Nikolai Polissky greeted the guests in the middle of an immense green field, where his new art object "Universal Mind" was presented.
Even from a distance, one could estimate the scale of the building: 42 wooden columns, located in two rows on either side of the alley leading to the central sculpture, were visible from the driveway. As they zoomed in further, attention focused on their soaring shape and intricate scaly structure. As Nikolai Polissky explained, they simultaneously act as receivers and missiles, i.e. they can capture universal information, or they can distribute it by going into outer space. But the columns act here only as an additional ensemble element, anticipating the culmination completion in the form of the "Universal Mind" itself.
According to the official website of the event, the total area of the installation covers an area of about one hectare. The sculptural embodiment of the hemispheres of the mechanical "brain" is set on a low pedestal. All sorts of objects of the artist of different times are scattered around, including fragments of the famous "Large Hadron Collider", presented four years ago in Luxembourg. The result was something like an open-air museum space.
The author and his permanent team have been working on the implementation of Nikola-Lenivetsky artificial intelligence for about 3 years. According to Polissky, the result was largely the result of improvisation: the "brain" itself determined the vector of development, although it did not deviate from the algorithm set at the beginning. Nothing here could be accidental - that's why he is intellect, albeit wooden. And even the composition of the Artel "Nikola-Lenivetsky Crafts", which worked on the construction of the "brain", turned out to be quite symbolic - for example, one of the oldest associates of Polissky and the foreman of the current construction site bears the name Mozgunov.
Talking about the figurative component of the project, Nikolai Polissky compared his sculpture with a curly antique head. Indeed, the dense interlacing of wooden rings resembles Apollo's curls even more than the convolutions of the brain.
As for the technical side of the project, here improvisation gave way to mathematical precision. Despite the frightening weight of the overhanging structure - and this is about 20 tons - the structure soothes with its fundamental nature and reliability. Multiple intersecting rings are tightly interconnected with metal fasteners and at the same time support each other.
The total length of timber structures, according to the author, is about 50 km. A metal frame is hidden inside the "convolutions", as well as electrical wiring that provides fantastic night illumination.
As it turned out, the sculpture also has an internal space. A surprisingly comfortable, meditative atmosphere is created under the curly hat. There is always a shadow and a light breeze. On a sunny day, the unevenly illuminated edges of the brain "convolutions" impart additional volume, texture and depth to the structure. The artist shared with the audience his intention in the future to revet some of the edges with reflective mirror panels to enhance the visual effect.
After a detailed acquaintance with the "Universal Reason" Nikolai Polissky led the guests through the forest to the installation "Settlement" - the place of settlement of the ancient Balts. There, the journalists were shown a small musical performance.
Along the way, every now and then there were fascinating elements of landscape design: stone-paved paths, steps formed on the relief, wooden bridges from which a fascinating view of the protected surroundings opens, and, finally, wooden artiodactyls hung on the branches.
However, the most spectacular program was presented at night, when "Reason" came to life in the rays of interactive lighting under the psychedelic compositions of the musical group SoundArtist.ru.
The entire space around the "Reason" was illuminated with light. Lights built into the ground, LED fireflies hidden in the grass, and large balloons illuminated in different colors marked the start of the night route.
From the central site of the event, people moved in close formation towards the Gorodishche, armed with flashlights and radios tuned to the wave of the sound project Silence Lies. We must pay tribute to the guests of the event - they were not embarrassed by the significant distances from point to point, nor the abundance of blood-sucking insects, nor the paths blurred by the previous torrential rain.
At midnight, the theater performance of the Teatrik Laboratory "Kamlanie Perelman" was presented to the audience. And half an hour later, the audience was captured by the performance on the water of Varvara Pavlova, 'Lisokot and Oid Live'. A girl in an epic dress performed on a raft wandering in the waters of the river. Ugrians.
The enchanting end of the eventful program was the return to the foot of the "Reason", where the legendary British duet The ORB played until the very morning.
The significance of the event is emphasized by its exclusion from the framework of the upcoming Archstoyanie. Nikolay Polissky promised to saturate the space of Nikola-Lenivets with original and spectacular objects in the future. So, by next May, it is planned to erect Beaubourg or the Pompidou Center - a wicker structure that vaguely resembles the building of the same name in Paris. This, however, is a completely different story …
