Internal MILITIA In a grey, grey town, on a grey, grey street, in a grey, grey house there lives a grey, grey man. His coat is also grey, as well as the country which he serves. But many people think (and others are deluded) that this very grey man is to blame for everything dishonest in this country. They found a “figure” for revenge, and we could also share this opinion, as there are enough reasons for this revenge. An eye for an eye. And it’s impossible to break this vicious circle. Militia turned into a caste, which makes each of its members match the common idea. And in for a penny, in for a pound. Under the oppression of vox populi it’s too hard to overcome social conformity. There is no good militiaman, because there isn’t even an image of him. And even if there is one, it’s simply not convenient to accept it, as there is such a ready-made convenient and concise image of the bad militia. And it’s more important for us how we remember disappearing militia than what’s the difference between it and the new police. We’re not militia’s barristers (there are reasons to reproach them, however today only the lazy haven’t cursed them, this position having become real commonplace), we rather see the problem of generalization and global depersonalized objectivity. Recently there’s even appeared a couple of antagonists: a modern artist --- against --- a militiaman. Where one of the most important criteria for an artist’s existence is to be brought to a militia department and to be prosecuted. Interesting to know, is this modern artist really better than this militiaman? And what can he offer but for his revolt? Men in uniform are out of favor. And what about exceptions: “a sensitive militiaman”, Uncle Styopa, a figure of Ostap Ibragimovitch in a Kiev militiaman’s cap, and militiamen-painters, militiamen-bards, a militiaman-the-butter-fingers, who lost his service gun – what shall we do with them? Also smear them with a generalized grey curse “cops are garbage”? The image of internal enemy has overlapped the depth of an existing phenomenon to such an extent that has left no space for a paradox, non-conformism and exception from the rules. But the history feeds on exceptions from the rules. A new notion of law is being formed, and this law is intuitive and defined almost personally for everyone. And at the same time there is extremism originating from the mask of art, and it will surely bear fruit. Is it possible to find today a better intonation with which to say goodbye to the word “militia”? "PARAZIT" Creative Association makes an exhibition “Internal MILITIA” to find an alternative view on militia institution, which doesn’t claim factual accuracy and reality of what’s going on. Aggression and irritation in one’s attitude towards “militia” will be the best tools to objectively render historical atmosphere in the beginning of the XXI century’s second decade, but should we erase details and other possible interpretations of this phenomenon, yielding to universal revenge hysteria, for the sake of historical logic? |
