«Blasphemy» in Contemporary Art Exhibitions in Russia, or Why Art Offends

Abstract

The article examines the contemporary art exhibitions in twenty‑first‑century Russia that sparked accusations of “blasphemy” and extensive public debate and prompted law enforcement interventions. In the first part of the article, I retrospectively illustrate the history of the most prominent “blasphemous” contemporary art exhibitions in Russia, leading to the application of Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code against the artists. These incidents, which followed the “Pussy Riot” case, resulted in the amendments to the Criminal Code that tightened the penalties for offending religious sentiments. Consequently, religious and radical nationalist movements were empowered to approach law enforcement agencies to initiate investigations and hold artists and activists accountable. In the second part of the article, I delve into two exhibitions held in one of the most conservative Russian state art museums, the State Hermitage Museum. These exhibitions are the 2012 Chapman Brothers’ “The End of Fun” and the 2016 “Jan Fabre: Knight of Despair — Warrior of Beauty.” Employing the concept proposed by the Dutch anthropologist Jojada Verrips, I aim to explore how the critics of the exhibitions conceptualized their outrage and offended sensibilities. Additionally, I analyze how various stakeholders, including Hermitage staff, Orthodox believers, and the prosecution, contested and justified the “blasphemous” nature of the exhibitions.