Moscow Art Center
The stream of Time in rapid current
Sweeps off and away all people's deeds
And sinks in abyss of oblivion
The nations, kingdoms and the kings.
And even if some of them remain
Thanks to the sounds of lyre and horn
They shall be swallowed by eternity
And shan't avoid the common fate.
(G.R. Derzhavin. June 6, 1816)
- What do you love most of all in the world?
- Rivers and streets: the long things of life.
(J. Brodsky)
What is the year 2001? It is the same sand grain in the River of Time, just like any other year, day or moment. Its ordinal number really means nothing. It signifies neither the beginning nor the end of anything: the boundary between the Past and the Future slips forward continually. This boundary is ourselves. We live and we move perpetually in front of the glass stream, which pursues us, transforming each passing minute into a museum exhibit. Everything that we have preserved, everything that we have created remains behind us like sunken ships, which remain on the seabed, like dead towns under a thick layer of congealed transparent lava. We are rushing forward, the River slips silently behind our backs, and years are left behind like old photographs on a desk pressed down by the Glass of Time. So our monument is just a very long plate of glass resting on 2001 columns.
