The Potemkin village /
According to legend, the phrase Potemkin village can be traced back to the Russian field marshal Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin. In 1787, the minion of Catherine the Great purportedly had entire villages erected as painted façades along the paths of her travels to the recently conquered Crim...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English German |
| Language Notes: | Text in English and German. |
| Published: |
Heidelberg :
Kehrer Verlag,
[2017]
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | According to legend, the phrase Potemkin village can be traced back to the Russian field marshal Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin. In 1787, the minion of Catherine the Great purportedly had entire villages erected as painted façades along the paths of her travels to the recently conquered Crimean territory in an effort to veil the true, run-down face of the region. Following Closed Cities (Kehrer 2012), Gregor Sailer's new project once again presents actual architectural manifestations driven by political, military and economic motives, combat training centers in the United States and Europe, faithful replicas of European cities in China and vehicle test cities in Sweden. And finally, a classical Potemkin village in Russia, where, on the occasion of a visit by Vladimir Putin to Suzdal on the Golden Ring and a triple summit in the city of Ufa, whole streets were masked with adhesive foil, wallpaper and tarpaulins in an effort to provide the abandoned buildings with a feigned sense of activity. Sailer's pictures give the viewer access to the world of fakes, copies and stage sets and call these at times absurd aberrations of our contemporary society into question. |
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| Physical Description: | 304 pages : color illustrations ; 30 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |
| ISBN: | 9783868288278 3868288279 |