Culver City,
California
x
Quiet Please - Rehearsal in Session
Date Made: 1991
Country: Soviet Union
Measurements: 90 cm x 60 cm; 35 7/16 in x 23 5/8 in
The image of four sets of ballerina’s legs is framed by a television screen, and the dancers are in front of a camouflage print stage curtain. The dance position of the legs spells out the Russian acronym, “GKChP,” which stands for the State Committee for the State of Emergency, the group of eight men that staged the 1991 failed coup to overthrow Gorbachev. On the bottom left of the screen is the date 19.08.1991, which was the exact day of the attempted coup. The sign hanging off of a knob of the television reads “Quiet! Rehearsal in session!” which references the planning of the coup while ridiculing it by comparing it to a ballerina performance, while the militarily-patterned curtains refer to the military intervention that shut down the coup attempt.
Accession Number: 2009.053.039
Item Name: Painting
Credit Line: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris
Collection/Series: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris