The Power of Art

The only period in history when art governed art was the few years following the 1917 Revolution. During these few years, the entire artistic heritage of the Russian Empire, Europe's richest museums and collections, academies, theaters, and institutions fell into the hands of avant-garde artists. But they were against art; they wanted to dismantle art, burn down museums, and close academies. So, what did they do when they seized power over art? How did they govern art? How did they connect with the revolution and communism?

First and foremost, they transformed art into an inquiry into its very existence. They turned it into a politics of knowledge and power. By integrating it with life, they lived artistic practice as a revolutionary act. They completely conceptualized art by discovering the "zero point" of form and object; they invented abstraction. They organized museums as open workshops, forums, and laboratories for everyone. By transforming the entire city into an installation and a theater stage, they carnivalized the life of art. They initiated art internationals...

The experiences during art's brief period of power should be considered a prophecy of the avant-garde. Whatever is critical and confrontational in 20th-century art can be traced back to the Russian avant-garde. This is true not only for art but also for architecture, design, theater, and cinema. It also applies to aesthetics. "Revolutionary art" still presents an endless horizon before us, not only concerning the ontology and praxis of art but also its governance, education, museology, and curatorship.