Last Jewish Pogrom

Masoch Fund

Last Jewish Pogrom

Masoch Fund

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Due to the fact that the gallery owner Marat Gelman postponed the event “The Last Jewish Pogrom,” an action by FM titled “The Last Jewish Pogrom is being postponed…” preceded the actual “Pogrom.” The central part of Moscow was covered with posters announcing the postponement of the “Pogrom,” which caused significant reactions from the public, law enforcement, and passersby.
The “Pogrom” was presented not as an art project but as a real, announced event. The viewer’s status was altered, so each viewer automatically became a participant and was required to consciously choose the role of “victim” or “pogromist.” “Victims” signed commitments to follow behavior rules within the “pogrom territory” (not leaving the premises, not consuming alcohol, etc.) and were numbered. “Pogromists” received a shot of alcohol upon entry. Most participants chose the role of “victim,” which led to their discomfort since the event lasted for 4 hours, and the restroom was located outside the “pogrom territory.” As a result, the actual pogrom did not occur. FM organized an auction, turning the “pogromists” into “Schindlers” (referencing the myth of Oskar Schindler) who “redeemed” the “victims.” FM achieved its goal – this “pogrom” is indeed the last in the history of Jewish pogroms. However, the event also sharply raised the issue of responsibility for choice and the safety of artistic space.
The ideological basis of the “Last Jewish Pogrom” action was the theory by FM, in which a pogrom was defined as a fundamental structural element of the entire Jewish history during the period of statelessness. Through pogroms, Jews managed to develop a national character that allowed them to gain dominant positions in the world and establish the state of Israel. The pogrom was classified as an element of “positive selection,” in contrast to war, which represented “negative selection.” According to FM, a pogrom is only possible when a nation lacks its own state; when a state exists, the people engage in wars. This was clearly demonstrated by the state of Israel. The recreation of the state of Israel, its wars, made the pogrom an historical nonsense, an ideological phantom, a tool of moral pressure. This allowed FM to organize “The Last Jewish Pogrom” and close this historical topic by removing the pogrom from current history and relocating it into the realm of art. As FM stated during the pogrom, a “progressive technology of combining stages was applied: anticipation of the pogrom, the actual pogrom, eternalizing the memory of pogrom victims in a single time and space.”
The project was presented at the Ukrainian House as part of the exhibition “Kyiv Art Meeting. New Art of Poland, Russia, Ukraine” (1995). Prior to the exhibition opening, the National Guard of Ukraine destroyed FM’s exhibit, justifying their actions as “combatting anti-Semitism.” The exhibition was closed by the administration and press presence was prohibited.

Masoch Fund