The Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0,10 (pronounced “zero-ten”) was an exhibition presented by the Dobychina Art Bureau at Marsovo Pole, Petrograd, from 19 December 1915 to 17 January 1916. … The mysterious number 0,10 refers to a figure of thought: Zero, either because it was expected that after the destruction of the old world, the year zero could begin again, or because the artists exhibiting wanted to find the core of painting, and ten, because ten artists were originally scheduled to participate. In fact, there were fourteen artists who participated in the exhibition. | Wikipedia: 0,10 Exhibition
That’s a pretty prosaic explanation for the enigmatic “0,10” of the exhibition title. Most appearances of it online are in references to books that are hidden behind a veil of copyright — sure, I could hike to a library and spend all day looking up sources, but I prefer to hunt online. Various references to the title include 0.10; 0,10; 0-10; Zero – Ten; Here is a passage from a book by Alenka Zupančič (The Shortest Shadow: Nietzsche’s Philosophy of the Two) that refers to the “enigmatic title” of the exhibition, which claims it should be read to mean the same thing as the black squares, namely, “something like a first veil after Nothing”:
It is essential to point out that Malevich’s “squares” are not abstractions from real forms, or their purification,a purification aiming at the pure essence of a form. Moreover, they are neither a zero-point nor the last thing that remains as the ultimate veil of Nothing. They are, rather, something like a first veil after Nothing. (This is probably how one should read and understand the enigmatic title of the 1915 exhibition in Petrograd, where Malevich presented his Black Square for the first time, namely:0,10,”Zero, ten.”)
The first veil after Nothing — love it! But my favorite way to think about 0,10 — for obvious zenigmatic pun potential — is the German language version, since German for zero is “Null” and for ten is “Zehn,” combining them you get “Null – Zehn,” which, with a little massaging, becomes “Null Zen.”
Also: I love the empty chair in the exhibition installation photo, above. That chair is the essence of Null Zen.
TAGGED: Futurism | malevich | Zen | zero-ten >> [ Archive ]