Anton Ginzburg’s Constructivism

by Lars Petersen

https://www.visionaireworld.com/blog/anton-ginzburgs-constructivism/

If you have ever experienced an immersive exhibition before, you know that there are certain feelings involved when sound and imagery completely envelopes you. It’s an intense, potentially orgasmic (or anxiety-inducing depending on your personality), sensation that has the power of transcribing many messages–good or bad. Although, it was not 360, Anton Ginzburg’s Turo, which premiered at Soluna Festival in Dallas last week, almost reached that level of immersion.

New York-based Ginzburg has become known for his use of multiple mediums; he has set up several exhibitions consisting of mainly video, but has also worked in sculpture, photography, books and more. He uses an array of historical and cultural references as starting points for his investigations into art’s capacity to penetrate layers of the past and reflect on the contemporary experience. Originally from St. Petersburg in Russia, the artist came to the states in 1990 where he pursued an education in the arts from Parsons.

Turo–at the moment a two act film (two more acts to be added at a later time, the artist told us) project–is a deconstruction of the constructivist architecture that gained popularity during the Soviet era. Conducted by Karina Canellakis, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra played Sibelius Pohjola’s Daughter and Wagner Waldweben (Forest murmurs) to accompany the projections, which was comprised of gliding movements of the rundown buildings. The first building was lit in rainbow colors as if under a constant drizzle. Other buildings gave the impression of being old factory buildings. All beautifully filmed, there was a constant harmony between the strings of the DSO and Ginzburg’s imagery. However, one moment in particular was well coordinated; a flicker slowly took over the film. At first, seemingly unintentional but as the colors grew more and more vigorous, the intention was clear. The music grew equally hectic and Canellakis’s movements became increasingly boisterous.

Unfortunately, due to licensing, Ginzburg was not able to record the music and use it for future showings of the film. But we are not worried; with this performance, hopefully many more projects alike will follow.