Mythological subjects in the author’s interpretation

Our life is so multifaceted and diverse that it is simply impossible to cover all aspects. However, there is such a wonderful part of it, without which it is difficult to imagine a modern person. It is the oldest and perhaps the most interesting of all aspects of life. These are myths, very diverse and unusual. Today, there are so many variations and types of them that it seems simply impossible to cover them all. However, I tried to do this on the example of the work of Vitebsk artists in 1995-2010.

Hey! This text has been translated into English using automatic Google translation. So I apologize for the inaccuracies in the text. The original in Russian can be seen here

This study was carried out by me in 2009-2010 as part of my master’s thesis “Mythology in the work of contemporary artists of the Vitebsk region”, which was successfully defended in the same year.

Mythological subjects in the author’s interpretation.

In the field of art, in the paintings created by artists, a special kind of mythology arises – the author’s myth. In it, the creator creates his own world, which obeys its own laws, it has its own mood and its own weather. And all this is created by the artist on the canvas, sometimes depicting quite ordinary things. However, in one way or another, many artists were interested in picturesque images of mythology and folklore, but there are not so many of those who constantly paint based on oral folk art. Of course, ancient images are being rethought by modern artists. A different philosophy, a different meaning, a different content is invested in them, however, mythological images are only enriched from this, since new, previously hidden, facets are revealed in them. Myths are an interesting, peculiar topic that requires special attention and attitude. Sometimes they are already fascinating in themselves, and what can I say when this or that legend is displayed in the interpretation of the artist. This is a different world, which has its own laws and its own conditions of existence.

The paintings reflect a rich inner world, through the prism of which everything that the author recognizes, sees, feels passes. At the same time, the incoming knowledge, information is refracted and its awareness is realized. It is precisely on how the artist understands and accepts this world that his choice of means and form of expression of his feelings and emotions depends. Since any picture is certain ways of creating it, i.e. various means and forms of expression. Consequently, there is a direct connection between the inner world and the image depicted on the canvas. In such works, written in the author’s interpretation, one can easily find all the features inherent in a creative person, the author of paintings, who not only reflects external reality like in a mirror, like a camera, but, passing through the essence of his inner world, perceives and tries to understand and realize it.

Here, for example, on the canvases of the Vitebsk artist Nikolai Dundin you can see elements of urban mythology (“Wine, bread, Vitebsk”) and the author’s mythology (“A snail on a walk”, “Spring”, “Summer”, “A fairy tale for adults”, “Stones “,” Casimir’s Knife”, etc.). This list can be continued for a long time. We see from these numerous examples that the artist constantly refers to the theme of mythology. In the work of the author, we find many different mythological plots, which he takes as a basis. Thus, deeply delving into the problems that concern the artist, Dundin spills the whole gamut of feelings and emotions onto the canvases, showing the rich essence of the author’s psychology, introducing particles of mythology into the work. It manifests itself in the work of the author from different sides. This makes it possible to better understand what the author wanted to say in this or that picture.

For example, in the work “Still Life with Pears”, the artist depicts pears on the table, a leaf. It would seem that everything is banal and simple, but they look like female figures and each of them has an image of a woman attached to it, exactly repeating a pear. This is a very difficult compositional move to understand. One can only guess what the artist really wanted to convey with this – a pleasant dish or a simple comparison. You can think for a long time, but one thing should be said right away – this work uses a creative or author’s interpretation of mythological subjects. And in this perspective, modern artists often begin to spill all their fantasies onto the canvas, including and smoothly weaving all sorts of myths into them. Such canvases are always very difficult to understand and interpret.

In the work of Nikolai Dundin there are works dedicated to the seasons of the year “Spring”, “Summer”, “Autumn”, “Winter”. For each of them, the author picked up an interesting female image. Spring is depicted as a beautiful Japanese woman, pure and bright, reflecting nature that is becoming obsolete from sleep. We see summer as a bright and juicy spot, with an abundance of flowers and colors. Autumn immediately appears strictly and majestically, striking with the brightness of yellow and red in the picture. And winter, as usual, cold and inhospitable, thought about her own, looking up to the sky. In these works, the artist revives and gives personal features to natural phenomena.

We observe the same technique in his canvases “Moon”, “Sun” and “Star”, where the author depicts his vision of these heavenly bodies through female images.

