The influence of the public sphere on artists’ strategies in performance in the 1990s

Abstract

The article offers an analysis of Russian performance art of the 1990s through the concept of the public sphere introduced by German philosopher Jürgen Habermas. The late Soviet period of performance history in Russia was characterised by the closed status of the events, the preference for suburban spaces, the presence of personal invitations and the calm or quiet character of the artists’ actions. The 1990s saw significant changes. The frequency of performances increased: dozens of events could take place per year. Performances became more visible: they began to be written about in daily newspapers. Artists prefer to behave defiantly and loudly, favouring shocking actions. All this takes place on city streets and squares: in the crowd of passersby, among everyday events. The author proposes to examine the changes in artistic strategies through the components of the concept of the public sphere. The analysis includes the characteristics of action locations, their historical, social and other features, the type of news materials published in newspapers and the specificity of language, as well as the formation of the public necessary for the public sphere. Thus, the article shows that the publicity of the place determines the strategy chosen by the artist.