"Voina is a left artist collective with some prominence in Russia (((and even on this blog))):
"MOSCOW — Yesterday, members of the Russian artist collective VOINA were arrested without charges by Russian police posing as German television journalists. (((Whaah??))) Natalia Sokol and her two-year old son were detained overnight (((hangin' must too good for that 2-yr-old anarchist art-freak tot))) at a Moscow police station and later released. The same night, plainclothes agents tried to break into VOINA member Leonid Nikolayev’s apartment and interrogated his neighbours. (((Look, I get it about cops repressing anarchists, but these siloviki dudes are all over the map! Real-life cops don't have to "try" to break into somebody's house. What other police tasks do these philistine spook sissies fail to accomplish? Do they "try" to use guns, badges and batons? How lame can the Russian art-police get?)))
"The harassment comes only weeks after all criminal charges against the group were dropped by an Investigations Committee. (((That legal decision must have been inconvenient.))) Last November, VOINA members Oleg Vorotnikov and Leonid Nikolayev were arrested in connection with an art -performance that involved overturning a police car. (((Yeah. We blogged that incident. And we blogged the video of it, too.)))
(((Incidentally, I just publicly announced tonight that Paolo Cirio has won the Share Festival prize here in Torino. If you're FSB, you might wanna look up the CV of that distinguished modern artist, because there are lots of other people like him who are waiting offshore.))) They were held for three months and released after graffiti artist Banksy paid their bail. (((You might well wonder why "graffiti artist Banksy" reached into his wallet like that. If you find the video of Voina performing the urban transgression that won Banksy's heart, it's real interesting, if not entirely suitable for those under 18.)))
According to the Committee’s decision, the group’s actions “do not contain signs of crimes governed by Article 213 [motivated by hatred of a specific social group]” because the police do not constitute a social group. (((Here's where I veer from the narrative, because I'm perfectly aware that the police DO constitute a specific social group. And I'm one of 'em. The theme of this year's Share Festival was "Cops and Robbers." When I was asked to formally declare my allegiance at the show's opening tonight, my heartfelt choice was "Cops." That's right, folks: I go "Cops" all the way, and not because I've never met 'em, but because I have! You're not gonna see me wearing any 5.11 Tactical "Robber Pants." And "anarchist artist pants"? Those damn things don't even have belt loops!)))
"Vorotnikov and his wife Natalia Sokol (((I'm figuring "wife Natalie" gets all this press because she's the cult's PR person))) still face criminal investigation for their part in a public protests in March in support of the right to peaceful assembly in Russia — referred to as Strategy 31.
http://artthreat.net/2011/10/voina-detained-harassed/
"This is the Goals and Objectives statement from the Free Voina website ((((would I cruelly deny them their manifesto on the blog here? No way))):
"Goals and objectives of the Art-Group Vojna in the period 2008-2010.
" 1.. Rebirth of heroical behavioral ideals of an artist-intellectual, in a manner of Russian libertarian Decemberism. Creation of image of artist as romantic hero, who prevail over the evil. Creation of lively romantic models in today`s soulless commercial conceptual art. (((Somebody should clue in alterna-rock band "The Decembrists" and see if they'll pony up some Voina bail money.)))
" 2.. Rebirth of lively expressive art, which is sincere and honest and provoking observers' deep emotional experience. Actualization of monumental expressive genres, where large scale harmonizes with totally rich in content orientation, in contrast to outdated hypertrophy of forms, which are devoid of sense. (((In case you Milllennial Russian artists think I lack proper sobriety about all this, I want you to know that I have personally met and interviewed Timur Novikov.)))
https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.01/sterling.html
" 3.. Creation of innovative topical art-language, which is producing for pure art, but not for a money. It is meaningful language, which is adequate for today’s cultural and socio-political context, which is can show actual of the new epoch, which have no analogues in the past. Creation of Russian national actual art, without outmodedness and provinciality, and which provokes admiration of intellectuals all over the world. (((I'm all for this "National Actual Art" pitch, but whenever you ask them, "So, are you hip local dudes into somebody else's "national actual art that provokes global intellectual admiration"? They're always, like, "whaah?" "who?" "why"? "Never heard of 'em!")))
"4.. Rebirth of Russian laughing culture, traditions of absurdity and sarcasm in context of high art, that is Rebirth of lively merriment in the art-spaces. Creation of political street-art in Russia in the best traditions of skomorokh and carnival middle-age art. (((The "Laughing Russian Bear." Yeah, we could all wish.)))
"5.. Conceptual destruction of glamour timeserving and conformist Russian art-market, which is reproducing outdated forms of art, artificially falsifying processes of pricing of art-market and creating financial pyramid from devalued art-junk. (((Not to mention the need to topple some police-cars.)))
"6.. Creating of real left front of art in Russia in traditions of futurism of 1920 years, which is radically shift all ideological poles by the facts of its being. Rebirth of political protest art all over the world. (((You won't have to wait long on that one, Voina guys.)))
"7.. War with “werewolves in straps” for the freedom of contemporary art. War with socio-political obscurantism and ultra-right reaction for the triumph of nano-modernization in Russia. Subversion and destruction of outdated repressive-patriarchal socio-political symbols and ideologies. Art-war against all global world for total triumph of justice in Art-Area. (((Okay, maybe yeah, maybe no, but even a 15% triumph of Voina would be blogworthy.)))
http://en.free-voina.org/goals
