What is the underground. Russian Underground

To understand the essence of this term, which characterizes the direction in art, let us turn to translating the word from English. What is an underground? Literally underground is a subway, underground. For representatives of the underground in various fields (literature, music, cinema, and visual arts), it is very characteristic to contrast their creativity with generally accepted values, norms, rejection of artistic and social traditions. For the first time, this current arose in the sixties of the twentieth century under the influence of the hippies. In this subculture there were many talented people looking for non-traditional approaches, eager to create something new. It was a combination of the most extreme styles that tried to exist and develop outside the official culture and show business. We can say that the underground is a direction that rejects the principles of officially existing art, a protest against generally accepted bourgeois values, where art obeys the market.

What is the underground in Russia

If we apply this term to Russian culture, in the Soviet period it is a protest against the state administration of art, a direction in culture that rejects the current state system. In the literature, this current arose in the seventies and continued the principles of samizdat, with the difference that the authors tried to shock the public, using profanity, appeal to the topic of sexual deviations.

The names of writers representing the Russian underground are known even to people who did not read their works - Venedikt Erofeev, Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Tatyana Tolstaya, and others.

In the case of Russian music, the underground is underground "home" concerts, rebellious texts expressing social protest. What is the underground in music at the moment? Heavy metal and rap are too commercialized, rather it is the style in which there is more unpredictability and freedom. In the West, perhaps, Jim Morris - the most legendary and outstanding representative of the underground style. The Doors music made her the most famous and most controversial band of her time. In Russia, the most prominent representatives of the underground movement in the fatal eighties and nineties were the groups Nautilus Pompilius, Kino, DDT, Aquarium, Resurrection, Alisa, Sounds of Mu, Aria and others. Since these rock bands were brewed in their own juice, that is, they existed on their own, they formed their own unique style, in demand to this day. Their common feature was a pronounced social protest and texts bearing the main burden. Musically, the underground had a huge impact on the development of rock music in the world.

What is the underground in contemporary art?

There is a dispute about the fact that if some subcultural current receives promotion and commercial support, then it loses the right to be called an underground. Probably, nowadays the underground exists only at the very beginning of the emergence of some style or trend in art. Everything new is often perceived by the public at first is bad, then raises delight and brings commercial success, and this can no longer be called an underground. Now they use the term "alternative", it is more extensible.