NEO FIGURATIVE ART
Although the term “figurative art” appeared comparatively not long ago, in fact it has existed since ancient times in the form of rock paintings and stone idols. The 20th century became the crossing to real prosperity of figurative art. Art styles and philosophic ideas did not change each other as earlier involving in its orbit the whole art community. They existed simultaneously in harmony in a great number. The role of personality in art also changed. If we take as an example artists, who became the part of history already, we will see the presence of bright personality, unique style and personal world-view.
The search of new forms and ideas made to look at Art differently. Firstly it considered to be second-grade from the point of view of academic traditions. Art traditions of many minor folks became available. The Art reminded the pot in which everything was boiling and mixing. The personalities appeared as the result. Now figurative art is experiencing deep crisis, many pessimists have been claiming for a long time already that it has already exhausted. Another branch of Art which is abstract and actual, does not possess the potential that is able to replace figurative art.
Every person knows the moments of solitude, when you are alone with your conscience, it means with God. It is difficult to imagine that majority of topics attracting artists in actual art belong to this category of thoughts. Many of them are really actual, and it means momentary. Even very talented political journalism is not able to replace serious deep literature. Figurative art with a man in its center, allows a viewer not only feel complicity of the event, but also to be the co-author because there is no categoricity in interpretation of the topic (we, of course, are talking about best patterns). In actual art the detailed description of artist’s ideas is common standard. It can be called “The Art on trust”, because theoretically real sense of the work can be absolutely opposite and none except the author can’t learn it.
Neo figurative art managed to keep main advantages of figurative art and now it is attaching a new impulse of development which allows thousands of new artists to find its style. It also gives the opportunity to acquire and consolidate moral and religious backgrounds and that is more important for personality. Neo figurative art is not a style and not a direction, it is the whole world which appeared before the first man’s creation. It gives food, clothes and shelter, it warms and treats. We call this world the lungs of our planet.
The vegetable kingdom is endless in its variety and beauty, it never repeats and constantly refreshes. In its potential it does not give in but even exceeds a man as representation object. But neo figurative art does not oppose to figurative art but enriches it.
How many of them are on the fields!
But each of them is blossoming in its own way,
And this is the highest exploit of a flower.
Base.
RESEMBLANCE
The vegetable kingdom has attracted artists not once by its amazing beauty of the forms. But all of them have not seen the main thing – almost mystical connection with the man.
Not only the man’s anatomy is initially put in the forms of the vegetable kingdom. It can be mentioned not only by the person who is not an artist – man’s plastique, natural poses, the dynamics of the movements, the correlation of the forms, lengthened irreproachable proportions. You can easily guess male and female commands in many forms. Its unique and various interpretation of clothes and folds on it, from graphic to extensional representation. The artist is not limited in the choice of composition – standing, lying, sitting figures, pair and group compositions, very often the topiñ of maternity is mentioned.
All works of Creator are mysterious and incomprehensible, his invisible presence is in everything. You have to be patient in trying to open a little a bit these mysterious covers. There are too many links between the world of people and the world of plants.
Anyway the vegetable kingdom is the one in its basis in spite of its variety. Every plant repeats human life cycle: birth, maturity, old age, physical death, remains and birth of a new life. Epidemics happen with people and plants, there are diseases that break naturally determined order and take away the whole settlements. The same happen with leaves when they, small and big, interlace in single aspiration up – it is farewell with the land. I believe that there is some link between man’s destiny and fallen and interlaced leaves, it is as some chronicle of the life. This belief is becoming stronger within years. Close to the house where I lived there were 10 cherry-trees. With enviable constancy there appeared interlaced leaves, they meant a man and a woman – eternal motive of a couple. I was watching it for some years and everything repeated. I hope that with time this mystical link will be explained in time. But everybody can watch it right now.
And at last, in neo figurative there is classical relation to beauty and harmony, that is why there are no aesthetic contradictions with figurative art.
The child said, “What is grass?”
And he brought me handfuls of grass
Or maybe it is hieroglyph, eternally single and the same.
Walt Whitman “The leaves of the grass”
DIFFERENCES
The first and principal difference between figurative art and neo figurative art is the following: The artist in figurative art, representing a man – a perfect form made by Creator in the wish to find the unique creative manner, is facing the choice. He can’t represents the man as it was done many centuries ago by another artists. There are three ways: to create something more perfect. To create your own “Ideal hero” is a very difficult task because you can be influenced by Greats who created in the 20th century for 100%. There is only way out – very simple – the struggle with this perfect form in the way of changing with the help of deformation. But the choice here is not very big – to caricature or to pathological ugliness. The artists who choose this way have to give up many topics because the relation between inner and extra substances is natural or specially blaspheme in aspiration to attract attention.
