| Agents Provocateurs in Moscow |
 |
 |
| Written by Anastasia Mavromatis | |
| Thursday, 24 July 2008 13:26 | |
 Art is never far from politics in the modern age. One prime example is Voina, a Russian group of artists who are ‘sticking it to The Man,’ and make the Sixties resemble a G-rated era. With the development of the Internet, especially file sharing sites like YouTube, groups like Voina expand their audience at the press of a button. The latest video of Oleg Vorotnikov pushing in a cart in a supermarket, shop lifting along the way, may not address power if he were dressed in an Adidas ensemble, but being dressed as a priest creates a frisson of interest. He says that it shows the impunity of power in Russia. One of Voina’s March activities caused a stir when five couples had sex inside Moscow’s Biological Museum for the eyes of the world; each ‘performance’ was filmed for the Internet. The slogan, ‘fuck for Medvedev,’ was first revealed on 23 February, at a Young Guards pro-Kremlin rally but the act of procreation within the Biological Museum magnified the group on the Internet. Timing is everything, and the museum performance arrived the day before the presidential election. Oleg Vorotnikov, a 29 year old art graduate, co-founded the group that has been using provocative stunts to permeate the consciousness of a society that has been almost numbed by decades of pro-Kremlin propaganda. The more shocking or absurd the display, the more headlines. Voina marked International Workers Day by throwing live cats at McDonald’s employees. Voina’s view? That the gesture would help break up the menial routine.    What else is left for Voina? According to a female member, only known as kitten (“Kotyonok”), who also works at Moscow university teaching physics: “We’ve had sex in public and are no longer scared of it. We’ve invaded a police station and are no longer scared of it. What else is there to scare us?” Even death doesn’t inspire fear. According to Kotyonok, “Death we will deal with in the future. Soon we will be completely fearless.”
Sources: Reuters and The Exile Video: Reuters
Add your comment |