Esto (12'25")
Title of the play by Oleg Paiberdin Organum A-nn-a
refers to the genre of polyphonic composition of the Middle Ages, historically
the earliest form of European music. The composer also “fused” into the title
dedication to his wife, signifying the touching fact of life together.
The structure of the first part of Esto’s video triptych “Visual Practices” was built based on the understanding
text by Roland Barthes “The Reality Effect”. Turning to the basics of profane
reality, woven from multiple micro-narratives, the authors put it together
of reliable facts with elusive functionality. A habitually blinking eye creates a stream of images drowning in
infinity.
“From a structural point of view, such elements violate any
order and seem, even more alarmingly, to be a kind of narrative
excesses, as if the narrative was wastefully littered with “unnecessary” details,
increasing in some places the cost of narrative information” (R. Barthes “The Reality Effect”
in the book “Selected Works: Semiotics. Poetics" 1994, p. 393).
Reality seems to fall out of itself, pointing to
hidden presence of the referent. Hence the inscription on the asphalt “Anechka, I love you”
I love you!”, the alarming sparkle of a crow’s eyes like a bird’s flasher, ordinary
football practice and a broken rear window of a car and so on
similar “special kind of elements” with
"here" gesture. “...in a historical narrative, which is obliged to present “that which
what really happened,” the reference to this reality becomes the main one; here already
it doesn’t matter that the part is non-functional, the main thing is that it directly points to “what
what took place"; “concrete reality” is sufficient in itself
a reason to talk about it” (ibid. p. 398).
When moving to the second part, the key character becomes
welder, inconspicuous Hephaestus of modern times, transformer of life. With him
appearance, the picture of the world bifurcates, acquiring articulation and diffuse
nature of interaction. The images continue to follow one after another, narratively “fusing” into the mainstream
visual flow, but also “melt” along the border of the articulation. Herself
the border becomes a melting seam. Dynamic trajectories (compass,
longitudinal, transverse) seams correspond with the movements of the cello or
violin bow during performance. The resulting connection between two images
leads to the creation of a third semantic space, independent of the two
original ones, and moving away from them. “At the beginning of every...text (i.e.
subordinate to verisimilitude in its ancient sense) is meant Esto (let,
for example..., suppose)". "S
from a semiotic point of view, a “concrete detail” appears with a direct stop
referent with signifier; the signified is excluded from the sign, and with it,
of course, the ability to develop the form of the signified, that is, in a given
case, narrative structure" (there
same page 399). “In other words, the very absence of a signified, absorbed
referent, becomes the signifier of the concept “realism”: the effect arises
reality..." (ibid. p. 400).
In the third part, the visual polyphony increases, the picture
the world exfoliates and multiplies, plunging into a state of sfumato. Hephaestus continues
work. Ambiguity, rapid running, flowing currents, dissolution, everything is trying
melt and merge into a new uncentered reality.
Esto final
characterized by an increase in the degree of intensity of approaching the beautiful and
to the sparkling world, torn away from us
to an unattainable distance.
“The fact that the real cannot be recreated, that it can be
only to indicate, can be described in various ways: either, following Lacan,
we will define the real as the embodiment of the impossible, as something inaccessible, elusive
from any discourse." (R. Barth Lecture from 7
February 1977, ibid p. 554).