ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Moscow Actionism, the violent and spectacular strain of Russian performance art that emerged in the early 1990s in response to the collapse of the Soviet regime and transformation of life under the new capitalist order. It argues that violence and provocation were used by the radical artists as a means to redefine the public sphere and the modes of communication which it produced. The chapter explores the practice of Oleg Kulik, one of the key figures of Moscow Conceptualism, and the ways in which he re-imagined relationships with the society through manifesting his presence in public spaces, public press and public opinion.
