The Irony Tower: Soviet Artists in a Time of Glasnost

by Andrew Solomon

Sotheby’s auction of avant-garde Soviet art, held in Moscow in 1988, introduced to the West a generation of painters and sculptors who for years had been unable to exhibit their works in public.

Solomon, who covered the auction for a British magazine, offers an intimate, thoughtful glimpse of Moscow’s and Leningrad’s artistic vanguards, walking on ice in the unpredictable thaw of glasnost. Works range from Ilya Kabakov’s obsessive re-creation of a Moscow communal apartment, citadel of misery, to painter Larissa Zvezdochetova’s witty, kitschy demolition of communist propaganda. This community of artists realizes that the new freedom may be rescinded overnight. To Solomon, their work “is a warning, a sustained message . . . that says, simply, ‘Beware, and remember.’”

Genres: Art, Russia, History, Nonfiction

310 pages, Hardcover

First published June 18, 1991

About the author

Andrew Solomon writes about politics, culture, and health. He lives in New York and London. He has written for many publications--such as the New York Times, The New Yorker and Artforum--on topics including depression, Soviet artists, the cultural rebirth of Afghanistan, Libyan politics, and deaf culture. He is also a Contributing Writer for Travel and Leisure. In 2008, he was awarded the Humanitarian Award of the Society of Biological Psychiatry for his contributions to the field of mental health. He has a staff appointment as a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Cornell Medical School (Weill-Cornell Medical College).

Reviews

[Zoya Katashinskaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strongly recommend for those who are interested in Russian contemporary art or recent history. Really enjoyed reading - great language and sense of humor together with deep remarks and observations. Great example of edutainment! I'm a real fan of such kind of books.

[Patrick Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even as a very young man, Solomon was a gifted writer. But this is a pretty niche subject. I have some interest in Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, who are among the most famous artists he writes about (although his real focus is on more obscure artists). But even as a diehard fan of Solomon's and as someone with a perhaps above-averge interest in late Soviet avant-garde art, I have to admit I skimmed some passages.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

While very interesting, this book really needed to focus on a smaller group of artists - trying to cover basically the whole art world of the late 80's-early 90's in Russia was just too much.

[Nikita Sukhanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Удивительные приключения Робинзона Крузо в Советском Союзе. Очень интересно и в натуре