The Gerlovins

4890

Collective Farm No. 1

Kolkhoz

New York / Moscow, 1981

298 x 230 mm.  66 pages

Edition: 150

Two years after their arrival in New York Rimma and Valeri Gerlovins, together with Bakhchanyan published the first issue of Collective Farm. Kolkhoz, as it was called, contained the latest developments of Moscow samizdat art, not only of artists emigrated to New York, but also of artists who remained in the Soviet Union, such as Makarevich, Alekseev, Kizevalter, Monastyrski and others. Calling their art ‘avant-garbage’, Kolkhoz artists opposed the domination of one style or direction in art over other creative groups as stated in the introduction to the collection. The Kolkhoz collection, containing xeroxed colour-paper, art-objects and drawings is held together by a plain file-folder. Kolkhoz was followed by Letters to the USSR (1982), Post-office Dinner (1982) and Wonderkids (1983), examples of international mail-art. In the envelopes bound together by a string, examples can be found of works by artists from different European and American countries. The last two issues, also consisting of bundled envelopes, contain different materials. Issue no. 6 (1986)  Stalin test in which 14 participants give their picture of Stalin, again was solely produced by Russians. The last published issue, no. 5: 5 Year Plan (1987) with a manifesto by Rimma Gerlovina, combined a typical Russian theme with international mail art.

References:

Bremen 1998, p. 90