Boris Mikhailov.

“This series of photos is a cycle called "Case History", that I might equally call the "clinical file of a disease". It took shape round 1997-1998. A big city, such as Harkov, offered me a great deal of raw material. And I did not miss it, I did not ignore it.”

The Aesthetic of Decadence

(the Art of Miron Zownir).

A bleak reality in the nefarious corners of New York, Moscow and Berlin, is Miron Zownir’s testimony of a world in which the given norms of society are subverted, and the elements of carnival overflows into real life, rawness populated by prostitutes, homeless, transsexuals and freaks he met in the degenerated realities of every day seam to celebrate an eternal fête des fous¹⁸. There are some strong similarities with the work of Diane Arbus, in the choice of atypical subject. It’s interesting to make a comparison between these photographers and Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of Grotesque¹⁹, (especially the ones portrayed by Zownir) in use of costume and the caricature of gestures, a tragic-comic aspect of reality. During carnival festivities everyone wears a mask to blend with the crowd, unless they want to show their real identity and walk around no wearing one. Is this what happens in real life? Do we have to wear masks to blend in?

Zownir brought the images of decadent close to man, gave them a form and established a link through the body and bodily life; Bakhtin has argued the decadence and grotesque bodily life, such as eating, drinking, copulating, and defecating, Mary Russo writes: "The images of the grotesque body are precisely those which are abjected from the bodily canons of classical aesthetics." ²⁰

Bakhtin saw Carnival as synonymous to transgression and as an occasion in which political, legal and ideological authority of both church and state are inverted which we can clearly see in Zownir’s work. There is a clear inversion of universal values that the photographer has captured in these moments in time; the power of an unconscious self-narrative is visible in every single subject which seams triumphant in its freedom, liberated from boundaries of fashion, culture, logic and social class. Diane Arbus and Minor Zownir gave us the possibility to forget about social borders or pigeonholing them in a photography genre, we can feel completely naïve in our judgment and opinion, and forget about the social constructs that further increase the limitation of our capacity as individuals in the society.

Minor Zownir has portrayed unpopular people who showed an easy openness of  “hyper-realistic” human condition; his work testimonies the radical sexual revolution that was happening in the seventies, is a documentary of the sexual freedom just before the AIDS epidemic shockingly started to expand in homosexual communities, and of another shocking truths of the period like the Neo-Nazi “white-power” groups that invaded the streets and carried on with their own idea of radicalism; they caused savage of transsexuals and prostitutes. He was part of that reality populated by ill prostitutes, detriment homeless and abused transsexuals, and an atmosphere of a permanent intoxication. Living in the lower East area of New York Zownir made connections with several underground clubs, where he was allowed to take photographs, to meet performers, artists and other subjects for his work. Zownir created a “no-limits” photography which slowly became the assertion of his own “intoxication” since he could not avoid to get involved with the delirium of that excess. The work of Zownir has an exceptional relation to the other subjects of this study; for example it is comparable to Diane Arbus for the authenticity and the personal involvement with the subject (see chapter two for further explanation), and for the accent that they both have given to social diversity. Unambiguous similarities are also notable with James Ensor’s theme of “the masquerade” even though in a very different way, considering that the people in these photographs have metaphorically “taken off their mask”, to show a vivid image of their authenticity. In 1995 Zownir went to Moscow, Russia's capital and fundamental economic and business centre. Following the end of the Soviet Union, Russia's human rights records were very poor and although the government has recognized the legitimacy of international human rights laws just recently, the respect of these rights are very still substandard.

This Zownir’s most poignant work in which the reality has shifted, from the social results of the American consumerism to the aftermath of the Russian abject poverty. Moskau is the image of insanity, anger, isolation and poverty, part Theatre of Cruelty, part Grand Guignol, is Zownir’s most poignant work; shifted from the photographs of the American life of the “Outsiders” to the aftermath of Russian political Abjection²¹.

18. Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and his World. pp.7 (Trans. Helene Iswolsky. Bloomington: Indiana

University Press, 1984).

19. Bakhtin

20. Mary Russo, The Female Grotesque: Risk, Excess, and Modernity (New York: Routledge,   

      1995), page 8.

21. Julia Kristeva, Powers OF Horror: An Essay on Abjection. p.206

(images from http://www.mironzownir.com,  http://diane-arbus-photography.com/) 

"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know." 
Diane Arbus 

David Lynch

Diving Within

In today’s world of fear and uncertainty, every child should have one class period a day to dive within himself and experience the field of silence—bliss—the enormous reservoir of energy and intelligence that is deep within all of us. This is the way to save the coming generation.

I have been “diving within” through the Transcendental Meditation technique for over 30 years. It has changed my life, my world. I am not alone. Millions of other people of all ages, religions, and walks of life practice the technique and enjoy incredible benefits.

Someday, hopefully very soon, “diving within” as a preparation for learning and as a tool for developing the creative potential of the mind will be a standard part of every school’s curriculum. The stresses of today’s world are taking an enormous toll on our children right now. There are hundreds of schools, with thousands of students, who are eager to relieve this stress and bring out the full potential of every student by providing this Consciousness-Based education today.

Our Foundation was established to ensure that any child in America who wants to learn and practice the Transcendental Meditation program can do so. The TM program is the most thoroughly researched and widely practiced program in the world for developing the full creative potential of the brain and mind, improving health, reducing stress, and improving academic outcomes. We provide scholarships for students to learn the technique and to receive the complete follow-up program of instruction throughout their student years to ensure they receive the maximum benefits. We also provide scholarships for students who want to attend the growing number of highly successful schools, colleges, and universities founded on this Consciousness-Based approach to education.

I have had the pleasure of meeting many students who are “diving within” and experiencing Consciousness-Based education. These students are all unique individuals, very much themselves. They are amazing, self-sufficient, wide-awake, energetic, blissful, creative, powerfully intelligent and peaceful human beings. Meeting these students, for me, was the proof that Consciousness-Based education is a profoundly good thing for our schools and for our world.

Research and experience document the profound benefits to society as a whole when our children dive within. Individual peace is the unit of world peace. By offering Consciousness-Based education to the coming generation, we can promote a strong foundation for a healthy, harmonious, and peaceful world. For this, the Foundation also supports the establishment of Universities of World Peace that will train the coming generation in a new profession: that of professional peacemaker.

Thank you very much for your interest. And please remember that Consciousness-Based education is not a luxury. For our children who are growing up in a stressful, often frightening, crisis-ridden world, it is a necessity.

ANXIETY OF LOVE

Anxiety of love

Anxiety of Love

In this Artwork I've decided to represent...

http://www.wccmtexas.org/cmsFiles/Files/Teresa%20COMPLETE%20WCCM%20Presentation%202007.pdf

Idols/Ordures: Inter-repulsion in Documents’ big toes Olivier Chow

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