Well, let's start celebrating. :-))
I present to you a wonderful series of paintings by artist Igor Shaimardanov called “Pskov Maslenitsa”.
Shaimardanov Igor Dmitrievich was born in 1964 in Udmurtia. Studied at art school, art college. After serving in the army, he studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts, where in 1991 he defended his diploma in stage design. Since 1995 he has been working as a theater artist. Designed about 30 performances.
As a production designer, he took part in city celebrations, festivals, carnivals, and anniversary celebrations.
Held more than 40 personal exhibitions. Works in the genre of traditional subject painting and graphics. Member of the Union of Artists of Russia. Member of the Union of Theater Workers of Russia.
Works by I.D. Shaimardanov are in private collections, the "Foundation of Contemporary Art", the Pushkinogorsk Museum-Reserve, the museum-apartment of Vladimir Nabokov, the Neptune Business Center, the All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin on the Moika. Currently lives and works in St. Petersburg.
Over the past few years, he has been the main artist of the All-Russian Maslenitsa in Pskov.
In the beginning it was winter. No, in fact, it was September outside, but wet snow was falling in flakes on the cardboard, a hunched little man was dragging a sleigh with brushwood, and through the branches of black trees the house in Polibino was visible - large, reliably squat, warm...
Twenty-five paintings, Igor Dmitrievich now says, seemed to “splash out” in just two months. Winter fun gave way to summer reading in the grass, autumn walks in the rain. Then the heroine went for a walk to Pushkin’s Mikhailovskoye and Trigorskoye.
Pskov Krom and the Velikaya embankment, the spit of Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg, then Paris, Stockholm appeared in the paintings one after another.
The main character of the new cycle is everywhere given a hint, a silhouette, the outline of a dress from the 19th century - a kind of person in a landscape. The artist himself looks at it from afar, and it is completely separated from the viewer by a “mesh” of numbers, mathematical formulas, and symbols scratched into the oil texture.
The technique, which comes directly from Shaimardan’s already famous “Mikhailovsky Scratches,” works here completely differently than in the artist’s Pushkin cycles, and...
-...Approaching a character is sometimes very dangerous, - Igor Dmitrievich unexpectedly explains. And to the “insidious” question of whether he managed to fall in love with his own heroine while he was writing her in the rain, fog, and sunlight, he answers: - To fall in love? No. But I appreciated her, was inspired, and was very surprised - how is it that a girl lived in a remote village and suddenly became interested in higher mathematics?
If Pushkin is almost a folk hero, close, almost dear, despite the fact that he is an unconditional, unattainable genius, then in the case of Sofia Kovalevskaya - everything is completely different, Igor Shaimardanov feels. Sofya Vasilyevna will never become a popular heroine - in the literal sense of the word, from “people”: she is too far from us, she belongs entirely to the world of science. Therefore, the new series is a kind of staffage, or more precisely, let’s quote the artist again: “... fantasies on the theme of that era, that mood.”
The fantasies are all the more reliable because Igor Shaimardanov, as usual, tried to convey all the landscapes, all the views as accurately as possible, checking his paintings according to the old, from the time of Sofia Kovalevskaya, images and descriptions. And even the symbols scratched into the paintings here directly “work for the plot”, reminiscent of those very notorious sheets with notes from Professor Ostrogradsky’s lectures on differential and integral calculus, which - by chance, due to the fact that there was not enough wallpaper - were papered over the walls in the nursery future woman mathematician...
- I wanted to convey the loneliness of Sofia Kovalevskaya through the landscape - geniuses are always alone! - and also its unusualness, specialness. I wanted to imagine where she could be, what she felt, what she thought about in these places...
HELP "KP"
The life and work of St. Petersburg artist Igor Shaimardanov are closely connected with the Pskov land. After graduating from the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts, he worked at the Pskov Drama Theater; over the years he was the main artist of the All-Russian Pushkin Poetry Festival in Mikhailovsky.
For a long time he has been fruitfully developing the “Pushkin theme” in graphics and painting, including using his own original method of “scratching” oil with a needle.
Many works by Igor Shaimardanov are kept in the collection of the Mikhailovskoye State Museum-Reserve.
