ProvMiza: Galina Myznikova and Sergey Provorov

Galina Myznikova and Sergey Provorov, artists from Nizhniy Novgorod, who work with the topical concept of "public space" don't consider the relationships with the public to be so dramatic. They treat viewers as consumers of a specific info-visual product. Their long-term project can be located somewhere between public art and advertising, design and experimental cinema and TV. Unfamiliar with alienation from the society, the artists try to remain within, easily combining the positions of a consumer and a sober cool-headed analyst, judging the situation from the outside. This flexible approach inspires them to work over social projects, suggesting innovative ways of communication. For example, in projects of interactive icon-stands and cemeteries enable viewers to manually (using mouse or touch pad) find their way to the transcendence or to turn from a simple observer of an advertising action into a participant in a mass performance. Voluntary dwelling in instable and marginal areas, where usual cultural codes become invalid, the artists begin to interact with the mass culture instead of opposing to it. That's why they are constantly fascinated with the possibilities of producing new objects, images and rites destined to subsequent mass copying. However, this approach does not interfere with critical perception of the reality and constant alarming on seemingly safest things.

This is the case at the "Idiot wind" installation at the Venice Biennale. Standing in an aero-acoustic space, the viewer becomes the main character of this work of art, who should feel the power of art with his own psycho-somatic senses. In the first section of the pavilion one can easily touch and try to catch the wind, but then he/she becomes strongly influenced by the increasing power of windblasts. The force of physical action arouses complex metaphysical feelings, and its visual minimalism suggests numerous mythopoetic connotations of wind, air and elements.
Liubov Saprykina

Galina Myznikova & Sergey Provorov (PROVMYZA)

Galina was born in Nizhny Novgorod in 1968. Graduated from Nizegorodsky State University of Architecture.
Sergey was born in Nizhny Novgorod in 1970.
Both live and work in Nizhny Novgorod.

Solo Exhibition
2004
"Surfing & Vertigo" Arsenal, Kremlin, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
1999
Video, installation, graphic, art book, object. TV-gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1998
Video, graphic, art book, sound. "Basis Wien", Vienna, Austria.

Group Exhibitions
2005
1st Moscow Biennale, "Human project". Moscow.
2004
The Young Artists' Biennial. Bucharest, Romania.
Medi@terra 04. International Art and Technology Festival. Athens, Greece.
2003
"Projection". Arsenal, Kremlin, Nizhny Novgorod; Izhevsk.
"Invisible threat". BREAK 2.2. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2002
"Debates & Credits - Media Art in the Public Domain" (next 5 minutes). Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
"Davaj! Russian art now", MAK, Vienna, Austria; Postfurant, Berlin, Germany.
2001
WRO 01. 9th International Media Art Biennale. Wroclaw, Poland.
2000
RAT2.С.Y.P.R.E.S, Marseille, Avinion, France.
1997
"Video-dialogue". Tiroler landes museum, Insbruck, Austria.

Festivals
2004
3rd International Detroit's film and video festival. Detroit, USA.
"Videodictionary". International video project. Madrid, Spain; London, England.
2nd International short film festival. Tirana, Albania.
Inport. International video performance art festival. Tallinn, Estonia.
"The Hertzoscopio". Experimental trans-disciplinary arts festival. Amadora, Portugal.
Avanto. International media art festival. Helsinki, Finland.
Non Stop. Kurz film festival. International short film festival. Nurnberg, Germany.
Platforma 04. International video festival. Athens, Greece.
Friesland. International media festival. Leuwarden, The Netherlands.
"Open Eyes". International film Festival. Marburg, Germany.
40th Pesaro. International film Festival. Rome, Italy.
26th Moscow International Film Festival (Media Forum). Moscow, Russia.
6th International Digital Art Exhibit and Colloquium. Habana, Cuba.
OUTVIDEO. International video art festival. Ekaterinburg, Russia.
Rencontres audiovisuelles. 4 festival international du court metrage. Lille, France.
Les Inattendus. International film and video festival. Lyon, France.
17th Stuttgarter Filmwinter international festival film and media. Stuttgart, Germany.
6th Annual video marathon. Gallery "Art in general", New York, USA.
2003
11th Chilean International short film festival. Santiago, Chile.
Videomedeja 7. International video and media festival. Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.
2002
Dot.nu Special viewing. V2, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Mutek. International festival of music, sound and new technologies. Montreal, Canada.
Antimatter. International festival of underground short film and video. Victoria, Canada.
International AudioVisual Competition Festival of Navarre. Pamplona, Spain.
Pro zrenie 2. International festival of photography. Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
2001
Fashion and style in a photo. International photo festival. Moscow, Russia.
2000
Kimaf. International media art festival. Kiev, Ukraine.
FCMM. International festival for new cinema and new media. Montreal, Canada.
Viper-20. International festival for film video and new media. Basel, Switzerland.
San-gio. International video festival. Verona, Italy.
Transmediale-2000. International media festival. Berlin, Germany.

Filmography
2004
Sweet Gorky, 7.15, experimental.
Falls and Rises, Russia-The Netherlands, 11.05, media performance.
Alternative Play Station / Series of children's performances, 14.20, video performance.
2003
Wet Chicken, 4.30, video performance.
2002
More Good Products, 1998/2002, 0.30, experimental.
Ball, Skate, Racket, Bicycle in Aggressive Attack, 9.20, animation.
1999
20.21, Russia-Germany-Sweden, 15.05, experimental.
1998
Hunter Ivan Belliledinov, (1944-1998), documentary.
Miss Ragozina as Metronome, Russia-Austria, 15.20, video performance.
Counting the Harvest, Russia-Austria, 3.40, experimental.
1996
Work with Banks, 8.0, video performance.
1994
Line. Structures, 13.0, experimental.

Bibliography
2004
Avantoscope, exhibition catalogue, Helsinki Media Art Festival, Helsinki, Finland.

2003
Projection, exhibition catalogue, text by L. Saprykina, published by Nizhny Novgorod Branch of National centre for Contemporary Art, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
De Balie, catalogue, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Saprykina, L., "Strict and naive", exhibition catalogue, MAK WIEN, Vienna, Austria.

2002
Gorjucheva, T., "Aesthetic and technological experiments of Russian Video Art… ", The Anthology of Russian Video Art, MediaArtLab, Moscow, pp. 11-19.
Gorjucheva, T., "Video Art and Mass Visual Culture", The Anthology of Russian Video Art, MediaArtLab, Moscow, pp. 81-91.