HOME

Monday 16 December 2013

No papers: no artist


"Art alone survives the earthquake shocks of revolution, and Russian art has been doubly secure because of it's deep-rooted imagination and it's passionate sincerity".

Oliver M. Sayler (writing from Moscow as it starved during the Summer of 1919).

I have to confess: I know very little about Russian contemporary artists (art-giants aside, of course...). But fortunately we have internet, where I found images of works by a Russian painter Vladimir Titov. One thing led to the other and I discovered this fragment of a documentary "Still life with wife" produced by Estonian filmmaker Kersti Uibo.


At some point Titov's wife tells how difficult it is to sell if you have no academic art education. "No papers: no artist", she says. This subject torments me from time to time: being autodidact myself, I do dare to call myself an artist and I do dare to exhibit and sell my paintings (gladly I am not living in a Soviet-era Russia..), but once in a while a seed of doubt sprouts with its' poisonous stems and I feel inferior in front of my diplomated Art fellows.

Anyways, I planned to speak about Titov's art here... His paintings are not just professional, they are beautiful, and strong, and luminous. They made me think of another artist I deeply admire: Dia Al Azzawi, one of the biggest contemporary artists in Iraq. Interesting that Titov mentions Iraq commenting on one of his paintings.

Here is a "Red Composition"(2012),  one of his recent paintings and one of my favorites:


That's all for tonight. 

Have a lovely Sunday evening.

Love,
AB