Land art scene takes off in Russia

Land art has been popular in the West for more than half a century. The scene is relatively small in Russia, but a pioneer of this art form has turned a remote Russian village into a hotspot of eco-friendly art.

Before the village of Nikola-Lenivets in the Kaluga region started hosting loud parties, art shows and festivals, the locals wondered why an artist from the capital had come into the wilderness, picked up a saw and an axe and started making bizarre objects.

“At the very beginning people were laughing at us. You know, it’s really weird that in a country which has so much space, wood and everything, that land art started so late,” Nikolay Polissky says.

Landscape art has already existed in the UK and in the US for more than fifty years, but it started just nine years ago in Russia, and now Russia is exporting it.

Nikolay and his team are being constantly invited to display their works at major shows across Europe. Art critic Max Seddon commented on them, saying:

“This staff is really wild, untamed – it really attracts me.”

It all started with 200 snowmen built in a field. They have all melted away, and, like with almost all of the artists’ works, only photos and memories remain.

The artists say part of the tradition is that what is taken from nature must be returned to it. Ultimately this means the artists destroy their own works, but it is not something Nikolay is sad about.

“I think it is funny how hard artists try to make art for eternity, out of some solid materials. Real art should live in people’s memories,” Nikolay Polissky says.

No matter how short-lived his works are, there is something Nikolay can be proud of: he has set the trend in Russia, and put the village of Nikola-Lenivets on the map as the birthplace of Russian land art.