The Golden age of the Russian Avant Garde
BY SASKIA BODDEKE & PETER GREENAWAY

This multiscreen installation in the Manege - 5000 square metres - in Moscow is about the rise and fall of the Russian avant-garde. The period between the fall of the Tsar and before Stalin got to power was a vibrant period of creation in all art disciplines. Black Square by Kazimir Malevich — perhaps the most famous work of Russian avant-garde — formed the basis and the central metaphor of the exposition. 11 personages told the story of this interesting era. The audience was able to construct their own film by walking around and looking at one of the 12 main screen or 6 sidescreens showing different stories. The 12 screens broadcast a 15-minute presentation, with scenes blending actors with images from more than 400 avant-garde works, photographs and film reels.

The combination of 12 young Russian actors, elements of Second Life, cinema, painting, animation and 3D technology made this exhibition a real step into the spirit of avant garde. Combining cinema and painting, animation and 3D technology helps to create a unified atmospheric work, involving a viewer into the space of Russian avant-garde.

Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway have been awarded with the TANR Price - the annual award of The Art Newspaper Russia - for best exhibition 2015.


The world premiere took place in Moscow in April 2014. Moscow, 15 April 2014 to 18 May 2014

Credits

Concept, Design & Direction Film
Saskia Boddeke

Libretto
Peter Greenaway

Production
Annette Mosk

Music
Dionys Breukers

Video Editing
Elmer Leupen
Irma de Vries

Sound design
Danny Weijermans

Costume Design & Picture research
Willemien Ruys

Light Design
Jan Boiten

Make-up and hair design
Bart Brom

Artistic team
Saskia Boddeke & Peter Greenaway - Artistic concept and direction
Annette Mosk - Production management
Elmer Leupen - Edit central screens
Irma de Vries - Edit side screens
Dionys Breukers - Music compositions
Ruzbeh Babol - Director of photography
Willemien Ruys - Costume design
Bart Brom - Make up and hair design
Jan Boiten- Light design
Danny Weyermans- Sound design

Animators
Saskia Boddeke (SL: Rose Borchovski)- Second life artistic direction and filming
Brynley Longman(SL: Bryn Oh) -Second life design sim
Elif Ayiter ( SL: Alpha Auer)- Second life design and animation
SL: Caer Balogh - Second life scripter
SL: Eupalinos - Second life design and animation
Jane Leffler (SL: Jo Ellsmere)- Second life Choreography and puppet-master
SL: Nessuno Myoo - Second life design
SL: soror Nishi - Second life design
Nick van Loo - Animations Black square

Actors
Hendrik Aerts - Wassily Kandinsky
Alisa Dmitrieva - Vera Ermolaeva
Oleg Dulenin - Vsevolod Meyerhold
Anastasiya Klyueva - Lyubov Popova
Oleg Knysh - Pavel Filonov
Alexander Pacevich - Paveljob Filonov
Oleg Philipchik - Kazimir Malevich
Pavel Popov - Vladimir Mayakovsky
Anna Shepeleva - Lilya Brik
Anton Shurtsov - Sergej Eisenstein
Vsevolod Yashkin - Lazar Lissitzky
Vladimir Tatlin

Filmcrew
Ruzbeh Babol -Director of photography
Boris Apituley -Floor manager
Dariya Zhenikhova - Assistant to director
Floris vd Lee - Camera operator
Django de Groot - Focus puller
Edwin Bakker - Gaffer
Rudger Faber - Best boy
Jimmy van Veen - Light technician
Gaby de Haan - Sound technician
Stefan Meutstege - Boom operator
Danny Weijermans - Sound registration poems
Peter van Vugt - Grip
Irma de Vries - Video assistant

Art department
Willemien Ruys - Costume design
Bart Brom - Make-up design
Anneleen Koppert - Prop master
Reinier van Brummelen - 3D photography
Monique Gajadhar - 1st Costume assistant
Martine Bastings - 2nd Costume assistant
Anemoon Marree - Stagier costumes
Tony Verhagen - Make-up assistant
Screenservice - Special effects

Production
Annette Mosk - Production manager
Bernadette Lieffering - Translation English-French
Amir Welobekov - Actor’s accompanist
Rene 't Hart - Runner, studio assistant
Sanne Back, salie - Catering