Before emigrating to the United States in 1980, Russian artists Rimma and Valeriy Gerlovin were involved in linguistic experiments centered on language’s role in the construction of social reality. Like the work of other young and unsanctioned artists in Moscow during the ’70s, their work took the form of artists’ books, performance, and installations; it had political overtones not only by virtue of its content but because of its underground status. In such an environment, the very act of viewing unsanctioned exhibitions made one a participant in unofficial cultural/political activities.

Because