Fitting that the Tate Modern has just ended a grand showing of Rodchenko and Popova's Constructivist acheivements eighty to ninety years ago at the same time that London gets a new gallery from the OrelArt group dedicated to Russian art. OrelArt Gallery, London, opens with a showing of Russia's representative for the Venice Biennial, Andrei Molodkin's, 'Liquid Modernity (Grid and Greed)'. First 'Das Kapital' the famous Marx manifesto title is referenced and moulded out of transparent acrylic which is then filled electronically with Russian crude oil. Accompanying and connected to this is a replica which 'productively then' projects neon light.Then there are his 'grid' works which pay clear linear reference to the Constructivists also in transparent acrylic, one appears to be seeping/'bleeding' oil, the other connected to the former within a system of compressors and pipes again projects neon light.
Molodkin's work although eighty to ninety years on from the Constructivists is firmly cemented in their practice.The Constructivists, 'intended to organise their material according to the three principles of tektonika ('tectonics', or the functionally, socially and politically appropriate use of industrial material), konstruksitya ('construction', or the organisation of this material for a given purpose) and faktura ('texture', or the conscious handling and manipulation of the chosen material).1 Molodkin's tektonika is found in the use of acrylic (an industrial material?) however the 'tectonics' are fake/only representative of the reality of 'systems' i.e.oil and functionally at present oil can not be pumped in acrylic. The 'construction' has taken place for the purpose of 'socio-political' reasons albeit it message rather than function like that of Rodchenko, Tatlin and Popova say. As far as faktura it seems quite hard to say, however you can say like the Constructivists he has gone to a lot of trouble manipulating acrylic and it does result in the functioning of a system of productivity, he like them is a skilled draftsman. The Constructivists ideology, 'of objectivity by artists who sought to render their practice compatible with what they called the 'social command' rather than with what they saw as the compromised bourgeouis conception of 'inner necessity' and subjective intuition. This process became known as 'Art into Production' or 'Productivism''.2 Molodkin's work parallels his nations predecessors in it's rejection of subjectivity and emotion.In it's 'social functioning' or 'social command'3 to the public.In it's roots playing back to Communism versus Capitalism.It's use of language in combination with material to promote.He also uses acrylic linear structures on the wall which resemble test-tubes (filled with crude oil and blood) and provide a link to the past titled Constructivist 'laboratory works'.
However where it is set into context is in it's conceptual framework together with you could say minimalist referencing and the use of common 'art-based materials' such as acrylic and a conceptual title. Molodkin is hoping to influence thoughts rather than create social function as in the past. However really this is what such 'laboratory works' as Konstantin Medunetskii's, 'Spatial Construction', 1920 did, they were, 'aesthetic explorations that might eventually contribute to the evolution of more utilitarian designs'.4 It's very unlikely Molodkin's work will evolutionise into more utilitarian designs however he draws his Russian past and makes us realise how valuable and relevant it's message is still today with Iraq versus America oil scandals as such.Also the concept of a liquid modernity is very present with our global interconnectivity increasing all the time with new technological advancements and access. Mondrian's,' Broadway Boogie-Woogie' 1942-3. work keeps coming to my mind in terms of his representation of modernity however Molodkin takes it one step further into own new technical age through the use of technological or productive art.
Will be interesting to see his Venice piece as its said he is believed to be injecting, 'Winged Victory of Samothrace' with crude oil and blood.
1 Art of the Avant-Gardes, Edwards S. and Wood P., New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2004, pg. 361
2 The Challenge of the Avant-Garde, Wood, P., New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1999, pg. 245
3 The Challenge of the Avant-Garde, Wood, P., New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1999, pg. 245
4 Art of the Avant-Gardes, Edwards S. and Wood P., New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2004, pg. 366
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