HISTORY OF RUSSIAN ART

The course is scheduled among the core educational activities for art-historical disciplines in the degree course in Economics and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities.
The main course objective is to provide students with the basic elements to analyze the transition from socialist realism to unofficial art in the USSR. The course, which chronologically will go from the thaw to the nineties, will be focusing on the beginning and development of the culture of non-conformist art in Soviet Russia starting from the death of Stalin until the fall of the Soviet Union. The birth of underground culture and the trends connected to it will be analyzed, in particular Moscow conceptualism, sots-art, and subsequent phenomena. In particular, the beginning of the previously non-existent art market, and the peculiar phenomenon of collecting in the USSR will be analyzed.
To bring students closer to a better understanding of the discipline, videos and other scholars' interventions will be shown.
It is possible that the frontal lessons will be integrated with visits to exhibitions.
The materials projected in class will be available on the Moodle e-learning platform of the University together with further insight material.

The main objective of this course is to provide students with the basic elements to focus on the aesthetics of underground culture and subsequent trends such as conceptualism and sots-art up to the phenomena of the nineties.
Knowledge: the stages of unofficial art in the USSR will be treated according to a chronological criterion, starting from the 1950s until the collapse of the system. The theme of the birth of the art market and related collections will also be discussed.
Communicative skills: each student will be able to formulate the arguments of the course in a clear and reasoned way.
Critical skills: students will be able to critically evaluate the historical evolution of Russian art of the period in question, as well as to recognize works by Russian artists of different genres, to place them correctly in the period in question, also managing to describe their features and peculiar characteristics.
Results: the learning outcomes will be assessed by an exam.

Basic knowledge of the main stages of the development of Russian art is adisable but not compulsory.

The course will provide a chronological overview that from late Stalinism leads to the birth of unofficial art in the USSR, with particular attention to its artists and the most representative works.
- the offshoots of socialist realism: severe style and the definition of dissent and dissidence.
- the beginning and history of unofficial art with groups and relevant figures and events.
- the birth and development of the art market: the Sotheby's 1988 auction.
- collecting in the USSR.
- Moscow conceptualism.
- sots-art.
- minimalism and the birth of performance.
- the art of perestroika.
- the collapse of the Soviet Union and its artistic implications.

Notes from the lessons
Material from the e-learning platform Moodle including the following pdfs of essays and books:
Burini S. Grisha Bruskin. Lessico fondamentale, Milano, Mimesis, 2019.
Barbieri G., Burini S. (a cura di), Russie! Memoria/Mistificazione/Immaginario. Arte russa del '900 dalle collezioni Morgante e Sandretti, catalogo della mostra, Vicenza, Terra Ferma, 2010.
Barbieri G., Bertele M., Burini S. (a cura di), Sogno Realtà. Viktor Popkov 1932-1974, Crocetta del Montello (TV), Terra Ferma, 2014.
Burini S., Realismo socialista e arti figurative.Propaganda e costruzione del mito, "Esamizdat", 2005 (III) 2-3, pp. 65-85.
Burini S., Il fecondissimo nulla: alcuni esempi di semiotica dello zero nel concettualismo russo, Rivista ANNALI DI CA' FOSCARI, volume XLVII,2, 2008, pp. 191-223.
Burini S., Giuseppe Barbieri (a cura di), Gely Korzhev. Back to Venice, Crocetta del Montello (TV), Grafiche Antiga, 2019.

Reference and additional texts for non-attending students
Andreeva E., Sots Arts, Roseville East, Craftsman House, 1995.
Erofeev A., Non-official Art, Roseville East, Craftsman House,1995.
Ripa di Meana C., L'ordine di Mosca: fermate la Biennale del dissenso, Roma, Liberal, 2007.
Tamruchi N., Moscow Conceptualism, Roseville East, Craftsman House, 1995.
Tupicyn M., Arte Sovietica Contemporanea, Milano, Politi, 1989.

NON-ATTENDING students may choose one of these books too
B. Groys, History becomes form, Cambridge, The MIT press, 2010.
M.Cullerne Brown, Contemporary Russian art, London, Phaidon Press Inc, 1994.

The learning outcomes will be assessed by a written exam of three hours.
The exam consists of three open questions and the identification of three artworks, selected among the slides projected during the lessons. One incomplete answer will result in a fail grade.
The use of books, notes, and electronic media is not allowed during the test.
Non-attending students may sit the exam based on the bibliographical integrations enlisted in the dedicated section.

The course will be held in blended mode, 15 hours will be lectures on line and 15 using the moodle platform.
Lectures with projected images from PowerPoint presentations.
In order to bring the students closer to the topics, the seminar includes screenings including footage of the time and lessons held by guest scholars.
It is possible that the lectures will be integrated with visits to exhibitions.
The material shown during the lessons will be available on the University's e-learning platform Moodle together with additional bibliographical material.

Italian

The slides projected in class are available in the Moodle section of the Professor's website, just like pdf essays and articles.
If you can't attend the course, you may sit the exam as non-attending students following the bibliographical integrations enlisted in the dedicated section.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development