BROKEN STEREOTYPES
To the question of ethics and aesthetics, and what is architecture in general, each architect will give his own answer. However, not only the personality of the author, but also the atmosphere of time forms the creative orientation of architecture. 2000 years have passed since the birth of Christ. The results of the last century, the time of controversy and reflection, are summarized. A forgotten biblical theme becomes one of the main topics of the day. In the movie - predicted monsters, explosions and cataclysms, the figure of Jesus Christ is freely interpreted, the Bible is rewritten. Symposiums on environmental disasters are gathering; with extraordinary pomp, the CAPSULES are buried, bearing the evidence of the achievements of civilization. Contemporary international culture celebrates the end of the century, celebrates, as it was for the last time. It seems that a joyful apocalyptic mood is floating in the air, portending a spectacular spectacle - the end of the world. Only a hundred years have passed (a moment in the history of civilization) since the first Russian artists-revolutionaries began to build the CITY OF HAPPINESS. These were romantic heroes who thought about the freedom, equality and prosperity of future generations. Then the ideology of avant-garde arose, which determined all forms of CONTEMPORARY ART. Figuratively speaking, it consisted in a revolution of the spirit, in the de materialization of space and in faith in scientific achievements. Everything was beautifully drawn and done according to plan, and the end justified all means. The systematic destruction of cultural heritage and the eradication of religion began. It ended in blood and ruins. For some reason, the experience of Russia is associated only with the wrong social system, forgetting that avant-garde art, which has continued in CONTEMPORARY ART, played a fatal role. Today, international culture is extremely diverse, but it seems that ideology has remained the same. Direct aggression against religion and culture was replaced by isomorphic indifference, and paranoid concern for future generations has sunk into oblivion. The only driving force was instant success, and the formula for success is determined by its entertainment. Therefore, a person is investigated, like the “Pavlov’s dog” - the degree and forms of exposure are designed for his animal reactions: excitement, fear, fear, sex drive, surprise. And each time you need to surprise with something new, supernatural, hypertrophying old ideas, distorting their meaning, passing off the long-forgotten old as new. This creates a product of contemporary art. "New" has become a cult of the modern world. Fear and squeamishness is caused by the wall of an old house or the face of an elderly person. Everything should sparkle, glow with rainbow colors. Yes, the unforgettable feeling of euphoria that we experience in adolescence. I remember that in the architectural school it seemed to me that the whole world can be dazzled with their own hands, that the architect is a god, the director of space and human souls, that you can remake and change everything. This feeling goes away only with age. Today, the supreme creative credo of a modern architect is no more no less than “breaking the stereotype” of thinking. This is where the development of architecture is seen. As a result, today everything is mixed up, reference points are lost in the relationship between beauty and ugliness, good and evil, lies and truth, reality and fantasy. No one doubts that new information technologies are a panacea for understanding and uniting peoples, that genetic engineering promises immortality to man. In the information world - an abundance of words and numbers. In culture, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the truth, to distinguish the original from the fake. Confused the meaning of architecture and design. As in a virtual space where an eternal holiday reigns and it seems that there is no death and decay, the design creates sensual and fleeting forms, like art perishable. Architecture is an eternal and unchanging concept. In ancient classics, architecture was associated with the concept of proportion. However, this concerned not only the ratio of architectural elements. What was meant was a universal law: the perfect combination of the masses, the harmony of man and nature (ethics and aesthetics as well), reality and fantasy, external forces and man, where God is the creator and man is his creation. Different religions interpret this law differently, but it was he who served as the basis of traditional architecture. The words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel: "I will destroy this temple made by hands, and in three days I will build another, not made by hands".. This temple of invisible architecture contains truths and commandments that fully apply to both man and the profession - architect. In the law of creation, birth and decay are its constituent parts, and both are reality, which is divine and beautiful. It is said the same way: "it is not the minds that need to be opened, but the hearts to be opened." History shows that architecture created “from the mind” contains the destructive force itself from the very beginning. The constructions of Constructivism now seem ridiculous, the "Stalin's empire style" can also be called a monument to totalitarianism, and the democratic "Khrushchev" neighborhoods have physically collapsed themselves. New names and new ideas succeed each other, and “brilliant projects” become obsolete during their implementation. Construction and destruction have become synonymous. The historical environment disappears, what is seemingly built for centuries by our ancestors is destroyed, and our children will break what is built by us. Apparently, in anticipation of this, many revolutionary ideas come down to the idea that architecture is not needed at all. For a person, a comfortable drawer with spectacles, a virtual information space in which the whole world is open, is enough. But this world is not given from God. And in this, it seems to me, the reality of self-destruction and death. Today, holy places, as well as architectural monuments, have a special place in modern life - they are shown to tourists as attractions, as part of the history and identity of the people. At the same time, ancient spiritual experience teaches that wisdom consists in repetition. From generation to generation novices are brought up, all the same rituals and holidays are preserved, the same prayers are read. The repetition preserves the memory and continuity of generations. What was and is, time is and is not, it is instantaneous and infinite. Everything is repeated and there is a place for creativity, which consists not in revolutionary development, but in a humble comprehension of the infinite diversity of the world given to us. Sometimes it seems to me, as in childhood, that everything else can be corrected and changed, piecemeal “broken stereotype” and put it in its proper place.
Ilya Utkin