Mechanical Ballet. Video Art at the Ludwig Museum at the Russian Museum

"Mechanical ballet. Video Art at the Ludwig Museum at the Russian Museum" is a series of seven exhibitions exploring the themes of human automatism, the emergence of "man-machines" before our eyes, and mechanisms coming to life. The program will last until January 16, 2020. The first exhibition will run until November 24, 2019.  

The title of the series of video exhibitions refers to the short film of the same name by the famous French artist Fernand Leger "The Mechanical Ballet" (Ballet mécanique), shot in 1924. This "dance of machines", put together by means of rhythm and editing, has had a huge impact on the development of avant-garde cinema and animation.

The series opens with the exhibition "Space Sonata" (a video version with a living actor) by an outstanding inventor and artist, creator of experimental films, founder of the legendary Prometheus Design Bureau Bulat Galeyev.

Bulat Galeyev, together with the Prometheus team, started doing experimental work in the 1960s. Prometheus is famous for creating complex lighting systems, video installations, light and music films. The "Space Sonata", shot in 1981 on a 35-millimeter black-and-white film and colored afterward, presents the visualization of a composition by pioneers of Soviet electronic music, Alexander Nemtin and Stanislav Kreichi. 
In the "Space Sonata", the choreography of abstract composition elements is synchronized with electronic sounds, creating a film-dance. In 1986, a video version was made with actor G. Lisitsyn. The film is provided by the B. Galeyev Prometheus Foundation for the Support of Audiovisual and Technological Art.

The next exhibitions of the series will feature animated films by the artists of the School of Art Engineers and the New Composers group; a new video work by Tatyana Akhmetgalieva; experiments by one of the pioneers of Russian media art, Olga Tobreluts; a video work by Alexander Shishkin-Khokusay with plywood characters operating in the post-apocalyptic landscape of computer games; and an animated opera fairy-tale by Lera Nibiru.

The exhibitions will be accompanied by meetings with artists and musical performances.
Age limit: 12+

Opening on November 18 at 16:00. 

Series Program

18.11.2019 – 24.11.2019: Bulat Galeyev. Space Sonata. 1986. Music by A. Nemtin, B. Kreychi. Provided by the B. Galeyev Prometheus Foundation for the Support of Audiovisual and Technological Art.

25.11.2019 – 01.12.2019: Tatiana Akhmetgalieva. Day Full of Hope. 2018. Sound by V. Mazin.

02.12.2019 – 08.12.2019: School "Engineers of Arts". Models and Constructions. 1986. Amor's Arrow. Music by Sergei Kuryokhin. 1993

09.12.2019 – 15.12.2019: New Composers (Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev). 1987–1996. I Go Rhythm (1987–1989). By Car (1988).

16.12.2019 – 22.12.2019: Alexander Shishkin-Khokusai. New Versailles. 2016.

23.12.2019 – 29.12.2019: Olga Tobreluts. Series of short experimental films

30.12.2019 – 13.01.2019: Lera Nibiru. Kromkhel's journey to the seventh sky. 2018. Music by N. Sudnik