THE ACADEMIC LOOK: EXHIBITION PROJECT OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS

On February 20, 2018 in the exhibition halls of the Russian Academy of Arts there will be a presentation of the “The Academic Look” project organized by the Design Department of the Russian Academy of Arts.

Participants of the Project:
ZURAB TSERETELI
MARIA VYAZHEVICH
ALEXANDER ROZHIN
IRENA DOLMATOVA
ANDREY KOVALCHUK
ALEXANDRA LUZHINA
NICKOLAI BOROVSKOY
VALERY BLOKHIN
IRINA KRUTIKOVA
EVGENY MAXIMOV
MANANA POPOVA
ANNA RYNDINA
NICKOLAI MUKHIN
ISABELLA MURADOVA
ANDREY BOBYKIN
VICTOR GLUKHOV
TATYANA KOCHEMASOVA
VICTOR KALININ
ALEXANDER TSYGAL

“The Russian Academy of Arts is a unique center of Russian culture with rich history and profound genealogy. For almost three centuries the Academy has been leading in the process of formation, preservation and development of Russian art diligently accumulating advanced ideas and concepts of eminent artists of their time.

The photo-artist Serge Golovach focuses on the phenomenon of the academic look obtaining in his works a literal meaning –the look for him means an eye. The artist is interested in seeing the world not through the eyes of academicians, but vice versa, he wants to look in the face of academicians from the outside and using the macro photography to explore the amazing tool through which they scan the surrounding world. Just an eye against the white background  - it is a simple but meaningful statement,  however,  such straight-line presentation is an illusion as a lot of meanings are hidden in this concise form.

“The Academic Look” is a project of “post-photography”, a priori hybrid and multi-layered, it is not only about the expressive technique but also about the game with the layers of the viewers’ perception.

The image of an eye personifies the God’s Providence, the very eye is God, Universal Creator, Great Architect of the Universe.  It is identical to the Sun – the source of Light; the Truth, Wisdom, Knowledge and Mind are also connected with eye. The eye has also a function of the spiritual, supersensitive, intuitive vision in all the variations: foresight, providence and clairvoyance. Thus we are trying to find the keys to the mystery of the artist’s look. The first key: behind the particular the artist always sees the abstract – not an object, but the image of the object. The second key: the talent of the artist is one big eye turned to the Divine. The third one: As Paul Cezanne said about Claude Monet: “Monet himself is only an eye. But, My God! What an eye!”.

Every artist has his own vision, operates with symbols and interacts with images in his own way. The looks of all artists like elements of the mosaic make up a wide art panel, the looks of academicians form the core of the mosaic and the Academy itself acts as a channel of central vision.

The diverse academic looks are united by general knowledge of the essence of the Beautiful. This knowledge is based on the past – experience and traditions. The eye retina is imprinted with the strict cannons of art. Best of all, the academic eye is characterized by the Egyptian symbol Wedjat – the Eye of Horus, the ancient symbol of protection. The eye of an academician is an eye of the keeper of traditions.  

To preserve the past, witness the present and look into the future are a supertask, gift and cross of an academician. The ability to foresee is expressed in art by innovation. The innovator-guardian is of course an oxymoron. But the true artist in principle is impossible without paradox, as it is in the combination of the incongruous that the old images transform and new images, meanings and symbols arise.





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