Alexey Parygin on City as an Artist's Subjectivity

“A city is a narrative — either lyric, or impressionistic, or futuristic and gnarled space that rattles, clinks, and clatters like an iron plate. A city is by no means just a landscape. A city is a social and cultural environment. A city is a labyrinth. A city is an illusion. A city is a memory. A city is a utopia. A city is an abstract idea. Urbanistic poetry and prose on the verge of post-urbanism. A large city is usually Babylon: a blend, which is sometimes eclectic; a juxtaposition of contrasts; a dialogue and a conflict at the same time. A unity generated by differences. Some things are "old" about it and some things are "new". A city deprived of development is boring; a city deficient in historical context is sapless. That said, a city without a clear architectural idea is featureless and provincial.”

“Megalopolises. Plans. Building plans. Yellow. Street lineature. Labyrinths of yards. Pigeon flocks. Green. The geometry of squares. Dead zones. Subway burrows. Red. Meaning signs. Dim light. Noise. Voids. Black. The work transformed itself in the process of manifestation. The pictograms appeared almost by accident — naturally. Text: Parking / Diner / Bird / Airport / Disabled / Attention / Parking / Motel / Bar / Attention / Cat / Bird / Diner ... Recoded, literally: art, like all modern culture, lost its clear value criteria, meaning and purpose of movement long ago. City. One of the main problems of modern society is the almost complete loss of the ability to self-cognition and self-identification. City. Civilization is degrading. The agony still continues, maintaining the illusion of life, but it does not change the merits of the question. City.”