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Chto Delat, Builders, 2005, Film still from video-newspaper project
nofliunile de rizom øi platou ale lui Gilles Deleuze øi Félix Guattari. 2 De fapt, Chto
Delat se defineøte ca o platformæ coordonatæ de colective temporare operînd sub
acelaøi nume, accentuînd, astfel, nofliunile de conexiune, eterogenitate øi multiplicitate,
caracteristice principiului rizomului, mereu dezvoltîndu-se în noi forme ale actualitæflii.
Natura compozitæ øi poliedricæ a Chto Delat este perfect reflectatæ în expoziflia prezentatæ
la ICA: o stratificare de stiluri diferite, voci øi medii venind laolaltæ într-o prezentare
ce e concomitent seducætoare, informativæ øi jucæuøæ. Aøa cum un numær
de exemple o vor clarifica, o asemenea acumulare de voci øi opinii contrastante
este o træsæturæ constantæ a muncii colectivului. În ciuda faptului cæ ocupæ doar camera
de la parter øi holul de la ICA, expoziflia e incredibil de densæ øi bogatæ. Diferitele
componente ale prezentærii sînt clar configurate pentru a crea un fel de instalaflie
didacticæ, unde vizitatorii se pot informa asupra unui numær de evenimente øi dezbateri
presante socio-politic, în timp ce li se oferæ un spafliu pentru întruniri øi discuflii.
Galeria e aproximativ divizatæ în trei secfliuni: un foaier-cinema semiobscur, unde
se poate sta aøezat sau întins pe lungi bænci etajate øi tapiflate, în timp ce urmæreøti
proiecflia unei lucræri video, o zonæ centralæ cu cinci videouri rulînd pe monitoare
aøezate pe un soclu amplu, în forma unei stele roøii, øi un mezanin tapiflat în material
albastru, gæzduind un decupaj imens cu o reproducere fotograficæ a unui monument
realist-socialist. În plus, pereflii galeriei funcflioneazæ ca un panou informaflional
gigantic øi continuu: sînt acoperifli cu desene øi pagini din ziarul realizat de Chto Delat
cu ocazia expozifliei: o antologie din diverse fragmente ale publicafliilor anterioare.
În cele din urmæ, intrînd în galerie, vizitatorii pot lua un MP3 player øi cæøti pentru
a asculta o înregistrare audio ce oferæ un ghid introductiv al expozifliei. Înregistrarea
e o versiune rigidæ a dinamicii convenflionale a tururilor ghidate, unde se aøteaptæ
ca vizitatorii sæ asculte pasiv informafliile transmise de ghidul oficial. Totuøi, turul este
frecvent întrerupt de comentariile vizitatorilor cu opinii contrare, în timp ce un grup
de øcolari chicotesc, strigæ øi fug pe fundal. La un moment dat, în înregistrare, unul
dintre copii întreabæ: „Te deranjeazæ dacæ interpretez un dans istoric“. Cu toate cæ
nu urmeazæ niciun ræspuns, aceastæ întrebare vizeazæ multe dintre preocupærile ridicate
de lucrærile din expoziflie: probleme ale reprezentærii, repunerii în scenæ øi
interpretærii evenimentelor istorice øi contemporane prin desen, utilizarea imaginii
iconice, dramatizare øi realizarea de documentare.
Printre multitudinea de personalitæfli desenate pe pereflii galeriei se aflæ øi frecvent
invocaflii Bertolt Brecht øi Jean-Luc Godard, figurile paternale ale programului estetic
al colectivului. Piesele lor de teatru øi filmele, prin stæpînirea mecanismelor de distanflare
specifice propriului mediu, au hrænit o conøtiinflæ criticæ persistentæ øi au fost
the tradition of Bertolt Brecht’s musical theatre to Alexander Rodchenko’s
constructivist designs of interiors. In its name as in its work
to date, the Russian collective undoubtedly embodies a complex mixture
and layering of practices, traditions and discourses. Tellingly,
the group prefers to define itself as a “platform” rather than a “collective”,possibly
in relation to Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s notions
of the rhizome and the plateau. 2 In fact, Chto Delat describes itself
as a platform coordinated by temporary collectives operating under
the same name, thus stressing the notions of connection, heterogeneity
and multiplicity that characterise the principle of the rhizome,
always developing into new forms of actuality.
The composite and polyhedral nature of Chto Delat is perfectly
reflected in the exhibition presented at the ICA: a layering of different
styles, voices and mediums coming together in a display which
is simultaneously seductive, informative and playful. As a number of
examples will clarify, such accumulation of voices and contrasting
opinions is a constant feature of the collective’s work. Despite only
occupying the ground floor room and concourse of the ICA, the exhibition
is incredibly dense and rich. The different components of the
display are clearly shaped so to create a sort of didactic installation,
where visitors can acquire knowledge on a number of pressing sociopolitical
events and debates, while being offered a space for gatherings
and discussion. The gallery is loosely divided into three sections:
a semi-dark lounge-cinema where one can sit or lie on long, carpeted
tiers while watching a projected video work; a central area with five
video works on monitors, sitting on a large plinth in the shape of a
red star; and a mezzanine dressed in blue fabric hosting a very large
cut-out photographic reproduction of a socialist realist monument.
Moreover, the walls of the gallery function as a gigantic and continuous
information board: they are covered with wall drawings and
pages from the newspaper that Chto Delat realised on the occasion
of the exhibition: a collected reader of different fragments from previous
publications. Finally, on entering the gallery, visitors can pick up
an MP3 player and headphones to listen to an audio piece offering
a guided introduction to the exhibition. The recording is a wry rendition
of the conventional dynamics of guided tours, where visitors are
expected to passively listen to the official guide imparting knowledge.
Yet, the tour is frequently interrupted by the comments of visitors
with contrasting opinions, while a group of school children
giggle, cheer and run around in the background. Not far into the
recording, one of the children asks: “Do you mind if I perform a history
dance” Although no answer ensues, this question addresses many
of the concerns raised by the works in the exhibition: issues of representation,
restaging and interpretation of historical and contemporary
events through drawing, the use of iconic imagery, play-writing
and documentary making.
Among the many personalities drawn on the walls of the gallery are
the frequently invoked ones of Bertolt Brecht and Jean-Luc Godard,
the father figures of the collective’s aesthetic programme. Their plays
and films, through the mastering of distancing devices specific to
their mediums, fostered a persistent critical awareness and were
conceived as agents of subjectivisation, calling for responsible,
autonomously thinking and acting subjects. The group was certainly
influenced by Brecht’s anti-theatrical stance and his use of stage
directions and diegetic speech as devises through which mimetic representation
is estranged, controlled, framed and fundamentally questioned
in its material integrity. Such influence is clearly discernible in
The Tower: a Songspiel (2010), which can be watched in the filmlounge.
In this case, different voices and opinions have been scripted
for a 36 minutes long film, the third in a trilogy of works dealing with
recent events that have been dominating Russian socio-political life
and public debate. The tower object of the piece is the planned
Okhta Center development in Saint Petersburg, a 403-metre-high
glass skyscraper commissioned to house the headquarters of the gas
giant Gazprom, one of the world’s largest energy companies. As the
website of the Okhta Center explains, the tower integrates “functions
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