Stumble It!
Dec 22 2008
Perspectives: Gennady Stolyarov II’s City of Antideath
Archived from Art from the Outskirts August 27, 2008
Citadel of Progress (2008)
At a height of 1.3 kilometers, this building is taller than any existing today. It is my largest and most ambitious creation to date, and it could probably house an entire city’s residential and commercial operations if it were built. Each level has a hexagonal cross-section, and the structure consists of increasingly thinner hexagonal layers. On each level, I emphasize different geometric shapes, designs, and colors. In this building, I try to embody the upward aspiration in humans – the urge to progress, to improve, to build more, better, and higher things. This building conveys all the color and vibrancy of the most noble drive in man – the desire for the continual amelioration of life.
Discourses of the functions of art have been long-held tradition in innumerable cultures throughout time. The discussion becomes even more culturally constrained when discussing the role of architecture in a given society .Many cultures seek a unique,
visceral or spiritual experience. This is evident in the wondrous cave paintings of pre-historic man the grandiose pyramids and temples of the ancient Egyptians and Maya, the elegant Zen gardens of Japan and the majestic cathedrals of modern. Conversely art may function as mechanism for daily living in the logistics of a factory, the tidiness of an office or the confinement of a jail cell. Yet very often such stringent boundaries do not appear so readily defined. Though many times form may meet mechanism and logistical purpose or a stucture may be built solely to evoke spiritual awareness, there are occasions in which the logical and the visceral must meet at a common point. Gennady Stolyarov II’s City of Antideath is just such a place.
Created with Google imagining software, Antideath is an experiment in digital architecture and is a tribute to liberty, creativity and the hope for a deathless world. As Stolyarov is a professed Atheist, he prefers to think that paradise is plausible on Earth rather than only in the hereafter as he ponders the possibility of a cure for death ala Cory Doctorow’s novella Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. Each model in the set is named for a person or historical movement exemplary of Stolyarov’s vision of perpetual life, liberty and happiness for all people.
It is to be noted Stolyarov is not a professional architect or artist but an intellectual and regular contributor to the Today.com blogosphere In this sense, his art is indeed from the Outskirts.
From the Artist:
Why is this city called Antideath?
The purpose of Antideath is to simultaneously cultivate rational art and architecture and to spread awareness regarding the ultimate peril befalling the human condition at present. There is no such event as death by “natural causes.” All death is the product of severe bodily malfunction, be it heart disease, cancer, or an illness of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. The need to change public opinion in favor of full, unrestrained scientific exploration into working life extension of every conceivable kind is urgent and takes priority over all other long-term and short-term objectives, because without life there can be no awareness, no experience, no thought, no work, and no joy. The job of rational individuals who seek to live much longer than the current life expectancy (at the very least) is to insert an anti-death message – subtly or overtly – into any endeavor where such an insertion is at all feasible.
Note form The Progress of Liberty’s blog:
One of the goals Mr. Stolyarov has in mind for these buildings is that they will help affirm life in the minds of their observers and users. But affirming life and opposing death are two sides of the same coin. One cannot be truly “pro-life” unless one is also anti-death, although too many self-proclaimed “pro-lifers” neglect this truth. As people see these buildings, Mr. Stolyarov hopes that they will ask themselves, “Well, these are nice buildings, but why is the city called Antideath?” And that will get them thinking. Even the very awareness of the opposition to death – that it is seriously espoused somewhere by somebody – can inspire thought in people who otherwise would not have contemplated the matter from this perspective. These buildings are also intended to celebrate other vital principles in life, such as free enterprise, reason, and individualism – as well as the great thinkers of the past who contributed to the formulation of these principles.
The viewer can note a cleanliness and deliberateness with each piece. Each line corresponds to the mathematical precision with which it was designed. Stolyarov also includes a description of the dimensions and intentions of each piece. He feels again that each piece with its grand stature and stoic look will embody the personal right to life all free people invoke just by living.
To view all pieces, comment or to add to this project visit Stolyarov’ blog here. This is an open-ended community-inclusive project.
…Stay tuned for more from the Outskirts!