The idea to create a series of paintings about Sofya Kovalevskaya, according to the artist, also arose from his conversation with the director of the Pushkin Nature Reserve Georgy Vasilevich.
Reproductions of paintings were provided by KP-Pskov by their author.
Wonderful paintings... Magically crystal-ringing. Watch and read the interview with the artist :)
“Where does the Pskov region begin?
Igor Shaimardanov has lived and worked in St. Petersburg for a long time. And inspiration still catches in the Pskov region, returning in search of new stories. Either he will come to Pushkin, to Mikhailovskoye, or to Berezino, to Dovlatov.
Shaimardanov loves and appreciates writers because of their inner affinity and education: a theater artist cannot help but respect the text. His always funny pictures are a kind of visual stories, with characters and a plot, that is, essentially, comics. From any picture, if desired, you can make a short but expressive cartoon.
Notes in the margins, tales and anecdotes, legends and myths accompany the images, explaining and supplementing them with words, and vice versa, often a biography or story, transformed in the magical lenses of vision, acquires visible appearance and characters.
In 10 years, Igor Shaimardanov has accomplished a lot: he designed his own “Pushkiniana”, collected under one cover in the album “Alexander Sergeevich feels good!”, compiled “The ABC of Pushkinogorye”, illustrated “Reserve” by Sergei Dovlatov, worked as a production designer at poetry festivals in Mikhailovsky , created a series of erotic collages “PRO Nude”, and, of course, continued to record village everyday life (Lyubyatov’s cycle), where everyday life is densely mixed with miracles: a huge orange rolling downhill, angels in the trees, or the Eiffel Tower suddenly rising outside the outskirts.
Shaimardanov’s latest cycle, which was presented to the public at the regional Folk Art Center last Friday, is called by the author “Where the Motherland Begins,” and refers to his own biography and purely personal impressions, and there is some symbolism and even mysticism here.
As the artist explained, it just so happened that it was in the small two-story house that now houses the exhibition hall of the Center that once upon a time, several decades ago, the grandmother of Igor Shaimordanov’s wife lived, and, as a little girl, she often visited her grandmother, drank tea, played and had fun.
It turns out that the house where the exhibition “Where the Motherland Begins” opened is not a stranger to the artist, and the Motherland, large and small, opens up, including from this house, as well as from the picture in your primer, or rather, “ABC”, graphic sheets from which also found their place on the walls of the gallery.
The Motherland is not so much a geographical concept as it is a spiritual, biographical one. The Motherland is childhood, fantasies, dreams, relatives so much that you can’t escape them anywhere, and at some remarkable moment in life an irresistible desire will arise to capture this Motherland.
I hope that in six or seven months “Where the Motherland Begins” will be a cycle of 25-30 canvases. — Igor Shaimardanov commented on his idea. — This is a “well-forgotten old thing,” a return to normal, some summing up, an attempt to look at your life’s path from your favorite bell tower. That is, to comprehend the plots and characters, to once again understand what I have been living with for decades.
- Return to childhood, adolescence, youth? Looking at some biographical facts?
Absolutely right! Both in youth and childhood. And what is happening now. “Where does it begin…” is a look at yourself from the outside. How do I see myself in my homeland? Inside the Motherland.
- Igor, you constantly return to the same motifs: village, winter, peasants, angels...
Yes, but it's not a move. It’s just that everything else is very far from me, not close. And I never do what I don’t know, what I don’t understand, what I don’t live in. Not able to compose from his fingertips. Everything is extremely organic.
-Where did the orange come from?
Oh. If you dig deep, an orange is a symbol of happiness, a symbol of joy. And so on. But to be honest, there is a commercial component to the orange. I once went to the orange carnival in Italy. They throw oranges there for three days. This shocked me so much that I decided to create a series of orange battles. There was supposed to be an exhibition in Italy, but it did not take place due to reasons from the host country. Then, after all, I exhibited with the orange cycle in St. Petersburg. However, the orange theme remained. Orange as an unattainable dream. Just like the Eiffel Tower. This cycle was also born of life. In Lyubyatovo there was a stall called “Our Paris”. Can you imagine?
- Yes I remember.
