The Apophatica Project by Gor Chakhal. The Religious Theme in the New Media Art in Russia in the 2010s

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration and art criticism of the Apophatica multimedia art project (2016), the author of which is the Moscow artist Gor Chakhal. For several decades, he has been addressing religious topics in contemporary art, defining his work as Christ‐centered. This trend has long been of deep interest in world and Russian art, but its comprehension, place in the artistic process, and functional significance have not yet been definitively determined and differ in Russia and other countries. In this article, the Apophatica project is considered from the point of view of some traditions of Eastern Christian art, such as hierotopy. Additionally, an attempt is made to integrate the project into the innovative world context of art that addresses Christian themes, which is not easy with the difference in terminology. Many foreign researchers prefer the term ‘spirituality’. Apophatica is an example of a modern statement by a Russian artist on the theme of the eternal dialogue between man and God in the language of fine arts.

Keywords

• new media
• contemporary religious art
• christcentered art
• hierotopy
• church and religious art in the 20th century
• spirituality in art