Dmitri Prigov

Dmitry Prigov (1941-2007) gained recognition as an artist whose vast artistic legacy engulfs almost all the genres of modern art. Today, his works can be found in the permanent collections and exhibition funds of leading museums in the USA, Europe, and Russia, as well as in private collections. Every year, more and more attention is devoted to Prigov’s legacy by culture scholars and theorists of modern art. Creative work was the foundation of the artist’s entire life, guided by a carefully calibrated personal worldview. At the center of this worldview are people, their language and their customs. As a person who is curious and not lazy (As contraposed to Pushkin’s “We are lazy and not curious” from his Journey to Arzrum) , Prigov created this view for himself together with some contemporaries, as well as with those who lived before him, in the near or distant (including very distant) past. This view is the focus of the book. The prerogative to discuss it here is unconditionally given to Prigov. The book’s author merely comments what the artist says. The sources are transcripts of Prigov’s interviews, the author’s many years of friendship with him, and an interested attention to his work and philosophy.

This book has been created based on the author's lecture on November 15, 2015 at the International conference dedicated to Dmitri Prigov's 75th Bithday "Prigov - 75" in Moscow, Russia.