The development of movement in neo figurative art goes from one perfect natural form (let’s call it abstract) to another perfect form – a man. The artist can stop on this long way anywhere he wishes. He can approach classical interpretation of man’s figure keeping peculiarities of a leaf and an inflorescence. Or he can stop depicting symbol or sign. It is a safe way as a wide forest road with branches of many paths. In figurative art the artist has to construct his own road and is risky to get lost.
When we read the description of Eden in Old Testament we see that the animal kingdom lived in love and friendship. There was no law of mutual feeding frenzy. But the original sin left its traces on it as well. The vegetable kingdom is the only one kept in its virgin high purity. There is nothing vulgar, aggressive, band or fussy. There is no vice, it can be brought from outside and in this way to destroy the form within. It is very important in our time when there are no moral and ethical limitations in Art and where Art is deeply atheistic.
Contemporary art allows everything and for many people it is in some way indulgence from criminal and civil prosecutions. Actual art does not touch. Artists voluntarily broke the main thread connecting art and viewer. If we could imagine that mankind left the necessity in it all forms of Art would stop exist. The first would be music – the most abstract form of Art.
The real poetry says nothing,
It only indicates the opportunities,
Opens all doors.
You can come through any which is the most suitable for you.
Jim Morrison
PECULIARITIES
If the artist decides to follow all laws of construction in given form it sooner becomes the illusion of volume. According to the law if something disappears, something new appears. In this case the sculpture enriches with such qualities as lightness and airiness.
The illusion of volume created new volumes where the air travels freely without staying too long. However depending on tasks the artist can keep traditional approach to interpretation oà volume as well.
The great variety of beautiful winged creatures can be seen in neo figurative. They have different names: angels, virgins and so on. If we take these forms as basis we avoid the temptation to humanize these images too much, landing them and depriving in such a way of greatness and mystery.
The unity of laws under which the whole vegetable kingdom forms, each form is very individual. This variety is easy to imagine in analogy with architecture. We can see in it all styles existing there and in the vegetable kingdom. Thanks to this variety of forms not only new styles can appear on the basis of neo figurative art. The artists have the possibility to reconsider the styles, which became the history, from the point of view of today. As you can easily see symbolism and modernism, baroque and classism in leaves.
It should be mentioned that not every artist can create in neo figurative art. You have to believe me – the person who got serious basic education, and at the beginning related to figurative art. We often see that the work of middle level can be done exceptionally thanks to craft – knowledge, skills and formed taste. In neo figurative art you create in pure form from the very beginning ( search of form) to conclusion. You chose one leaf among millions, the image and hidden sense should be seen in it. It happens very seldom that the leaf done by you is identical to original. Mainly it is a big plastic idea put in it or some fragment around which the image forms. The rest is creation built on today knowledge of the laws. If we make the analogy with music, we can admit the closest here is jazz improvisation. But if we talk about the knowledge of the following form it more resembles architecture. The scientists can set the form of vase, its size and destination only using the fragments of ceramics.
One of important peculiarities of neo figurative art is the possibility to create in for people from huge Islamic world. The big scale of possible conventions in neo figurative art allows without breaking religious laws implement your own inner world. The main advantage of Art is the possibility to unite people. Moreover inner moral principles that are put in the vegetable kingdom are closer to peoples that are not spoilt by modern art, its lack of restraint. Religious and moral part is the main joining basis in neo figurative. Actually any topic can be deeply spiritual and any topic can be vulgarized. Everything depends on inner world. Per se artists are divided in two groups: believers and atheists. It goes without dependency on styles and directions in art. But we have to know that from atheist to struggling atheist is only one step. There very accurate lines written by Boris Grebenschikov about meaning of creative process, “My work is very simple, I look at the world, a motive comes to me, I chose words”. Those who took Holly Communion knows Thanksgiving Acathistus “Thanks God for Everything”. There are almost all topics in it that can interest the artist. If we imagine the Acathistus as a piece of music, tuned on some definite wave, chosen topic by you, it is words and topic. As the result we have an integral and harmonious piece of work. This work is bright.
Ikos 5
I see the sky shining with stars. How rich you are, how much light you have. The eternity looks at you by the rays of distant stars. I am small and worthless but the God is with me, his loving right hand keeps me everywhere.
Thank You for unceasing care of me.
Thank You for thought meeting with people.
Thank You for relatives’ love and friends’ devotion.
Thank You for gentleness of animals serving me.
Thank You for bright minutes of my life.
Thank You for joys of my heart.
Thank You for happiness to live, move and contemplate.
Thank You, God, for ever.
Ikos 7
You light up the thought of artists, poets and geniuses of science by the intuition of Holly Spirit. They comprehend Your laws prophetically by the Supermind opening us a heap of Your wisdom. Their deals say about You unintentionally. Oh, how Great you are in your creatures and in the man. Thanks for Your appearance of incomprehensive strength of the world.
