The Outer Circle
Ideas and Forms of the Russian Avant-Garde
Semen Andreev
Dmitry Babenko
Denis Beznesov
Kristina Elekoeva Alex Galper
Tim Gaze
Yuli Ilyuschenko
Sveta Litvak
Evgenij V.Kharitonov
Inna Kirillova
Gleb Kolomiets
Edward KuleminAlexander Motsar
Willy R. Melnikov
Alexander Ocheretyansky
Sergai Pavlovski
Nestor Povarnin
Oleg Razumovsky
KatyaSamigulina
Mikhail Vayatkin
Nikolai Vayatkin
Curated by Gleb Kolomiets & Olchar E. Lindsann
March 7—31, 2014Liminal Gallery, Marginal Arts Festival, Roanoke, VA
Cover image:
Alexander Motsar,
Russkoe Nebo Dostoevsky
Preface
by Olchar E. LindsannIn writing this Preface, as with initiating this exhibition, I make no claim to specialinsight, or even knowledge, of the post-Soviet avant-garde. Rather, my intention in askingGleb Kolomiets (who, in truth, has done the lion's share of the work) to help me curate thisexhibition has been to initiate a conversation, and to assemble a framework from whichthose of us working in non-commercial, underground, avant-garde networks here inAmerica might
begin
to form a more coherent picture of the world of our Russiancounterparts, leading to more fruitful dialogue regarding the many challenges that face usall. Here in this Preface, I would like to write a few words about why I have felt that this isa necessary time to nourish this dialogue, and an appropriate venue in which to do it.This exhibition's connection to the Marginal Arts Festival is not without reason; itis the result of several long-standing connections between Roanoke and the communitiesrepresented here. For reasons discussed in this catalog, much of the current work of theRussian avant-garde utilizes and explores Asemic Writing: the use of letter-forms that donot refer to existing alphabets, to express subconscious thought or communication. Whileexplorations in this direction can traced back indenitely, the Roanoke avant-gardecommunity has played an important role in the development of Asemia as a self-consciousmovement. The term itself was rst championed by the Roanoke poet and theorist JimLeftwich (then living in Charlottesville) and Australian writer Tim Gaze (also shown here,in collaboration with Russian asemic writers); while even a wikipedia search for AsemicWriting shows that many of the early developers of the form have long-standingrelationships with the MAF, including John M. Bennett, Reed Altemus, Geof Huth, andRoanoke artist and musician Billy Bob Beamer. The Russian avant-garde journal
Slova,
whose contributors formed the kernel of the exhibition, has published translations of theoretical texts and poetry by Roanoke-based
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