art/
There is a long history of utopist works of art and literature. But in Ilya and Emilia Kabakovs' native Russia, utopia has been more than the subject of artworks: it was also the project of the regime of the USSR. Both of the Kabakovs were born and raised in the USSR, and many critics continue to see reflections of their experiences in newer installation pieces.
The Palace of Projects differs from other Kabakov pieces in that it doesn't show disappointment with the Soviet utopia of the past; rather, it contains sixty-five suggestions for ways to create a new utopia now. There are even categories for the sixty-five utopian projects: "How to Make Yourself Better?", "How to Make This World Better?", and "How to Stimulate the Appearance of Projects?". Emilia Kabakov believes that when the "Palace of Projects" was first exhibited at the Round House in London, it already began to change people and the world for the better, proving the potential for the projects' success.
"Trust of Others" (Project 8) stipulates that a person drop a basket containing money and a note down from a window onto street-level and wait for a passer-by to find it. The note asks for help: to buy groceries for the owner of the basket, and then place them inside so the basket can be brought back up to the owner's apartment. The stranger should keep the change. Emilia Kabakov says that when the Palace of Projects was first exhibited in London, the money originally in the basket disappeared, but change showed up in its place. Similarly, visitors to the Round House left money at "To Escape from Oneself" (Project 17). When the exhibition was taken down, money from visitors of various countries was found at this project.
Of course, for the Kabakovs' utopian project to actually succeed, the impossible projects of the "Palace" would have to become feasible. This may be one reason by the critic Marek Bartelik went so far as to call the Palace of Projects "delusional utopianism". Perhaps the nature of utopia is that it cannot be achieved, but the endless generation of further projects (see Projects 57-65) allows us to come ever closer to that goal. Visitors to the "Palace of Projects" are invited to take enough time to contemplate each of the sixty-five projects. Through this contemplation, each suggested method of improving oneself or the world can take its effect and the viewer should (ideally) leave the exhibition changed.
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov's relationship to the Soviet utopian project is complex and long-standing. Since their departure from Russia they have continued to make art that references utopia, if only to show its failure in their homeland (for example, "Ten Characters", "The Communal Kitchen", "The Red Pavilion"). They are certainly not the first Russian artists to respond to utopian ideals in their work. Eighty years ago, not long after the October Revolution of 1917, a Russian artist named Vladimir Tatlin constructed a large-scale model for a Monument to the Third [Communist] International (1920). It was conceived as a monument to a particular event, but in hindsight stands as a commemoration of the hopes and optimism of the new country. It was never built. There is no evidence that Tatlin planned the feat of engineering that would have been required to erect such an ambitious building, and other obstacles prevented its realization.
The Kabakovs' Palace of Projects has been compared to Tatlin's Monument to the Third International because of their similarity in outside shape, and the spiral movement upwards inside the buildings. It seems unlikely that the Kabakovs would have directly made reference to Tatlin, but the comparison is still interesting because of the artists' dedication to ideals and their ability to give them physical form. Tatlin constructed his model at the beginning of an era when revolutionaries hoped to change the world and alter humans' behavior and relationships to one another. The Kabakovs also hope to change human behavior, but are at the beginning of a new era: the Soviet utopian regime failed, and they have begun anew to imagine how the world may continue changing.