From Soviet Punk to Protest Fashions: Creative Imperfections in Russia and Abroad

Speakers): Ellen Rutten (University of Amsterdam)

Craft, amateurism, rawness, imperfection: without these notions, cultural discourse on new technologies is unthinkable. They figure as prime ingredients in an age-old argument: that of linking technological advancement to dehumanization, and of elevating sincerity or authenticity to the role of a tool to repair dehumanizing threats. The printed book, the industrial machine, and later reproduction techniques: all sparked a countertrend of creative imperfections – practices that that foregrounded the homegrown, the rickety, or the imperfect as hallmarks of authentic creative expression. In this talk, Ellen Rutten explores creative imperfections as a global trend, but with special attention to creative Russian subcultures. In (post-)Soviet Russian design, fashion, and other aesthetic domains, where does the craving for the non-polished come from? And how do punk, dissident, and, today, anti-Putin sentiments relate to Russian creative imperfections?