Andrei Monastyrski

The Golden Lines

The series The Golden Lines was started in 1996 and consists of photographs with “spiritual-transport” lines. While they resemble subway maps or star clusters, the lines mostly refer to ancient Chinese diagrams of Dao and inner alchemy. Both of the images are of undisclosed actions performed by Collective Actions on the field in Kyevy Gorky. Collective Actions Group initially composed of four members, Andrei Monastyrsky, Lev Rubinstein, Nikita Alekseev, and Georgii Kizevalter and was formed in 1976 in Moscow. By 1979 the group grew to seven, and has expanded since. It was one of the more prominent performance groups of the late Soviet era, Collective Action has conducted over 125 actions in the rural surroundings of Moscow. The group is still active today, meeting several times per year. Each action has been rigorously choreographed, staged, and documented. Each time, a selected audience was invited by telephone, and given a time and place to meet. Often the destination would be a field outside of Moscow. Rather than positioning the field as a natural site or an abandonment of the Soviet urban structure, for Collective Actions the field was a space with no affiliation. This neutral, empty place proved ideal for investigating social dynamics. Often seen as a foundation of Moscow Conceptualism, Collective Action meticulously documented the numerous mysterious rituals over the years, and edited them into a series of texts called Trips out of Town. Central to the group is artist, theorist, and poet Andrei Monastyrski. His performances, phenomenological objects and mysterious texts have defined a melancholic, scrutinized side of Moscow Conceptualism. A philosopher in essence, Monastyrsky speaks in gestures that analyze behaviors, causes and effects. His method is alchemical and his extensive practice is strategic and precise.