Komar And Melamid
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Komar and Melamid is a tandem team of
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n-born American conceptualist artists Vitaly Komar (born 1943) and Alexander Melamid (born 1945). In an artists' statement they said that "even if only one of us creates some of the projects and works, we usually sign them together. We are not just an artist, we are a movement." Both artists were born in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, but emigrated to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in 1977 and subsequently to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
in 1978. The pair's co-authorship of works ceased in 2003–2004.


Education

Komar and Melamid attended the
Moscow Art School The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...
from 1958 to 1960, followed by the Stroganov Institute of Art and Design (Illustration dept.), graduating in 1967. They began working together shortly thereafter. After 36 years they separated in 2003.


History

Komar & Melamid's first joint exhibition, ''Retrospectivism,'' was held at the Blue Bird Cafe in Moscow, 1967. The following year, they joined the youth section of the Moscow Union of Artists and began teaching art. In 1972, Komar & Melamid founded a movement they called ''
Sots Art Often referred to as “Soviet Pop Art”, Sots Art or soc art (, short for Socialist Art) originated in the Soviet Union in the early 1970s as a reaction against the official aesthetic doctrine of the state— socialist realism, which was ma ...
,'' a unique version of Soviet
Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
and Conceptual Art that combines the principles of
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
ism and Socialist Realism." In 1974, they were arrested during a performance (in a Moscow apartment) of ''Art Belongs to the People''. Later that year, their ''Double Self-Portrait'' (similar to dual portraits of
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
and
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
) was destroyed by the
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
government, along with works by other nonconformist artists, at what became known as the ''
Bulldozer Exhibition The Bulldozer Exhibition () was an unofficial art exhibition on a vacant lot in the Belyayevo urban forest (Bitsa Park) by Moscow and Leningrad avant-garde artists on 15 September 1974. The exhibition was forcefully broken-up by a large police ...
'' (because bulldozers were used to destroy the artwork, which had been displayed in an open-air setting). In 1976, Komar & Melamid's work became more widely known.
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Ronald Feldman (1938 – December 22, 2022) was an American art dealer and advocate for the arts, especially contemporary performance and conceptual art. Biography Ira Ronald Feldman was born in the Bronx to Irving and Judith (Solon) Feldman on ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, hosted their first international exhibition, but Soviet authorities denied them permission to attend. In 1976, they also made their first attempt at emigrating, but permission was denied. In response, they created their own country, "Trans-State," complete with
passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...
s and a
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
. In 1977, they received permission to join relatives in
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. In 1978, they moved to New York; in the same month, their first museum exhibition opened at the
Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionism, Impressionist paintings, Hudson Riv ...
in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
. Throughout the 1970s, Komar & Melamid also worked in a style they called "Post-Art," pioneering the use of multi-stylistic images, prefiguring the eclectic combination of styles in
post-modernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wor ...
, which became popular in the 1980s. They collaborated on various conceptual projects, ranging from
painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
and
performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...
to installation, public sculpture,
photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
,
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
, and
poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
. In one such performance, they established a corporation, Komar & Melamid, Inc., that had as its purpose "the buying and selling of human souls." They bought several hundred souls, including
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's (who sold it to them for free), which was smuggled into Russia and then sold for 30
roubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...
. Melamid moved to
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
in 1980. He continued to work with Komar in New York. In 1981, their ''Portrait of Hitler'' was slashed by an ex-
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. They did not repair the work, considering the attacker a co-author. Ronald Feldman hosted the exhibition ''Sots Art'' in 1982, which was a commercial and critical success. In 1983, the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
purchased paintings. From 1981 to 1983, they continued to develop Sots Art in the series Nostalgic Socialist Realism, and from 1984 to 1990 they further developed Post-Art in the Diary Series, Anarchistic Synthesis Series, and Bayonne, N.J. Series. Throughout the 1980s, many prominent writers and critics discussed their work, and they were invited to participate in numerous exhibitions. They were the first Russian artists to receive funding from the