On the canvases of another Vitebsk artist Oleg Zakharevich, we also observe the introduced elements of the author’s myth in such works as: “Journey in a dream on a green tiger”, “Air balloon flight”, “Crossing”, “Rite”, “Kiss”, “Warrior of Light”, “Dream” and numerous other paintings in which the master shows not only a boat, a ball or a person, but also conveys his own vision of the world, a given moment of space and time. He creates a situation in which there is a feeling not of the real world, but of some other one, where there is a strange light, as in the work “Warrior of Light”, or a feeling of a special air or space, as in the work “Crossing”. The feeling of a special world, turning into a kind of myth, can also be felt in such works, where, with the help of working out individual details of the environment, the human figure, Zakharevich creates a peculiar structure: “The Treasured Key”, “Umbrella”, “Crossing”. In such works, various color and light spots collide, forming an integral picture of a peculiar worldview.

But, perhaps, the most prominent representative among Vitebsk artists who paint on mythological motifs is Sergey Kukhto. In his works (“By the River in Spring”, “Escape”, “Winter”, etc.) we find the author’s interpretations of famous ancient myths. All stories are presented in a free individual manner and the works are designed in the spirit of postmodernism. The central character in Sergey Kukhto’s paintings is a centaur. Centaurs in Greek mythology are strange creatures, half-humans, half-horses, inhabitants of mountains and forest thickets, distinguished by their violent temper and intemperance. The centaurs were considered the descendants of Ixion and Nephele – either direct, or through a common ancestor of the tribe, the Centaur, who foaled the Magnesian mares. Typically, centaurs are shown as wild and unrestrained creatures, in which animal nature predominates, but wise centaurs are also known, first of all, Phol and Chiron, friends and teachers of Hercules and some other heroes. Through this unusual image, the artist expressed all his thoughts, feelings and experiences, creating his own special philosophy on the works. The philosophy of a man who is fascinated by ancient myths and completely immersed in this interesting and wonderful world. For example, in the work “By the River in Spring” several mythological motifs can be traced at the same time. Firstly, the presence of a centaur speaks of ancient myths. Secondly, the surroundings, landscape and general mood are suggestive of Slavic motifs. Because the description of such a forest and field is more often mentioned in old Russian epics.

And another interesting analogy – in some of the author’s works, a centaur and a young girl are depicted. Thus, the artist expresses a feeling of love, full of beauty and sublimity, which has to go through all sorts of obstacles. The centaur embodies all male strength, care, kindness and devotion to the ideals of honor. In the female image, we see a beautiful companion, in which pure and noble love lives. It is through these beautiful images that the artist conveys to us such a wide range of feelings. On the woman you can see the scarf with which she covered herself and covered the centaur. Such an element appears very frequently in Kukhto’s work. It characterizes the classic image of a Russian woman who loves to wear headscarves.

In the work of Sergei Kukhto there is an image to which a whole series of works is dedicated. This is the image of Polkan, a centaur in the famous Napoleonic hat and harlequin clothes. Here, for example, as in this canvas – “Polkan in winter”, although in another picture “Sleeping Polkan” the character is already in warm winter clothes. The image of Polkan is enchanting. Through it, the artist conveys the loneliness of grandeur, beauty and a certain amount of buffoonery. It can be said with full confidence that this image is one of the most mysterious and strange in the artist’s work, because in no mythology do we meet a single creature that even remotely resembles this character. The author presented him to us in the form of a centaur, which has already become traditional for him. Perhaps for the artist it was an image that helped him express his feelings and attitude towards the surrounding reality. After all, a mixture of so many different features and images in one person is too complicated and not unambiguous for instant perception. For example, the appearance of Harlequin. He is cheerful and naive, not very smart, not very dexterous, not very dodgy, therefore he easily does stupid things, but he perceives the punishments that follow with a smile. He is lazy and looks for every opportunity to shirk work and take a nap, he is a glutton and a womanizer, but at the same time courteous and modest. Harlequin evokes sympathy for his ridiculous hardships and childish sorrows, when, as the image of Napoleon, he gives the character traits of greatness, superiority and nobility. The commander is true to his word and will not deviate from his plan. In some ways, he is similar to the centaur, who is just as proud and impregnable. This is how the artist combines opposites in one person, which in life are close, but never together. All these images merge into a monolithic and rather peculiar character in one character, who appears in far more than one job. Sergey Kukhto created an image that attracts with the mysteriousness and ambiguity of the presentation of the character, who in each work reveals one of his many facets of bottomless depths, woven together by a network of established ideas.

