Andrei Monastyrski's Slogan (1977) at Governors Island
The “Ostalgia” exhibition at New Museum in New York City has extended to Governors Island, with the installation Slogan (1977) by Russian artist Andrei Monastyrski.
Monastyrski’s installation is a red and white banner with the message “I DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING AND I ALMOST LIKE IT HERE, ALTHOUGH I HAVE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THIS PLACE,” written in Russian.
As it faces towards the Statue of Liberty, the banner is an attempt a discourse about American democracy and the history of displacement depicted New York’s harbor. The banner also relates to the Governor’s Island’s history, dating back to December 8, 1988 when President Ronald Reagan, President-elect George H.W Bush, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia Mikhail Gorbachev held a private meeting on the island after Gorbachev’s historic speech declaring the end to the Cold War.
As one of the most respected and internationally acclaimed figures in Russian contemporary art, all of Monastyrski’s projects are intended to be stumbled upon by the viewer and to be interpreted as an encounter. The presence of Slogan (1977) on Governors Island acts as a discrete intervention that gently manipulates our expectations through its discovery by new audiences in time and space.
Image by Naho Kubota.