And the Eiffel Tower is a dream. That is, you always want to find some kind of unifying, cross-cutting image that is understandable to everyone.
- There’s a children’s cartoon about an orange.
Yes, there is a cartoon. Based on Shergin's tales. One great happiness was shared among everyone. I want to tell you honestly that I am not lying one bit here. You know, sometimes you see artists on Nevsky or Arbat - they paint a bathhouse, they paint a village, they paint men.
- Baba is naked.
Yes! And I feel sick. Because artists don't know a damn thing about life. They don't know how to go to the bathhouse. Like sitting on a bench. Like climbing over a fence. How men communicate. They don't know the type of guy. How a man walks, how he sits and how he drinks. They don't know anything! After all, you first need to study reality. Have you ever noticed how young actors who never drank themselves sometimes play drunk? This is such a hack. So disgusting. The boy may not have drunk a hundred grams of vodka in his entire life, but he pretends to be drunk. It turns out unnatural. Remember how Burkov played drunkards, or Mikhail Kononov, or Oleg Efremov. These are masterpieces! So there you go. Study the subject first and then sing the song.
- But you probably didn’t study it specifically, but just lived this life?
Yeah. As in the song: “Why, my friend, because I don’t learn life from textbooks.” But you need to depict this whole texture 50 to 60 so that the viewer has a response. The plot must be embodied in a formula, in a metaphor. This is not just a fact: a man walked up to the fence, unzipped his fly... So what? No, there must be an image. Like, for example, Chagall: lovers are flying, and a guy sits below and relieves himself. Contrast of space and earth, high and low. How to surprise and convince the viewer? So that it sounds like a badge, a stamp, a postcard. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a picture in front of you or a postcard. Don't diminish it as a masterpiece, it will still remain a masterpiece. Even on a candy box. Hunters Rest is a masterpiece. I realized this when 8 years ago, already a mature man, I came to the Tretyakov Gallery. I looked and was convinced: no one would do that again!
- But “ABC of Pushkin Mountains” is not, so to speak, a project?
No, it was in the air. Nowadays it is fashionable to make alphabet books. ABC of Izborsk, ABC of Jerusalem, ABC of a preschooler. And I made my alphabet.
- Igor, forgive me, but theatricality just creeps out of your work.
Naturally. I don't hide this. If you noticed, everything happens like on stage for me. And the lighting looks like spotlights. Sometimes in the artists' union they say to me: “Well, what kind of moon is this? The moon doesn’t shine like that!” But I’m not Kuindzhi. I'm not hiding my move. I do this deliberately. Of course, snow can't sparkle like that. I highlight what I need. I highlight the mise-en-scène. Maybe this is how I realize my directorial efforts? Moving people back and forth. Your own hand is the ruler. I know everything about every person I portray.
- What kind of artist do you consider yourself to be: accessible, popular, commercial?
Both commercial and affordable. I am absolutely not offended by any terms. The main thing is that the art is honest. There is nothing wrong with the fact that the work is beautiful - not pretty, but beautiful, that is, bright, expressive - no.
Sasha DONETSKY
In the work of theater artist Igor Dmitrievich Shaimardanov, the image of Pushkin plays a leading role. Dozens of works and entire series are dedicated to the hero.
“My turn to Pushkin in my work took place, of course, naturally, like every artist, but that starting moment, which pulled with it all subsequent cycles, series, themes, occurred on the verge of transition to another reality. Everything is simple, without phantasmagoria and intricacies. In 1999, while working at the Pskov Drama Theater as a production designer and participating in the production of a play for the Poet’s anniversary, I, as part of my job duties, bought fabrics for costumes for the play. And, apparently, he was so immersed in Pushkin, in his images, in the theme that, looking at the pieces of chintz, he suddenly saw Alexander Sergeevich looking out among the floral patterns. There was no doubt about the reality of what was happening.
A series of works called “Cintz Pushkin” was born all at once in a single key. This is how the village Pushkin appeared, resting among the flowering meadows of Mikhailovsky, wandering through the surrounding fields, whiling away the long nights with his nanny... And seeing his bunny under the falling snow from white chintz polka dots, and romantically meeting a young lady among the lilac bushes... The folk poet and the folk fabric turned out to be so united in spirit, that a small miracle happened for the artist too. I suddenly discovered my Pushkin. I saw it in everyday life. Without bronze and monumentalism, without a pedestal and inaccessibility. But at the same time he is always a Poet...” Igor Shaimardanov.