But not all works are devoted to distant countries and myths. In such paintings as Losvido Lake, the main action is transferred to the native Vitebsk expanses. The artist settles a centaur among the Slavic people. Here you can trace the ancient connection of peoples and the interpenetration of ancient and ancient Slavic cultures. Having carefully read the works of Sergei Kukhto, you can easily be convinced of the existence of the author’s myth, when the artist on his canvases makes you get along with such different and distant cultures and mythologies, while creating, at the same time, a unique mood in his paintings, where we see a new, slightly strange, but attracting purity and depth of philosophy. For example, the artist often paints winter and snow. Its whiteness and purity often appear on the canvases of Sergei Kukhto. He settles the centaurs in these harsh conditions. For example, as in the works “Winter” and “Escape”. In both works, the author correlates three images: centaur, woman and winter. Somewhere they are opposed, but somewhere they converge. The main characters have to overcome the harsh conditions of cold and hunger, at the same time, the emptiness and loneliness of the landscape evokes the idea of ​​the same loneliness of those walking. However, the two of them are warm and good, when it is dreary and cold around them. Thus, with the help of these figurative techniques, the artist manages to convey the relationship between two people and their relationship to the surrounding reality.

One can name quite a lot of names among Vitebsk artists who, one way or another, have repeatedly turned to the theme of mythological plots in the author’s interpretation. Among them are the following, the brightest, such as Oleg Kostogryz, Sergei Sotnikov, Vadim Osipov, Alexei Pshenko, Eduard Galustov, Mikhail Levkovich, Alexei Litvin, Ales Memus, Anatoly Kovalev, Alexander Khodyukov and many others. For example, Sotnikov in his works often uses the already known compilation of various mythological motifs. In the painting “Angel with a Mask” we find an allegory with a Christian angel, which speaks of the purity of the depicted. And the harlequin mask is from another era. Such a combination of elements from different eras is a frequent occurrence in the author’s interpretation of myths.

Sotnikov’s work “Time Stopped” is an attempt by the artist to understand the philosophical thoughts about time using characteristic and well-known elements, with the help of which the feeling of stopping time was conveyed. This is, first of all, an hourglass turned on its side, i.e. they are artificially stopped. Then in the sky we notice both luminaries: both the sun and the moon. This once again proves our conjecture. All this is accompanied by a sense of alertness, which is in the air. Thus, one can disassemble any work and make sure of the originality and unusualness of the ideas of artists who, using well-known symbols and facts, create the author’s interpretation of famous myths. For example, Kostogryz in his work “Belarusian Mounds” created a kind of myth of the Belarusian lands. At the same time, he used the image of a bison and the image of a Belarusian castle, placing it on the back of one of the bison. With these unpretentious elements, the author created a feeling of Belarusian nature, without resorting to any specific mythology.

Among the author’s mythology there are works made in different styles and directions. Here, for example, the works of Viktor Shilko “Silver Sad Day”, Leonid Khobotov “Dream”, Nikolai Bushchik “Spring Space” and others were written in an abstract style. And the realistic ones are written by Khodyukov, Kostogryz, Sotnikov and other authors.

Viacheslav Shainurov also repeatedly addressed the theme of mythological plots of the author’s interpretation in such works as “Choice” and “Creator”. Several well-known elements were used in the painting “Choice” to achieve the idea of ​​choice that every person has: the concepts of good and evil that exist in almost any mythology, the image of a person thinking and experiencing, and a landscape in alarming colors with a split across the sky. The painting “Creator” shows the interaction and dialogue of the creator, the person who creates the worlds, and the warrior, who is just his invention. Without resorting to the specific mythology of any people, philosophical ideas were transmitted.

Sometimes a simple motif of a landscape, portrait or complex composition becomes a myth only thanks to the author’s interpretation by the artist, sometimes performed in a variety of styles and directions. And there are more and more such examples over time. After all, it is the author’s myth that allows the artist to express himself much better than any other direction.