«A Little Geometric Progression»

Two figures, like two drops of ink, materialized in the white space of the theater, as if they had fallen from the brush of an artist drawing hieroglyphs on a white sheet of paper...

That was the lingering impression left when the Extenshion.art project came to a close at the “Open Stage” Project venue. Konstantin Grouss, the artistic director of the Art-Residence, has presented his projects here before: “Circles of Ruins” based on Borges, featuring the inimitable and authentic Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak; the “Architecture-Body-Dance” project; and now this project, which boldly asserts that the contours of a form define the object.

In his Art-Residence manifesto, Grouss declares: “We cannot and do not want to exist within the boundaries set for us: our own bodies, national borders, and social norms.”

No, he is certainly not a revolutionary or a pioneer of the anarchist movement; he is… rather a mathematician-philosopher.

His dance technique is akin to the ancient science of mathematics, where everything is harmonious and arranged according to the principle of the Golden Ratio. The beauty of mathematics is that it is applicable to literally any area of life. And wherever it is present, it serves its primary purpose: to bring harmony to the world! It is precisely this orderly mathematical logic that transforms the formless cacophony of movements and sounds into a rhythm created by a single artist, two dancers, four synthesizers…

PROTO presented works by artists that went beyond thoughts and speculation, reaching into the realm of emotions. And according to the vision of the exhibition’s curators, Timofey Caraffa-Corbut and Alexander Lysov, every viewer was meant to immerse themselves in the world of childhood, in the cradle of humanity, and even—if you will—in the Stone Age!

The second part of the project is the film “Mikhail Baryshnikov: Years Later”, provided for screening by the Mikhail Baryshnikov Arts Center.

And finally, the third part of the project is the performance “A Little Geometric Progression”, choreographed by Konstantin Grouss.

By definition, a geometric progression is a sequence of numbers in which each subsequent number is equal to the previous one multiplied by a constant specific to that progression.

It is said that an infinite geometric progression converges if the limit exists and is finite. Otherwise, the progression diverges.

There is always the danger of losing track and failing to find the common denominator of a progression when the terms are not equal. The artistry of the great dancer Baryshnikov, which the audience witnessed, could have played a cruel trick on contemporary dancers—their art might not have been able to withstand the competition with such genius, but… it did withstand it, and it did so because it did not set out to compete. Dancers Evgeniya Sukhareva and Konstantin Grouss improvised within a conventional framework, while the artist painted in the trendy “video art” style; a live feed from a camera was projected onto a white wall. Figures on stage, brushstrokes on paper—and the same on stage! A multidimensionality of space was achieved, and it was mesmerizing. Not the architecture of the body, but the architecture of the soul.

“The wind paints with colors on white paper…”—that’s how I’d love to describe Maxim Smirennomudrensky’s work. No, he isn’t a Japanese calligrapher; he painted with his hands, using a dirty construction glove on white paper. But he painted emotions, and they were conveyed to the audience. Just like Baryshnikov, he used his body to express feelings, deep human psychology, our archetypes, and complexes—and space expanded, immersing us in the world BEFORE THE THEATER.

So do parallel lines never intersect, or do they intersect at infinity after all?..

It turned out that the elements of the project, which at first glance seemed illogical, coalesced into a coherent system; that this principle of an initial disruption of order led, by the only possible path, to a harmonious system.

Irina Plotnikova