minutes. The blinking of the empty
stroboscopic screen slightly speeded up with their appearance. Soundtrack for "The Trains; The Barrel"
("The Barrel" part) kept playing.
3. At the 14 th minute on right and left screens "Emblem II" (one-eyed man). "The Barrel" soundtrack.
4. At the 17 th minute on right and left screens "Emblem III" (man with gaping black mouth). "The Barrel"
soundtrack.
5. At the 20 th minute on right and left screens "Emblem IV" (grinning man). "The Barrel" soundtrack.
6. At the 23 th minute on right and left screens "Emblem V" (man putting out his tongue). "The Barrel"
soundtrack.
7. At the 26 rd minute on right and left screens "Emblem VI" (man stopping his ears). "The Barrel"
soundtrack.
8. At the 29 th minute on the right screen appeared a black-and-white slide titled "SHAFT-1" (half-length
portrait of Monastyrski with a metallic rod on his shoulder).
The left screen is switched off.
"SHAFT –1" slide remains on the screen for 1 minute. "The Barrel" soundtrack.
9. One minute later the right screen swapped "SHAFT–1" for "SHAFT-2" slide (Monastyrski with
metallic rod, his back facing the audience). The slide remains on the screen for 1 minute. "The Barrel"
soundtrack.
10. One minute later the right screen swapped "SHAFT–2" for "SHAFT-3" slide (Monastyrski declining
over the rod which is rolling on asphalt). The slide remains on the screen for 1 minute. "The Barrel"
soundtrack.
11. When "SHAFT-4" slide (Monastyrski‘s foot trampling the rod) appears on the right screen, "The
Barrel" soundtrack is stopped.
30 seconds later "The Repetitions" soundtrack is switched on, the right screen is switched off, and the left
screen demonstrates a slide-show of 110 black-and-white slides, each remains for 30 seconds.
"The Repetitions" soundtrack contains the following phrase recorded 110 times by Monastyrski:
"THE MEANING OF THIS PHRASE, WHICH IS REPEATED 110 TIMES FOR 30 SECONDS,
SHALL PROBABLY BE REVEALED IN THE END OF THIS SEQUENCE BY A NOTICEABLE OR
UNNOTICEABLE CHANGE OF INTONATION OR ANY OTHER SURPRISING MOTION WHICH
IS THE INEVITABLE RESULT OF PHYSICAL RELEVANCE OF EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE
DEFINED AS RESIDUAL EFFECTS OF AN EMPTY ACTION IN ITS DIRECT SENSE OF NAKED
METAPHOR REDUCING THE LYRICAL, COMIC OR TRAGIC SOUNDING OF THE SPEECH
ACCOMPANIMENT TO THE VERGE OF ESTHETICAL INTOLERABLENESS WHEN A
SPECTATOR IS FORCED TO MECHANICALLY SWITCH FROM ONE IMAGE TO ANOTHER".
This phrase is repeated with slight modifications (for example, "irrelevance" instead of "relevance",
sometimes attributives are changed: "epical" instead of "lyrical" etc; sometimes words are added or
omitted, for example: "surprising motion of perception‖. Although, the phrase never develops to the point
of grammatical or semantic absurd). The entire phrase is only read aloud once. Depending on
modifications and speed of reading the phrase is interrupted at different points, mostly at words "of
esthetical intolerableness", according to the 30 seconds time interval which is always strictly observed.
Several times the number "110" is changed to lesser or bigger (but no less than 100).