Griby i Mukhi: A Historical Contextualization of the Esoteric Mushroom Religion of Moscow Conceptualism: Fungal Erotic Imagery of Entheogens and Insects
Religions July 26, 2024 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3390/rel15070777 via DOAJ
Summary
The paper analyzes the religious and esoteric connections of mushrooms within Moscow Conceptualism, revealing how these themes influence the movement's artistic and literary expressions. It highlights the role of key figures like Andrey Monastyrsky and Ilia Kabakov, who blend art and literature in innovative ways. The study also discusses the significance of mushrooms and flies, particularly the fly agaric, in shaping the movement's unique aesthetic that challenges traditional art boundaries.
Study at a glance
| Population | Moscow Conceptualist artists and literary innovators |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Moscow Conceptualism is characterized by a novel integration of religiously symbiotic semiosis influenced by fungal themes. |
Abstract
This paper aims to observe, contextualize, and analyze the multifaceted religious fungal foundations of Moscow Conceptualism within the context of Slavic and European esoteric mythological praxis. By unveiling the thematic basis of their transgressive spiritual endeavors, this study seeks to enhance our comprehension of this artistic and literary movement in the Western world. Besides exploring the erotic aesthetics associated with mushrooms, significant attention is devoted to various flies, as the biological vitality of the mukhomor (‘fly agaric’ or amanita muscaria) is inconceivable without them. Moscow Conceptualist visionaries, including Andrey Monastyrsky, Ilia Kabakov, Elagina and Makarevich, and the Mukhomor Moscow collectives, along with their no less famous colleague from Leningrad, Sergey Kuriokhin, emerge not only as artists but also as literary innovators. They seamlessly integrate advancements from the realm of art, giving rise to a novel form of religiously symbiotic semiosis. Consequently, the traditional boundaries between diverse art forms become blurred, marking a distinctive characteristic that aligns with international contemporary avant-garde aesthetics.