Decadence translates to "decline" and it resonates with its beautiful artsy sound. The expression “let's play decadence” took root in Russia in the early 90s of the last century, when the then popular pop group “Agatha Christie” released an album with that name.
They knew how to play decay long before the end of the twentieth century. The decadence movement dates back to the 19th century. Although this word can also be called various moments in the historical development of society, starting from the decline of the Roman Empire, it took root and received rapid development only about a hundred years ago.
And the manifestation of decadence began with the ideas of such creative and sophisticated masters of the word as Zinaida Gippius, Konstantin Balmont, Fedor Sologub, Alexander Merezhkovsky and some others. In the West, Maria Corelli, Maeterlinck, Huysmans, Baudelaire, Verlaine, etc. joined in during the decade.
In their poems, decadent poets vividly and expressively expressed an individual view of things common to everyone, personal subjective opinion, added amoralism and emphasized the rejection of the rules accepted in society.
In the visual arts, the motives of decadence are manifested by themes of moral decline and elements of apathetic sexuality. Artists supporting decadence painted on their canvases indifferent pale faces, fully or half naked bodies, full of desperate passion, or, conversely, absolutely indifferent and impassive.
Friedrich Nietzsche can be called a striking decadent philosopher. Almost all of his works carry the idea of opposing generally accepted traditions and moral foundations.
At the present time, decadence is really played more than seriously involved in it. Now he is associated not with ideas, but with a style, a certain mood that combines echoes of glamor and gothic.
In 2006, the first festival of decadents was held under the name "Velvet Underground". He gathered people who, in one way or another, consider themselves to be art, so to speak, "the opposition of pop music." The ladies present were dressed in extravagant outfits of overly pretentious styles, the men were dressed in tailcoats. At the same time, the music accompanying the action and the manner of the guests, far from established by society decency, created the illusion of a carnival, which in no way resembled a gathering of intellectuals who were solving serious problems of art.
The motto of the decadents of our time goes something like this: “Morality is dead. Only beauty is alive. If you want to play decadence, you need to be imbued with the idea that social norms and moral principles can be easily replaced by beauty in its most incredible manifestations. To make yourself known, you will need a couple of extravagant outfits, the ability to pretend, a little depressiveness and indifference to the problems of the world around you.
