Promenade “They met in Moscow”: Cultural recycling of the film in the scenery of VDNKh

Abstract

The article analyses the site-specific performance by the Mobile Art Theatre of “They met in Moscow” (a. k. a. “Swineherd and Shepherd”, 2019), based on Ivan Pyriev’s eponymous musical film (1941). The promenade is put in the context of cultural projects which interpret the vision and space of the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh) such as the Exhibition at the Russian pavilion at the 15th International Architecture biennale in Venice (2016) and others. It shows that the original conception of the Exhibition framed at the end of 1930s influenced the Soviet comedy and then has been recycled in the performance “Swineherd and Shepherd”. The performance continues to explore the themes of multiculturalism and transnationalism that were part of the overall plan of VDNKh. In addition, the promenade managed to transmit the experience of the architecture. Space perception is achieved through the personal life stories of Viachaslav Oltarzhevskii, Victor Gusev and Valentin Pavlov, the depiction of the most famous landmarks (the fountain “Friendship of peoples” etc.), the story line of the new Glasha (Yang Ge) and Musaib (Odin Biron). The final song at the end the promenade emphasizes the seductiveness of VDNKh as a representation of the Golden Age of Soviet architecture despite the complexity of its past.