Total: 1,118,176 rubles and 4 kopecks to produce 10 art projects in the period 01.11.2017 to 01.11.2022, of which 6 completed, 1 in progress, 3 unknown status (2024)
Installation, mixed media
Garage Museum main collection
Photo: Mikhail Ekadomov
The installation Total: 1,118,176 rubles and 4 kopecks to produce 10 art projects in the period 01.11.2017 to 01.11.2022 (of which 6 completed, 1 in progress, 3 unknown status) was commissioned by Garage and explores economics and the financial position of the artist, a theme that until recently was rarely and unenthusiastically discussed but which today is an object of sociological research. Bogomolova arranges their financial autobiography in the form of an accountant’s office where you can find receipts, reports and other sensitive information that is usually concealed.
These types of documents are usually analyzed by descendents (as in the case of the illustrated list of purchases created by Michelangelo for his servant on March 18, 1518) or are a means of criticizing various aspects of the capitalist system (Hans Haacke’s works). But Bogomolova uses financial accounting with a different aim in mind. By revealing the “exact sum” to the viewer, they propose perceiving artistic labor as actual labor and not as an inspired impromptu event with no concrete value.
Sasha Obukhova
The installation includes: photo and video documentation of the performance “documenta” in the village of Kassel, Urals, Russia; the accountant’s workspace; a video titled “Submission of the financial report on the implementation of projects by Anastasia Bogomolova within the framework of the support program for young artists at the Garage Museum” in the form of a conversation between the artist and the accountant; and two artist books.
The first book-object, titled “Total. Expenses for the production of art projects from November 1, 2017, to November 1, 2022,” consists of three accounting calculators (each containing receipts with calculations for the reporting period) and six paper ribbons of varying lengths. The book is made from handmade paper created from recycled cash register receipts.
The second book is “Report on the implementation of projects by Anastasia Bogomolova within the framework of the support program for young artists at the Garage Museum from November 1, 2017, to November 1, 2019.” Its form consists of stitched folders containing reports on the work done and supporting documentation (photographs, scans, receipts). The paper components are also made from sheets of handmade paper created from recycled cash register receipts.
