2008 Woodie Awards
Russian artist shares mixed media work in Rodman lobby
Alec Augustine-Marceil, Staff Writer
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In addition to artist Susan Messer's exhibit in the Caestecker Gallery, now open in the lobby of Rodman is mixed media art from visiting Russian artist Vyacheslav Begidjanov.
Begidjanov's art, which ranges from works with pen and ink, to pencil, woodcuts and even pieces in gold embellished with gold foil and paint, will be on display until Oct. 28.
"Any pleasant memory that a human has is golden, so what I remember, I try to gild," says Begidjanov, who speaks no English and instead expresses his thoughts to an English audience by means of a translator.
Begidjanov's work draws heavily from human history. The series currently on exhibit draw on classical literature ranging from Aesop's fables and the epic of Gilgamesh to the relatively more contemporary works of Dante.
"There is something evident in all of his works, and that is that the world is in a state of flux," says Gene Kain, professor of art.
"He's always looking for the highest plane that ties us all together," says Evelyn Kain, professor of art history.
Begidjanov defines it as "upper realism," saying his work is that of "objective subjectivity."
His art sometimes has a whimsical sense to it, where "things morph from one thing to another. Rocks turn into human limbs," says Evelyn Kain.
Yet, there is a dark side to Begidjanov's work as well. "His art shows a world in cataclysm where human beings on epic journeys are caught in giant events beyond their control," says Evelyn Kain.
Begidjanov's drawings are emotionally powerful, but they are also very impressive on a technical level. "He uses the texture of the paper to enhance his work," says Brian Mahoney, father of Maggie Mahoney, who was visiting for family weekend events.
Immersed in the world of art since beginning formal study at age five, Begidjanov has been drawing professionally since age 14.
Begidjanov comes to Ripon by way of St. Petersburg, Russia, where he witnessed and felt first hand the perils of being an artist during the Cold War.
"There was censorship, yes," he says. "The state had an ideology and it forced it down on you. It was terrible," he says.
Yet, according to Evelyn Kain, "he never wanted to emigrate, he wanted to stay immersed in his own culture."
This is the second time Begidjanov has displayed at Ripon. The Kains were the main forces behind bringing Begidjanov to campus in 1989 as well.
"We liked his work, so we brought him over," says Evelyn Kain, who first experienced Begidjanov's work in 1980 when she was in Vienna.
Besides Vienna, Begidjanov's work has been on display in his native St. Petersburg, Moscow, Leningrad, Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Florence, as well as the countries of Belgium, Germany and Poland.
At the exhibit's opening Friday, Sept. 23, Begidjanov's presence was joyful as he was eager to speak, forcing words though his interpreter at such speeds the interpreter often had difficulty keeping up.
"He was funny, and I enjoyed watching the translation," says first year Maggie Mahoney, who attended the opening. "His answers in Russian were at least a paragraph, but when they were translated they amounted to only a sentence."