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The Irony of Emptiness and Collective (un)consciousness: the Philosophical and Aesthetic Foundations of Moscow Conceptualism (Andrei Monastyrsky).

par Ioffe, Dennis
Référence Zbornik Matice srpske za slavistiku, 109
Publication A Paraître, 2026-03-01

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

The analytical discussion with Andrei Monastyrsky, presented to the readers of Matica Srpska, prepared by Dennis Ioffe contextualizes the artistic current, reveals the spiritual, philosophical, and aesthetic foundations of Moscow Conceptualism. The artist describes in detail his early poetic experiments, the transition from verse material to “elementary poetry” and the creation of objects, as well as the formation of the circle associated with Ilya Kabakov, Viktor Pivovarov, and other artists. In the conversation, significant attention is devoted to the philosophical foundations of Moscow Conceptualism, in particular the categories of emptiness, detachment, and the oneiric state, through which the artistic experience of Collective Actions is articulated. Monastyrsky emphasizes the existential-aesthetic nature of his practice, which distinguishes it from a magical or ritual understanding of art. Also important are the themes of irony, defamiliarization (ostranenie), and otherness, which determine both the internal logic of the works and the collective character of Moscow Conceptualism, juxtaposed with Western anthropocentric actionist aesthetics. The interview demonstrates that philosophical impulses—from Kant and Husserl to Buddhism and the I Ching—became structuring for Monastyrsky’s artistic language. The conversation sheds light not only on the genesis of Moscow Conceptualism but also on its unique position in the context of the second Russian avant-garde, where irony, emptiness, and collective consciousness form the synthetic foundation of aesthetic practice.