After viewing this deliberately paced and disjointed documentary, directed by Amei Wallach, I came away with just as many questions as answers. However, at times, it does offer some fascinating insights into the life and career of Ilya Kabakov. known for his installations, or conceptual art.
The Russian born, but now American artist (he emigrated to the West in 1987), is shown preparing for a return to Russia, where he will exhibit his works at three separate Moscow locations, in 2008. He admits he's nervous and unsure how his artwork will be perceived by the Russian people. His wife Emilia plays a large role in the film, as well, seemingly acting as his business manager and events coordinator. She will also narrate part of the movie, as well as give insights into their life in interviews.
I thought it was rather strange that the West is barely mentioned in the film, although Kabakov is shown working in his Long Island, New York studio and both Emilia and Ilya have spent decades away from Russia, formerly the Soviet Union.
Instead there's an historical retrospective on the always omnipresent Soviet governments, who stifled any artists or exhibits. The artists, such as Kabakov, would meet in their own circles and studios to discuss their works and any other topics of the day. They often would illustrate children's books to pay the bills, as they could not even attempt to sell their art.
One fascinating tale of Kabakov's was how he ended up in art school, when he and a friend went, at night, to slip into the school to look at the sketches of naked women hanging on the walls. When an official of the school caught them, Kabakov's friend bailed out the window, but Kabakov stayed and was told if he was an artist he should bring his work to the application meeting the next morning.
As it turned out, this was the Leningrad Academy of Art, which was relocated to Samarkand during the 900 day siege of Leningrad by the Nazis. So simply by happenstance Kabakov got the break he needed. He also relates a very touching account of how his mother made enormous sacrifices and endured so much to help be with him and support him in art school.
In summary, there's a lot of information to take in here in this documentary, and, as mentioned in my opinion, it jumped around too much in its presentation and left a number of questions unanswered. However, I still learned quite a lot from it all which is why I like documentaries in the first place, so I don't regret viewing it.
The Russian born, but now American artist (he emigrated to the West in 1987), is shown preparing for a return to Russia, where he will exhibit his works at three separate Moscow locations, in 2008. He admits he's nervous and unsure how his artwork will be perceived by the Russian people. His wife Emilia plays a large role in the film, as well, seemingly acting as his business manager and events coordinator. She will also narrate part of the movie, as well as give insights into their life in interviews.
I thought it was rather strange that the West is barely mentioned in the film, although Kabakov is shown working in his Long Island, New York studio and both Emilia and Ilya have spent decades away from Russia, formerly the Soviet Union.
Instead there's an historical retrospective on the always omnipresent Soviet governments, who stifled any artists or exhibits. The artists, such as Kabakov, would meet in their own circles and studios to discuss their works and any other topics of the day. They often would illustrate children's books to pay the bills, as they could not even attempt to sell their art.
One fascinating tale of Kabakov's was how he ended up in art school, when he and a friend went, at night, to slip into the school to look at the sketches of naked women hanging on the walls. When an official of the school caught them, Kabakov's friend bailed out the window, but Kabakov stayed and was told if he was an artist he should bring his work to the application meeting the next morning.
As it turned out, this was the Leningrad Academy of Art, which was relocated to Samarkand during the 900 day siege of Leningrad by the Nazis. So simply by happenstance Kabakov got the break he needed. He also relates a very touching account of how his mother made enormous sacrifices and endured so much to help be with him and support him in art school.
In summary, there's a lot of information to take in here in this documentary, and, as mentioned in my opinion, it jumped around too much in its presentation and left a number of questions unanswered. However, I still learned quite a lot from it all which is why I like documentaries in the first place, so I don't regret viewing it.
