Nonsense of Reality, Art of Nonsense: The Association for Real Art
Esma Armağan ErtuğrulThe Association for Real Art was an arts and literature group that used to be active between the years 1927 and 1930 in the Soviet Union. The community, thanks to their manifesto, co-written by their members, and the works they produced, was different from many of the other communities that were active in the same period. The Association’s relation to the absurd, comical and the unexpected resulted in their defamation and accusations of membership to anti-Soviet groups after their first production, “Three Left Hours”. Therefore, the members faced the same destiny that their contemporaries and other avantgarde groups had gone through, as they were making statements against censorship and the confiscation of the freedom of expression from artists. The aim of this study is to introduce the avant-garde The Association for Real Art that clenched art and never let it go to save it from the sewer of the past. After a brief introduction to The Association for Real Art, translations of excerpts from the selected poems and other writings by the community members will be shared, along with the founding member Daniil Kharms’ play Elizaveta Bam.
Gerçeğin Saçmalığı, Saçmanın Sanatı: Gerçek Sanat Birliği
Esma Armağan ErtuğrulGerçek Sanat Birliği, Sovyetler Birliği’nde 1927 ile 1930 yılları arasında varlık göstermiş bir edebiyat-sanat topluluğudur. Topluluk, gerek üyeler tarafından yayınlanan ortak manifestoyla gerekse üretilen eserlerle, aynı dönem etkinlik gösteren diğer pek çok gruptan ayrılır. Birliğin saçma, gülünç ve beklenmeyen olanla ilişkisi, ilk gösterimleri “Üç Sol Saat”in ardından karalanmalarına ve topluluk üyelerinin Sovyet karşıtı bir topluluğa üye olmaktan tutuklanmalarına kadar giden bir sürece işaret eder. Dolayısıyla manifestolarında sansüre ve sanatçının özgürlüğünün elinden alınmasına karşı çıkan grup üyeleri de dönemin diğer avangard topluluk ve sanatçılarıyla aynı kaderi paylaşırlar. Bu çalışmanın amacı, sanatı geçmişin çöpünden kurtarmak için ona dişlerini geçiren avangard topluluk Gerçek Sanat Birliği’ni tanıtmaktır. Bu amaçla Gerçek Sanat Birliği’ne kısaca değinildikten sonra birliğin kurucu üyesi olan Daniil Harms’ın 1927 yılında yazdığı Yelizaveta Bam adlı oyun ve grubun diğer üyelerinin şiir ve kısa yazılarından oluşan seçme çeviriler paylaşılacaktır.
The Association for Real Art (Объединение Реального Искусства) or OBERIU is an arts and literature group that used to be active between the years 1927 and 1930 in the Soviet Union. Many artists such as Malevich and Filonov became close to the community that comprised names such as Daniil Kharms, Aleksander Vvedensky, Konstantin Vaginov, Igor Bakhterev and Nikolay Zabolotsky. Oberiuty deals with their works in four parts in the manifesto they published. These are literature, visual arts, theatre and cinema. Each of the group members was interested in one of these branches at least, and it was reported that the community carried on work to open a music unit. Another thing mentioned in the manifesto was that community members needed to transcend art by encompassing it from afar, and near, and bring it to life. The community criticized Russian literacy, which was based on Western bourgeois translation literature and expressed that outmoded literature did not satisfy them. Besides this, a mistake was underlined: The avant-garde artists, who were held in high honour during the October Revolution, began to be smeared after the revolution. The mission that was attributed to art for creating the Soviet person played an important role here. Thus, avant-garde artists, who were regarded as the pioneers of the new order before the revolution, were accused for bourgeoisie and anti-Sovietism, to the extent that they did not provide the mission dictated to them after the revolution. What was done to artists whose works were boycotted, exhibitions were cancelled and works were censored does not end there. When socialist realism becomes the official ideology at the Soviet Writers’s First Congress, it was forbidden to produce works in different ideologies. In addition to those arrested and deported, some artists fled abroad in this process. Those who could not flee abroad were condemned to starvation, disease and death by being prevented from working. This is also what happened to most of the members of The Association for Real Art in the upcoming periods. The first and only production of The Association for Real Art, "Three Left Hours", took place on January 24, 1928. In the three-part presentation, the manifesto of the community was read, a poetry recitation consisting of works written by the members of the group was performed, the play Elizaveta Bam by Daniil Kharms was staged and the movie The Meat Grinder was presented. Elizaveta Bam created shock in the audience; because it was far beyond the usual forms, both structurally and in terms of content. The play begins with the protagonist Elizaveta Bam getting on the stage with fear of being arrested. Someone is after her and Elizaveta Bam looks for a place to hide from those people whom she thinks will scrape her off the face of the earth. However, the expected people arrive quickly and say that they will arrest Elizaveta Bam. When Elizaveta Bam asks for the reason, she receives no answer other than that she is found guilty. Fortunately, Elizaveta Bam finds an opportunity to play off the incoming duo against each other, and the tense moments are replaced by an absurd chase. A lot of absurd things happen during the play. Daniil Kharms' relation to the language particularly gives the play a quite different vitality and rhythm. The inconsistent and even nonsensical speech of the characters in the play causes us to think about the meaninglessness of existence, and the liberating side of this meaninglessness. The author's relation to the game is reflected in the actions of the characters and for the audience or reader, the play within the play becomes a nonsensical but entertaining track. What makes the play important is not only that it is structurally different from its predecessors. The play says a lot of things politically, too. The protagonist's fear of being arrested reveals the fears of the Stalin-Era Soviet people. Elizaveta Bam is found guilty of an unknown matter and runs away because of fear of being killed. But when she is arrested, it is unknown what will happen to her in the future. The aim of this study is to introduce The Association for Real Art and present the translation of play Elizaveta Bam by Daniil Harms. After a brief introduction, translations of excerpts from the selected poems and other writings by the community members will be shared.
