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Textual Stragies of Moscow Conceptualism and Conceptual Writing

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2015

Abstract

The chapter focuses on methods of using text in artistic and literary movement of 70-s and 80-s known as "Moscow Conceptualism". The starting point is the question of relevance of this tendency regarding the debate about "Conceptual Writing" in recent anglophonic literary criticism.

To answer this question, the autor at first acquaints the reader with the main representatives of Moscow Conceptualism as well as with their works and typical methods used by them. Subsequently he confronts the intellectual background of Moscow Conceptualism with widely accepted definition of the "conceptual".

On the basis of this confrontation he comes to a conclusion that Moscow Conceptualism shares essential common features both with Conceptual Art which originated in USA in the 60-s, and with Conceptual Writing which has been a subject of an intense debate in recent years. In the same time, the author believes that works of Moscow Conceptualism can contribute to a fruitful revision of the notion of "conceptual" (in particular by challenging the dogma of dematerialization).