Synchronization of Modernity: “rhizome” of Russian contemporary art in global and regional context

The authors address issues of the development of contemporary art in Russian regions. On the one hand, the task is to formulate the philosophical and theoretical foundations of such an analysis. On the other hand, original empirical data are used (based on a number of Russian and European cases). The authors propose an original concept of synchronization of modernity as an attempt to overcome the contradiction between global normalization of cultural processes (“homogenization”) and opposition to it in the trends of “heterogenization” based on locality and originality. Synchronization is viewed as a “rhizome” of connections, relationships and projects in the flows of fluid modernity (Z. Bauman's liquid Modernity). The concept of “synchronization of modernity” is proposed as a philosophical basis for the analysis and practical development of contemporary art in the regions of Russia, in which, in particular, it is supposed to resolve the contradiction by homogenization (or global normalization) and heterogenization in the dynamic situation of “liquid Modernity” (Bauman) and cultural hybridization, which involves not only taking into account the conditions of deterritorialization, but also various forms of actualizing the local / regional context. These are the conditions and limitations for the formation of a “rhizome” (in the sense of Deleuze and Guattari) of contemporary art in Russia. The initial assumptions of the concept of synchronization of modernity are applied to the analysis of the current historical and cultural situation, the development of contemporary art in the regions of Russia, where this “rhizome” grows in a clash between the translation of the global international context (prestigious exhibitions, institutions, curators, auctions) and the search for distinctive regional (local) grounds. It is also shown that in the current empirical and practical context, the synchronization of modernity is implemented in several approaches: 1) “local identity”, 2) global normalization (“colonization”), 3) network “stitching of territories”, 4) chaotic search / open initiative.

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