Shamanism, Globalisation and Religion in the Contemporary Art of Said Atabekov and the Kazakh Art Collective Kyzyl Tractor

Abstract

Central Asia’s most famous artist Said Atabekov both interrogates and imagines religiosity in post-Soviet Kazakhstan in his art. He has been doing so as a member of the Kyzyl Tractor (Red Tractor) art collective and in his own art practice. They perform as shamans and explore the nomadic steppe culture of the days of yore. Offering a nuanced and often ironic critique of present-day developments in his art, Atabekov seeks to make his audience think about meaning making or the lack thereof. He highlights the inclusiveness of vernacular religion while simultaneously drawing attention to the vacuousness of the hegemonic ideologies of the day, ranging from communism to capitalism to dogmatic religion. From his oeuvre, we discuss works that concern a dervish shaman, the nomadic game of kokpar and the advent of rigid religion, respectively.

Ritual, Ritualization, and Religion in the Work of Kazakhstani Artist Anvar Musrepov

“…The authors declare no conflict of interest. See also Yessekeyeva and Venbrux (2021). 20 Anvar Musrepov,Eating ram's head,5:27,16 May 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwURNKg9ik&t=114s (accessed on 27 April 2021); Kristensen (2020); "Jørgen Leth Interview: Andy Warhol Eating a Hamburger," https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Ynhdgc9ziw8 (accessed on 27 April 2021).…”

“…However, Musrepov is not the only artist from Kazakhstan working with ritual as a theme. Other artists, such as Said Atabekov (Yessekeyeva and Venbrux 2021), Kanat Ibragimov, Yerbosyn Meldibekov, and Almagul Menlibayeva (Sorokina 2016a), also need to be mentioned. The latter, according to Sorokina (Sorokina 2016a, p. 248), is "one of the few women in the region who deal with video seriously."…”

“…Anvar Musrepov explores topics related to national identity in the Digital Age, comparing the nomadic culture of yore with the present-day culture of surfing. Cultural production and identity formation happens to be a topic that is increasingly drawing the interest of scholars, including scholars from Central Asia (e.g., De Tiesenhausen 2021; Kudaibergenova 2018;Dubuisson 2017Dubuisson , 2020Dubuisson and Genina 2011;Laruelle 2021;Yessekeyeva and Venbrux 2021). Musrepov's involvement with new media started with video art.…”