Symbolic Capital of the Avant-Garde in the Unofficial Art Discourse of the 1960–1980s

In: Obščestvo: filosofija, istorija, kulʹtura = Society : philosophy, history, culture, Heft 11, S. 284-293

Abstract

The article considers the work of independent artists of the 1960s and 1980s, rethinking the heritage of the avant-garde. In the unofficial art discourse, the ideas of the beginning of the XX century represent symbolic capital, significant for artists in the formation of new techniques. The appeal to the avant-garde tradition unites various regional schools of non-conformism in an effort to create a synthesis of contemporary artistic practices and art of the past. Unofficial art unites representatives of different disciplines, were separated from public ac-tivities due to long censorship. The creative and conceptual searches of the artists expressed a disconnect be-tween personal, emotional and inner world of artistic thinking in the late 1950s, tired of operating a single sys-tem. The appeal to the avant-garde tradition unites various regional schools of non-conformism in an effort to create a synthesis of contemporary artistic practices and art of the past. Moscow nonconformists developed a conceptual direction, representatives of the Leningrad underground experimented with methods of metaphysi-cal painting and abstract art, ideas of decorative symbolism were preserved in the works of Saratov noncon-formists. Interacting with the avant-garde, nonconformists form a unity of figurative and abstract painting, a dis-tinctive feature of unofficial art.