Thanks God, all the nature is full of the laws of Your being. Thanks God for everything opened us due to Your kindness. Thanks God for everything that You kept due to Your wisdom. Thanks God for brilliance of human mind. Thanks God for life-giving force of labor. Thanks God for fired flashes of inspiration. Thank You, God, for ever.
My motto is “ Noble man never changes the predestined way”.
Oriental saying
PERSONAL
The address to artists was placed on my site for long 7 years. It started with words, “Dear colleagues…” I naively thought that it was possible to attract the attention of young and searching artists to the world which was shown to me by chance. I didn’t take any efforts, didn’t make any loud claims, I was in the shadow as if I dissolved among them. It was a big delusion. In the world where the informative avalanche brings down every day, where scandal and provocation have become integral part of creative process, it was at least naively to hope that your whisper was going to be heard. I called not to make conclusions about richness and perfection of the world by my works. It is the same as to return a verdict to the whole mankind taking as the example the first stranger. We are taking about such scales. Only my feelings of duty and responsibility make me go against my nature and make such a brave speech. This strange and unexplained feeling of responsibility appeared not at once. There was a period when I seriously thought that I opened this fantastic world and it belonged to me. Perhaps my fault was in my immaturity, but this intoxicate feeling of absolute freedom was from everything that was, is and will be in sculpture. It was feeling of freedom and confidence from acquired richness. I understood that I opened nothing within time. This world was shown me but not presented. Creativity in its meaning is for the second time. It is important for the formation of personality and correct understanding of this world because of the given to me talent by God (I have to admit rather mediocre). The main task is purely missionary to see and feel the vegetable kingdom in all its beauty and transfer it to others. For me this way appeared to be long and hard and only the feeling that became confident in time, that you are led in your life, helped me. I hardly made this conclusion by myself. According to nature a man is rather rational creature and voluntary is not willing to make his life complicated. He is also rather inventive and all the time easily finds the explanation of his weak points. Being an artist I surrounded myself with the fence of limitations without clear understanding of their appearing nature, meaning and point. It was coming as ordinary thought. The only difference was that coming thought immediately acquired the form of the law I could not break. It was without any doubts, long thoughts and agonizing process of taking decision. In such a way I managed to differentiate the thoughts coming to me and coming through me. Without being noticed the common phrase “I don’t want” was changed to “I have no right”. I am writing all this only with one purpose to remind once again that uniqueness of neo figurative is in integral link between external peculiarities and inner sending. They are one unit..
-
1.Humanistic direction.
- 1.Aspiration for light.
- 1.Respect to religion of another person.
These are the main principles in neo figurative art. The only possible prohibition is not to deprave human souls.
It is double pity when our good wishes, sincere thoughts leave a viewer indifferent. I want to share with you one of my observation which helps me greatly. Very often in the process of creation an artist tries to put himself on the hero’s place, imagines his feelings in the situation that the author himself survived. Under such approach the works appear to be false. I use opposite approach – I go from state not from topic. This state can be of any nature even a heap of topics (e.g. sadness). This approach prevents you from artificiality. I change the topic at the end very often but the point stays invariable.
I have been studying this form for 20 years already and I am still in the state of studying. But I allow myself to give some recommendations in order to avoid mistakes.
-Find people holding the same views, at the beginning it helps in development.
-Don’t seek for complication of the form and uncommonness of composition. It more useful to study using simple and clear plastic form. The only way to come to absolute simplicity is to move from simple to complicated. Absolute simplicity is a sign of the peak of any craft.
-Knowing the form know yourself. Try to define the topics and compositions closest to you in the quickest way. Using this knowledge chose the collection.
-At the beginning it is very important for the form chosen by you as basis possesses accurate and clear idea. The passion for details may lead away from main topic.
-In time you can use some leaves simultaneously creating a sculpture. But now seeing some unusual plastic decision even of fragmental meaning keep it, you will use it later in future.
-Defining the kind of leaves the closest to you, try to understand the main individuality of chosen form.
-Don’t try to finish the work by any means even if something is wrong. It is better to put it off and start a new one. In time you will see the mistakes hidden right now. Freedom without any inner ethical responsibility, freedom of permissiveness is the worst slavery you can imagine. It is like metastasis that destroy everything good in a person in different directions. The more freely an artist feels the more he doesn’t belong himself. He is like puppet in the hands of Dark forces. According to Daniil Andreev freedom, love and cocreation with God are three qualities that bring a man closer to God. But don’t forget freedom is a condition, love is a way, cocreation is a purpose.
It is time to say good bye. I want to wish you joy of knowing himself and the world around you where there is nothing accidental.
Õî÷ó ïîæåëàòü Âàì ðàäîñòè ïîçíàíèÿ ñåáÿ è ìèðà Âàñ îêðóæàþùåãî, â êîòîðîì íåò íè÷åãî ñëó÷àéíîãî.
Sincerely Yours,
Igor Khristolubov,
Moscow, 2011