Burning a Maslenitsa doll before Lent is a long-standing tradition, learned even at the post- (and maybe late) Soviet Maslenitsa festivities. In Nikola-Lenivets, the tradition has also lived for a long time, because it is flesh from the flesh of the Landart: firstly, it allows, if necessary, to get rid of annoying objects; secondly, there is a special mesmerizing effect of an ancient ritual in the burning of something large, here you can also recall fire-slash farming. And finally, the show from a huge fire turns out to be a magnificent, kind of landart performance. Nikolai Polissky began with the burning of the old "TV tower" that stood in the valley of the Ugra river, in 2017 they burned down the pyramid tower - but last year's "Flaming Gothic" broke all records of fame: some of the viewers, according to modern trends, considered it necessary to "take offense", the artist and the project - very beautiful, high (30 m) and, I must say, completely innocent - I had to defend.
It is difficult to say whether this time the chosen theme is a priori correct, there is nowhere else: that the Bastille was burned is a historical fact, and even destroyed to the ground, leaving only the outline of the walls of the former royal castle, and then the prison, on the square named after its capture.
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zooming 1/6 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 2/6 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 3/6 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 4/6 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 5/6 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 6/6 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
To burn down the model of the prison, which was destroyed a long time ago - here we must think even the royalists will refrain from excessive vulnerability. So the authors describe their project with extreme caution "will not have a single prisoner and will burn without revolutionary events and with full and equal respect for the admirers of Robespierre and Louis XVI."
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zooming 1/7 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 2/7 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 3/7 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 4/7 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 5/7 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 6/7 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 7/7 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
The Bastille was built for a month and a half, from pallets - the favorite material of contemporary artists and exhibitors. When viewed from below, the tower looks uneven, resembling rough stonework. From above, it received large, impressive teeth - and, especially from a distance, reminds of many castles, for example, Milan, especially when illuminated at night. In principle, if the "Gothic" was elegant, laborious and high - 30 m, then the 20-meter Bastille, probably, should be considered as an example of obtaining a large and mimetic - similar to a prototype and completely non-abstract - object by simple means. However, the combustion process itself is unlikely to yield, and perhaps it will be longer due to the somewhat higher density of the material, boards instead of rods and an abundance of holes. The burning will be supervised by performance artist German Vinogradov.
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zooming 1/3 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 2/3 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
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zooming 3/3 Tower "Bastille". Maslenitsa-2019 © Nikolay Polissky, Nikola-Lenivets
It is still possible to get to the burning of the tower, it will take place 9th of March, the ticket costs 1800 p. and sold here, here's the details and schedule.