| "Russian Touch". Who Are We |  |
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We invite all organisations, units, societies and everyone who is interested in mutual cooperation with "Russian Touch"
Artistic Union of “Russian Touch”: Russian young musicians, artists, journalists, film makers, gallerists. - Exhibitions, concerts, art shows, festivals based on the idea of art synthesis. - Research work in music, visual arts, cultural history, Russian province history. - Bells ensemble performing the Orthodox Bells Chimes. - The Russian province cultural life revival. Russian Touch presents: - Art exhibitions: "Russian province" "Young Russian painters" "Tradition and avant-garde" - Concert programmes: “Russian bells and choirs” “Russian Gospels” “Russian epic and historical songs” “Russian and foreign guitar music” Lectures of musicians and artists Contacts : UK, Devon - 07875711787 Liubov Jeffs Russia, Moscow - (495)9506913 Mikhail Priorov ************************************************************************** The intensions of the members of “Russian Touch” have always been to follow and to understand Art issues and developments. First of all for ourselves, but also that we may give the public the greater understanding of Russian culture. We have achieved this by trying humbly to explain to ourselves and others the contemporary problems and changes within society and the roles of artists who are surrounded by an increasingly more powerful market related economy. “Russian Touch” was initially conceived to approach a culture which, if the expectations of East-West Dialogue are realized, will be a leading figure in the XXI century, both in Europe and in USA. Although right now there is a great deal of skepticism in many Western intellectual circles, we are convinced that this strong wave of new ideas, a breath of fresh air for our tired culture will come precisely from Russia, from the former USSR, but also from Eastern Europe. We are convinced that the end of this century will be characterized by the coming of age of “peripheral” cultures and ethnic groups. We are increasingly aware that cultural internationalism has had its day. We will witness interesting comparisons between the “Soviet” intellectual who has emerged from isolation culturally unscathed and with a great deal of vitality and the European intellectual who is a sophisticated, subtle sophist but culturally exhausted. We have however the feeling that Soviet Culture federation is a bit presumptuously imbedded in its own point of view and is reluctant to compare itself to the West. We are unsure if this is a kind of intellectual superiority complex or a part of the timidity and pride which results from the tests of character experienced in the rather buried alive life Russian artists have led. Perhaps, this impression stems from the isolation in which our culture has been living along with its lack of any real, alternative comparison with the West. On the other hand one would really need to know which elements of Western culture have truly penetrated into Russia over the years in order to understand certain intriguing parallels with Western art. We hope that in future we will continue to know more about Soviet/Russian culture and understand it better. We are also very curious to see what’s going on outside Moscow and Petersburg to see how these decentralized cultures have developed. If the future belongs to peripheral or alternate cultures and that the important cities could be culturally at a standstill. We’d like to see what happens in the provincial Russia. Perhaps this idea could be discussed during “Russian Touch” international presentation as it’s a very positive sign that the West thinks in terms of these cultures: the problem becomes entering into contact with them. The presentation may be the “Trojan Horse” which allows us to do this. We would be interested in receiving letters or other material from people who work in Arts. Maybe this type of contact will surprise us? Even in these initial years of “perestroika” some Russian artists have already arrived in the West and met with considerable commercial success, which means that something inside them must have changed. Now it is understood that in the West Art and economics are often traveling companions and that economics will always be a constant and influential factor in Art. And this is the reality which one must come to deal with. Even in the West however it’s not that economic are artistic ultimate purpose otherwise this would be the end of Art, it had happened to many artists who have disappeared from the scene because of the market. These artists gave in too much, and the market tore them apart. Today they live like wealthy Arab sheiks but remain outside of any real cultural debate. One must know how to defend one’s work from the extremes of commercialization. Unfortunately, having been misinformed about the Western world, some of Russian artists end up in exclusively commercially-oriented galleries which haven’t got a minimum of intellectual ambition. To defend oneself is not easy, we know, but our colleagues should realize that in these early years their work will be the subject of substantial intellectual and economic speculation. We wish them the intelligence to be able to distinguish and choose. We also wish the same to ourselves and the entire “Russian Touch”. 01.10.2006 Mikhail Priorov Liubov Kukhlevskaya-Jeffs |
