A Friday evening to all, as good as the one enjoyed by Burroughs and Mr. Peanut

In 1974, one of the most surreal events in the history of modern art took place in Vancouver, when Mr. Peanut, an anthropomorphic groundnut in a top hat and monocle, stood for mayor of the city.

Behind this persona stood the artist Vincent Trasov, a member of the art group Image Bank. His campaign was pure performance, a parody of politics and of the aesthetics of advertising. The slogan of the PEANUT platform stood for Performance, Elegance, Art, Nonsense, Uniqueness, Talent.

Mr. Peanut himself never uttered a word in public, communicating only through dance and silence, playing something halfway between a politician and a living sculpture.

William Burroughs officially endorsed Mr. Peanut's candidacy, declaring that he stood on a platform of art, and that art is the creation of illusion.

Since the logic of reality has produced only insoluble problems, it is time for illusion to take power

Mr. Peanut did not win the election, gathering about 3.4% of the vote, but he became a legend of the art world and one of the symbols of the 1970s.

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free. So, here is the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

A Friday evening to all, as good as the one enjoyed by Burroughs and Mr. Peanut

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s