Fixing a Real Plan. Metalanguage 1980

Editor: So, this is "Fixing a Real Plan. Metalanguage," an ink and drawing piece by Oleksandr Aksinin from 1980. It feels almost like a coded message, maybe a Soviet-era comic strip made of geometric abstractions. It’s really intriguing! What do you see in this work? Curator: Well, placed against the backdrop of Soviet Nonconformist Art, Aksinin's piece becomes particularly potent. Consider the chessboard format—is it a game, a system? What kind of plan is he trying to "fix?" Editor: I see your point! The chessboard does give it a rigid structure, but then all these bizarre symbols disrupt it. Almost like mocking the idea of a perfectly ordered system. Curator: Precisely. This work directly critiques the Soviet obsession with utopian planning. He uses this playful style and abstraction to create coded messages about the limitations and failures of those overarching systems. Look how Aksinin uses abstraction not as an escape from reality, but as a tool to comment on it. What do you think of that? Editor: It definitely makes it feel more subversive. These playful forms hide a deeper, more critical message, one that directly addresses Soviet culture and policies. I guess that’s what makes it "nonconformist." I hadn't quite put it together until now! Curator: Exactly. Artists like Aksinin used these visual strategies to subvert official narratives and create spaces for alternative viewpoints. Thinking about it from this angle totally changes how I read this work. Editor: I agree. It's fascinating to consider how Aksinin challenged the establishment, and how the chessboard structure highlights those planned yet broken systems within a highly controlled culture.