The theory of Karl Jaspers that was looked upon by Viktor Bakhmetjevs goes back to the concepts of 18th century thought and at the same time makes us think of our here and now. The problem of free will and determinism, as old as philosophy itself, juxtaposes human illusion of causality with the need to change the world, to act in the face of aggression, abuse and crisis. Does the category of ''guilt”, which Jaspers thinks about a lot, allow itself to be separated from the social context and is there a clear moral compass? Yet, from this monolith stems a change; and activism, even if it is planned by other reactions of reality, keeps on searching and pushes the borderlines farther on. Such a path of philosophical reflection raises a question about the order of the exchange of thoughts and about how we can cross the frames of our own experience and our own country so that we could reach an abstract, and maybe even universal stage. In this context it was particularly interesting to talk about Sergei Parajanov and his last film, Ashik Kerib. Vigen Kalastyan introduced us to this film explaining the context of the history of Soviet cinema and its transnational tradition. The film was made a moment before the USSR fell apart but it also can be watched in the lenses of the postcolonial discourses which ask about the ethics of creating the images of the other. The ornaments and symbols in Parajanov's film belong to different worlds and growing on one another become transformed in the storm of colours of one episode. Ashik Kerib is also a tale about a journey, a choreography of the spiritual change written by the incessant movement, raw time and the gesture of the ritual. It is guided by an instrument, music, sound which, in the evening, were transformed from the flat screen to the space of the White Synagogue where we could listen to the interpretations of the songs by Sayat Nova, a bard from Tifilis, Georgia.
tekst: Piotr Szroeder
