Valera and Natasha Cherkashin

Moscow, the End of the Epoch

This lecture includes our artistic work with the cultural heritage of the USSR during perestroika time: the Moscow subway, the Exhibition of Economic Achievements, the Stalin skyscrapers and the mythology of that time. We've done a number of exhibitions and installations on this theme as well as performances and interactions such as:

- Exam -to explore the specific freedom of socialist choice;

- An Excursion in the Museum of Lenin, which was, held by Lenin himself - a tendency of Soviet people to rely on primary sources only;

A number of performances in Moscow subway station «Revolution Square»:

- Privatization of the objects of «Art for the People»;

- Subbotnik - dedicated to the disappearing traditions of volunteer patriotic work in Russia;

-The people's love of «Art for the People»-an attempt to re-evaluate the attitude towards the works of art of the Socialist Epoch;

- Underground Wedding- union of a girl from our time with a man of the 30's;

- The Underground Beauty Contest, Miss 38- a chance for girls of the 30's to take part in beauty contests which are so popular now in Russia.

Digital images and professional TV films will be shown:

1. «Subbotnik»-art film, Russian TV, Channel 2. 1992

2. «State in the Arts», CNN. 1992

3. «Museum Metropolitan of Cherkashin»- Central Russian TV, 1 Channel. 1993

This film includes, besides our performances, a documentary film highlighting the celebration of holidays in the Red Square, construction of the Moscow Metro under

Stalin's initiative in the 30's and the best workers who posed for the life-size bronze

statues of the «Ploschad Revolutsii»

We have a Power Point presentation.