Archive Hatje Cantz Verlag | Komar & Melamid

What Kind Of Art Do You Prefer? Should It Be Realistic Or Abstract? Do You Favor Red Or Blue Pictures? On The Basis Of A Demoscopic Survey Begun In 1993 In Which They Asked People From 14 Different Countries To Name The Pictures They Liked The Most And The Least, Komar And Melamid Have Created “Most Wanted” Und “Most Unwanted Pictures”. Komar & Melamid, “Outcasts” Of Official Soviet Art Who Have Lived In New York Since 1978, Provoke With Their Rigorous Eclectic System, An Unorthodox Conglomeration Of Techniques, Materials And Media, Just As They Irritate With Their Satirical, Critical Discourse On Art And Their Highly Discerning, Probing Examination Of Social Structures In Both East And West. This Publication Provides An Overview In Sketch Form Of The Life’S Work Of Komar And Melamid, From Their Family Portraits Done In The Style Of Official Likenesses Of Lenin And Stalin To “Soz-Art” And “Desire For Art”, The Duo’S Current Project, Which Not Only Promises Clear, Statistical Results But Raises Questions Of Its Own While Posing A Challenge To Contradiction. The Artists: Vitaly Komar (Moscow, 1943). Alexander Melamid (Moscow, 1943). First Met During Their Studies At Moscow Stroganov Institute For Art And Design In 1963. Completed Their Studies And Presented Their First Joint Exhibition In Moscow In 1967. Excluded From The Artists Association In 1973. First Exhibition In New York In 1976. Emigration To Israel In 1977. Settled In New York In 1978. Documenta 8 In Kassel, 1988; Venice Biennale, 1997.