Abstract

‘Nostalgia’ is a major theme that runs through the works of Ilya Kabakov (И. Кабаков), a Russian painter who represents Moscow Conceptualism. In this paper, based on Svetlana Boim"s definition of the word "nostalgia", we would like to analyze how two layers of nostalgia are realized in Kabakov"s creations. The layer of "restorative nostalgia" in Kabakov"s creations is developed with the reproduction of the "disappeared Soviet" space in the back of history. ‘Reflective nostalgia’ is reproduced based on Kabakov’s personal memory, which exists separately from the grand ideological narrative that occupied Soviet space and time. Furthermore, these two layers of nostalgia do not exist singly, but often appear in the form of a coexistence of a gigantic narrative formed in a isolated special space-time called "Soviet" and a micro-narrative embedded in the cracks. Therefore, in this paper, we will focus on the aspect of coexistence: the coexistence of "restorative nostalgia" and "reflective nostalgia" in’ Kabakov"s creations, and furthermore, the nostalgia of public objects composed of grand narratives and the nostalgia dependent on private memory made up of micro narratives. Kabakov often creates a configuration in which two forms of nostalgia coexist in his work. In addition, he projects his extremely private memories of a special form of nostalgia, namely, work schedules, toilets, and public houses, which are hard to see as objects of nostalgia, suggesting the double implications of Soviet space and time. Furthermore, in Kabakov"s creations, the nostalgic narrative impulse is not limited to simply the memories surrounding an individual. This reveals the "aesthetic nostalgia" for his artistic predecessors such as Malevich and Leonardo da Vinci, and expands to overcoming the masters of art. The summoning of a master of art by aesthetic nostalgia echoes the theme of "little man", one of the essential subjects in Russian literature. Moreover, it leads to declaring that Kabakov"s creation has entered the post-Sots era beyond conceptualism and Sots-Art. Based on the above, in this paper, various layers of nostalgia embodied in Ilya Kabakov"s creation, that is, "restorative nostalgia" as an official representation of Soviet space and time, and "reflective nostalgia" as a hidden private memory of the space, and furthermore, the aspect of the manifestation of "aesthetic nostalgia" as awedness and overcoming of masters of art and their works will be analyzed. Through this, we would like to explain the form and implications of Soviet space-time reproduced through a nostalgic narrative in Kabakov"s creations, and furthermore, the method of recalling and overcoming the avant-garde and socialist realism as a part of aesthetic nostalgia.

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