The virtual exhibition, dedicated to the artist’s 50th anniversary, presents some of the author’s works from the collection of the Pushkin Reserve. These are paintings on chintz and individual sheets of his series “Mikhailovsky Scratches” and the series “Alexander Sergeevich and Arina Rodionovna” and “ABC of Pushkin Mountains” created in the same manner. How are scratches born? Having outlined the general composition, the author scratches the outline of the design on coated cardboard with a needle, after which oil paint is rubbed into the sheet, revealing the previously scratched design. The sheets tell about the life of the Poet in the village of Mikhailovsky, as seen and composed by the artist through the centuries. The works of Igor Shaimardanov sparkle with colors, they are ironic, good-natured, and most importantly, talented.
Igor Dmitrievich Shaimardanov was born in Kambarka (Udmurtia) on February 7, 1964. He graduated from the Neftekamsk Art School, Yoshkar-Olinsk Art School, and the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts. Since 1995 he has been working as a theater artist. Member of the Union of Artists of Russia and the Union of Theater Workers of Russia. In 2008 and 2009 was the main artist of the All-Russian Pushkin Poetry Festival in the village. Mikhailovsky. His works are kept in the Pushkin Nature Reserve, the State Museum of A.S. Pushkin (Moscow), the All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin (St. Petersburg), V.V. Nabokov Apartment Museum (St. Petersburg), Pskov Art Gallery, private collections.
Igor Dmitrievich Shaimardanov was born in Kambarka (Udmurtia) in 1964. He graduated from the Neftekamsk Art School, Yoshkar-Olinsk Art School, and the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts. Since 1995 he has been working as a theater artist. Member of the Union of Artists of Russia and the Union of Theater Workers of Russia. In 2008 and 2009 was the Chief Artist of the All-Russian Pushkin Poetry Festival in the village. Mikhailovsky. His works are in the Pushkin Nature Reserve, the State Museum of A.S. Pushkin (Moscow), All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin (St. Petersburg), Museum-apartment of V.V. Nabokov (St. Petersburg), Pskov, private collections.
In the work of theater artist Igor Dmitrievich Shaimardanov, Pushkin plays a leading role. Dozens of works and entire series are dedicated to the hero: “The Calico Pushkin”, “Mikhailovsky Scratches”, “Alexander Sergeevich and Arina Rodionovna”... The exhibition “Alexander Sergeevich and others...” is a look into the past, an opportunity to take a single look at more than a ten-year period of creative biography author.
“My turn to Pushkin in my work took place, of course, naturally, like every artist, but that starting moment, which pulled with it all subsequent cycles, series, themes, occurred on the verge of transition to another reality. Everything is simple, without phantasmagoria and intricacies. In 1999, while working at the Pskov Drama Theater as a production designer and participating in the production of a play for the Poet’s anniversary, I, as part of my job duties, bought fabrics for costumes for the play. And, apparently, he was so immersed in Pushkin, in his images, in the theme that, looking at the pieces of chintz, he suddenly saw Alexander Sergeevich looking out among the floral patterns. There was no doubt about the reality of what was happening.
A series of works called “Cintz Pushkin” was born all at once in a single key. This is how the village Pushkin appeared, resting among the flowering meadows of Mikhailovsky, wandering through the surrounding fields, whiling away the long nights with his nanny... And seeing his bunny under the falling snow from white chintz polka dots, and romantically meeting a young lady among the lilac bushes... The folk poet and the folk fabric turned out to be so united in spirit, that a small miracle happened for the artist too. I suddenly discovered my Pushkin. I saw it in everyday life. Without bronze and monumentalism, without a pedestal and inaccessibility. But at the same time he is always a Poet..."
"Sunny wind". Chintz, oil, 94x71. 2001
“Get together.” Oil on canvas, 90x70. 2001
"Pushkin on the Black Sea". Oil on canvas, 70x60. 2001
