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Rivals: Conceptual art (Part 2)
Promptography as a school of ideas.
Vitaly Komar and the group “+-,”
Vitaly Komar was the legendary co-founder of Socart (Соцарт), a postmodern art movement at the eve of the Soviet collapse in the 1970s. Even then, he scrutinized the Soviet system, values, and narratives, and became a prominent part of the famous “Bulldozer Exhibition,” an art show by dissident Soviet artists that was brutally interrupted and canceled by a large police force, including bulldozers and water cannons.
Vitaly Komar regards his creative collaboration with AI and human artists (group “+-,”) as a logical extension of his work with Alik Melamid, Moscow Conceptualists, Fluxus musician Cherlot Mourman, Andy Warhol, and Renee the elephant, among others. He draws inspiration and creativity from his collaborations with humans, machines, and animals — continuously examining our reality. In the artwork above, he places the Guggenheim Museum within an Arcadian and Post-Apocalyptic landscape. I am certain that somewhere in that realm, the phrase “Et in Arcadia ego” is inscribed. It serves as a merciless commentary on our contemporary situation madness.
