“The Internationalization of Russian Art, 1957-1991: A Socio-Historical Analysis of Artistic Transfers and Circulations, the Case of Unofficial Art”

Kontakt: vera.guseynova@ehess.fr

Research Areas 1 & 2

My doctoral research revolves around the international acknowledgment of a localized artistic movement, specifically focusing on unofficial Russian art from the latter half of the 20th century, which defied the Soviet doctrine of socialist realism. Through an analysis of its artistic and market valuation process, I explore four pivotal reception and dissemination hubs: French, German, Anglo-Saxon, and East European contexts. Leveraging a database of visual artists who challenged state-sanctioned norms of creativity in the USSR during the 1950s-1960s, my thesis delves into the individual and collective trajectories of these artists. Moreover, it underscores the pivotal role played by a diverse cohort of actors, both domestic and foreign, whose interest in this art emerged during the early stages of the thaw period, actively contributing to its dissemination and legitimization.

Central to my examination is the concept of the “cultural intermediary” (Naudier, Roueff, Wenceslas, 2011), which elucidates the contributions of key figures in the art world—gallery owners, collectors, curators, and art critics—to the evolution of unofficial artists’ careers and their positioning within the art market. By amalgamating qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, my thesis scrutinizes the distribution and circulation patterns of unofficial artworks, facilitating an exploration of their visibility resultant from intermediary interventions. Drawing from Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical framework (Bourdieu, 2013) on the social mechanisms underpinning aesthetic judgment formation, the initial segment of my thesis conducts a comparative analysis of international press coverage. This analysis traces the terminology employed to describe and introduce unofficial artists’ work, illuminating the processes of consecration and labelling guided by the perspectives of critics and journalists. Furthermore, I employ Diana Crane’s methodology (Crane, 1987) to conduct a comprehensive examination of the artistic styles adopted by unofficial artists through the lens of the sociology of work and professions. This analysis, viewing aesthetic genres and movements as avenues of divergence from socialist realism, explores how artists’ trajectories are influenced by stylistic identification, migration patterns, and integration into host country artistic circles.

CV

Education

• October 2021-2024: Contractual doctoral student in sociology under the supervision of Gisèle Sapiro (CNRS, EHESS-CESSP) and Juliette Cadiot (EHESS-CERCEC) at EHESS, Paris
• 2020-2021: Master 2 in sociology at EHESS, Paris
• 2018-2020: Master in sociology at the French University College of Moscow (CUF) affiliated with Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow

Organization of Conferences and Workshops

• November 4, 2024: Scientific coordinator and co-organizer with Vera Otdelnova of the study day “Art, argent et socialisme. Économies de l’art visuel est-européen pendant la guerre froide” (Art, Money, and Socialism: Economies of Visual Art in Eastern Europe during the Cold War), hosted by CERCEC and the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, Oxford, EHESS, Paris
• May 21 and 22, 2024: Scientific coordinator and co-organizer with Samir Abdelli (CETOBaC), Melvin Bernard (CETOBaC), Reda Merida (CETOBaC), Niya Metodieva (CERCEC), Guillaume Minea-Pic (CERCEC/EUI) of the international doctoral days “Modernités en débat. Perspectives croisées dans les espaces (post-)impériaux russes, soviétiques et ottomans : Europe centrale et orientale, Balkans, Méditerranée orientale, Caucase et Asie Centrale” (Modernities in Debate: Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Russian, Soviet, and Ottoman (Post-)Imperial Spaces: Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, Caucasus, and Central Asia), hosted by CERCEC and CETOBac, EHESS, Paris

Scientific Publications

• Guseynova V., 2019, “La philosophie perdue ? La philosophie moderne française dans la traduction russe” (The Lost Philosophy? Modern French Philosophy in Russian Translation), Les actes de l’école d’automne du CEFR (Centre d’études franco-russe) “Des réalités intraduisibles ? La traduction au prisme des sciences sociales de l’Antiquité à nos jours” (Intranslatable Realities? Translation through the Prism of Social Sciences from Antiquity to the Present Day), p. 31-40.

Presentations (selection)

• “Marché de l’art non officiel à Moscou, 1965-1974 : économie parallèle et constitution des réseaux coopératifs” (Unofficial Art Market in Moscow, 1965-1974: Parallel Economy and Formation of Cooperative Networks), presentation of ongoing work, doctoral workshop led by Gisèle Sapiro (CNRS, EHESS) at CESSP, EHESS, Paris, March 11, 2024
• Intervention in the general seminar of the European Center for Sociology and Political Science (CESSP), discussion of Larissa Buchholz’s book “The Global Rules of Arts” [en. The Global Rules of Arts, 2022, Princeton University Press], EHESS, Paris, November 23, 2023
• “Production artistique sous contraintes de l’État : être un artiste (non officiel) en URSS, 1960-1970 : à la recherche de nouveaux lieux d’enquête” (Artistic Production under State Constraints: Being an (Unofficial) Artist in the USSR, 1960-1970: Exploring New Research Sites), CERCEC Day: “Explorer de nouveaux terrains, décentrer l’analyse” (Exploring New Territories, Decentering Analysis), Center for Russian, Caucasian, and East European Studies (CERCEC), Paris, June 19, 2023
• “La philosophie perdue ? La philosophie moderne française dans la traduction russe” (The Lost Philosophy? Modern French Philosophy in Russian Translation), Autumn School “Des réalités intraduisibles ? La traduction au prisme des sciences sociales de l’Antiquité à nos jours” (Intranslatable Realities? Translation through the Prism of Social Sciences from Antiquity to the Present Day), Franco-Russian Studies Centre in Moscow (CEFR), November 15-17, 2018
• “Red October and Overturn of Ethics: Different Approaches and Practices,” International Colloquium, “Philosophie Der Russischen Revolution. Ein Rückblick Nach Hundert Jahren” (Philosophy of the Russian Revolution. A Retrospective After One Hundred Years), at the Ruhr University Bochum, September 27-30, 2017, Bochum, Germany

Summer Schools

• September 26-30, 2022: Participation in the summer school “Analyse géométrique des données” (Geometric Data Analysis) as part of the project of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) in Warsaw, Poland
• Participation in the CERCEC (EHESS) summer school in Vilnius, Lithuania

Teaching Experience

• 2022-2024: Teaching Assistant at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Sociology within the AIES Faculty: Sociology of Social Groups; Sociology of Social Mobility; Methodology

Scientific Responsibilities

• 2022-2024: Representative of doctoral students, responsible for Axis 3 “Production et diffusion des savoirs et des biens culturels” (Production and Dissemination of Knowledge and Cultural Goods) of the European Center for Sociology and Political Science — CESSP, EHESS