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...
. They were also the first Russian artists to be invited to
Documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...
(
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
, then in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, 1987). Komar & Melamid created their first
public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
sculpture in 1986, a bronze bust of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
, which was installed in the
red light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...
of
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
,
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. In 1988, they became US citizens. In 1989, a
monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
about them, written by
Carter Ratcliff Carter Ratcliff (born 1941 in Seattle, Washington) is an American art critic, writer and poet. His books on art include ''John Singer Sargent'' (Abbeville Press, 1982); ''John Singer Sargent'' (Masterpiece Edition) (Abbeville Press, 2023); '' Robe ...
, was published by
Abbeville Press Abbeville Publishing Group is an independent book publishing company specializing in fine art and illustrated books. Based in New York City, Abbeville publishes approximately 40 titles each year and has a catalogue of over 700 titles on art, arch ...
. In the early 1990s, Komar & Melamid created two
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
s for the Holy Rosary Church in
Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
. In 1992, they began the series Monumental Propaganda, in response to the destruction of Socialist Realist monuments in Russia. At Komar & Melamid's invitation, more than 200 Russian and Western artists created projects for the preservation of monuments. Prolific press coverage of the project forestalled destruction of monuments in Russia. From 1994 to 1997, the artists worked on the series People's Choice, whereby they created the "most wanted" and "least wanted" paintings of various countries based on the results of surveys conducted by professional polling companies. The book, ''Painting by Numbers: Komar & Melamid's Scientific Guide to Art'', published in 1997, explains the statistical underpinnings of the polling process and provides the results of each country's preferences. Komar & Melamid used the same process in 1996–1997 in a collaboration with composer
Dave Soldier David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interact ...
to create '' The People's Choice Music'', consisting of " The Most Wanted Song" (a love song with low male and female vocals, of moderate duration, pitch, and tempo) and "
The Most Unwanted Song ''The People's Choice Music'' is an extended play by artists Komar and Melamid and composer David Sulzer, Dave Soldier, released in 1997. The EP comprises two songs, "The Most Wanted Song" and "The Most Unwanted Song". The former, a Pop music, ...
" (in part: an operatic soprano raps over cowboy music featuring least-wanted instruments bagpipes and tuba while children sing about holidays and advertise for
Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
). In 1998, '' Naked Revolution'', an opera about
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
,
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
and
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...
, was created by Komar & Melamid with
Dave Soldier David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interact ...
and performed at the
Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...
,
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, and The Kitchen, New York. It became part of the exhibition ''American Dreams'', along with a series of eight paintings, forty collages, and the artists' collection of George Washington memorabilia. In 1998, the artists also went to
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
to teach elephants to paint, resulting in the book, ''When Elephants Paint: The Quest of Two Russian Artists to Save the Elephants of Thailand''. In 2000,
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...
auction house held the first-ever auction of elephant paintings. The revenue generated supported the elephants and their keepers. In 2001, Komar & Melamid began work on their last major project together, Symbols of the Big Bang, first exhibited at the
Yeshiva University Museum The Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University. Along with the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, New York, and the YIVO Institute for Jew ...
,
Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City, namely the American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva Univ ...
, New York. Using abstract symbols, the artists explored their spirituality and the connection between
mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...
and
science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
. In 2003, they began to turn some of the symbols into
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
, which Russian authorities refused to exhibit during the Moscow portion of the exhibition, '' Berlin-Moscow/Moscow-Berlin'' (2004). Komar & Melamid ceased collaborating in 2003. In 2023, The group reunited for a retrospective at the
Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum (known popularly as the Zimmerli Art Museum) is located on the Voorhees Mall of the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The museum houses more than 60,000 works, including Russian and ...


Style

They are perhaps best known as the founders of SotsArt (СоцАрт), a form of Soviet Nonconformist Art that combined elements of Socialist Realism and Western Pop Art in a conceptual framework that also references Dadaism. Komar and Melamid often create many works within a common theme. Their prolific collaboration precludes from mentioning all of their projects, however, some of their best known series and projects are: Sots Art series (1972–1973), Post-Art series (1973), Ancestral Portraits series (1980), Nostalgic Socialist Realism series (1982–1983), Diary series (1984–1986), Anarchistic Synthesism series (1985–1986), Most-Wanted series (1993–1997), Monumental Propaganda (1994), Elephant Project (1995–2000), American Dreams (1994–1999).


People's Choice

Komar and Melamid's People's Choice series, 1994–1997, consisted of the "most wanted" and "most unwanted" paintings of 11 countries, as well as two songs in the same vein. The artists commissioned polling companies in the 11 countries—including the United States, Russia, China, France, and Kenya—to conduct scientific polls to discover what they want to see in art. The use of polls was meant to mimic the American democratic process. Komar said, "Our interpretation of polls is our collaboration with various people of the world. It is a collaboration with icnew dictator—Majority." The process was also meant to change the artists role as a leader. Komar and Melamid believe that the broad public is an adequate judge of art, contrary to the historical precedence, much in the same way that the broad public in America is entrusted with electing the President. It is a new type of leader, one that asks questions, instead of a dictator. Melamid said, "Picasso mimicked Stalin, so we try to mimic Clinton." Komar has said he isn't so concerned that people actually enjoy the work, so long as it provokes thoughts of free will versus predetermination. To tie that concept into their earlier work, Komar said, "In our early work, we arrived at hedefinition of freedom that entailed being free from individual cliches, being free to change intonations and styles. Individuality lost its stability and its uniqueness. Now we are searching for a new freedom. We have been traveling to different countries, engaging in dull negotiations with representatives of polling companies, raising money for further polls, receiving more of less hesame results, and painting more or less hesame blue landscapes. Looking for freedom, we found slavery."Wypijewski, JoAnn, ed. ''Painting by Numbers: Komar and Melamid's Scientific Guide to Art'', New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997. A musical version of The People's Choice was produced with composer
Dave Soldier David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interact ...
resulting in The Most Wanted Song and
The Most Unwanted Song ''The People's Choice Music'' is an extended play by artists Komar and Melamid and composer David Sulzer, Dave Soldier, released in 1997. The EP comprises two songs, "The Most Wanted Song" and "The Most Unwanted Song". The former, a Pop music, ...
.


References


Sources

* Ratcliff, Carter. ''Komar and Melamid'', New York: Abbeville Press, 1988. * Wypijewski, JoAnn, ed. ''Painting by Numbers: Komar and Melamid's Scientific Guide to Art'', New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997. * Komar and Melamid. ''When Elephants Paint: The Quest of Two Russian Artists to Save the Elephants of Thailand'', New York: HarperCollins, 2000. * Nathanson, Melvyn, ed. ''Komar/Melamid: Two Soviet Dissident Artists'', Southern Illinois University Press, 1979. * ''Komar and Melamid'' The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, exhibition catalogue, 1985. * Weiss, Evelyn. ''Komar & Melamid: The Most Wanted and the Most Unwanted Painting'', Museum Ludwig Koln, Ostfildern: Cantz, 1997. * "Komar and Melamid" ''The Penguin Concise Dictionary of Art History''Nancy Frazier (ed.) Penguin Reference, New York 2000 . * "Komar and Melamid" ''Art since the 40s'' by Jonathan Fineberg * "Komar und Melamid" ''Bildende Kunst im 20 Jahrhundert'' Edward Lucie-Smith (ed.) Könemann in der Tandem Verlags-Gmbh 2002, . * "Komar and Melamid (1945– )" ''Who's Who in American Art'' 23rd edition, 1999–2000. Marquis, New Providence, NJ; * "Komar and Melamid" ''Contemporary Artists'' Fifth edition. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergastm (eds.) St. James Press, Detroit, 2002. * "Komar and Melamid" ''The Prestel Dictionary of Art and Artists in the 20th Century'' Prestel Verlag, New York, 2000. * "Komar and Melamid" ''World Artists, 1950–1980'' Claude Marks (ed.) H.W. Wilson Co., New York, 1984. * "Komar and Melamid" ''A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art'' Ian Chilvers (ed.) Oxford University Press, New York 1998 .


External links


Komar and Melamid Chronology and Images from 1972 to 2003
*Walker, John
"Komar & Melamid"
''Glossary of Art, Architecture & Design since 1945'', 3rd. ed.
The Most Wanted Paintings ''on the web''
* {{authority control Russian contemporary artists Soviet nonconformist art American contemporary artists Postmodern artists Melamid, Alexander Komar, Vitaly Jewish American artists Living people Art duos Artists from Moscow Artists from New York City Soviet emigrants to the United States Russian Jews American people of Russian-Jewish descent 21st-century American Jews Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry alumni