The research project Mycolograf explores the image of the mushroom in contemporary art and the influence of mushrooms on visual and sound art.
«In his 1954 essay ‘Music Lovers’ Field Companion’ John Cage wrote: ‘I have come to the conclusion that much can be learned about music by devoting oneself to the mushroom.’ At some point I began to think that mushrooms almost coincide with my understanding of visual art as something mysterious that surprises the eye but remains completely harmonious.» Konstantin Stavrov
There are two areas of research, theoretical (archival and art historical) and practical/field-based (a firsthand search for mushrooms in the forest and in urban visual culture). The project will develop based on the principle of the mycelium, in all directors and with various (unpredictable) stages of growth.
The approximate geography of the project encompasses Garage Archive Collection, the artist’s personal archive, «urban» mushrooms and farmers’ laboratories, and the forests of European Russia and Argentinian Patagonia.
