Lot 268: Vadim Zakharov , Russian b.1959 A collection of five photographs documenting performances, 1981 gelatin-silver prints

each of four numbered 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 respectively (on the reverse) gelatin-silver prints

measurements one: 8 by 6 in.; the others: 6 3/4 by 4 1/2 in. alternate measurements 20.5 by 15 cm; 17 by 11.5 cm

Margarita Tupitsyn, "U-Turn of the U-Topian," in David A. Ross, ed., Between Spring and Summer: Soviet Conceptual Art in the Era of Late Communism, Tacoma, Wash.: Tacoma Art Museum, The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, traveling exhibition catalogue, MIT Press, 1990, p. 39, illustrated

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
Many Soviet nonconformist artists used photography in ways consistent with the practices of conceptual art. In the present lot, Vadim Zakharov employed photography as an objective record of two performances: Self-Portrait with an Eye Patch and I Know that any Resistance to Elephants Is Useless. Elephants Hinder Our Life.

An important artist, publisher, and archivist of the Moscow Conceptualist movement, Zakharov participated in unofficial art exhibitions beginning in 1978. In 1980, he co-founded the S-Z group, consisting of himself and the artist Victor Skersis. In 1982-83 Zakharov played an active role in AptArt (Apartment Art) gallery projects. In the closed atmosphere of the AptArt era, he turned to performance art, as in his trademark self-portrait or his performance involving small porcelain elephants.