Helena Chataline
Recently in the “At Varshavka” gallery took place the exhibition of Helena Chataline – "Man! Man? Man…” I am a frequenter of this gallery, but what I saw, I mean, what Helena showed to everyone caused a lot of feelings in me. I wanted to have a talk. Ask her about the creativity. That"s how the interview with a wonderful person, Helena Chataline, came true!
– Helena, tell me a little bit about yourself. Unfortunately, there is a little information about you on our website and the Russian-language Internet in the whole. When was your first desire to draw? Where did you study and who were your teachers?
– Yes, in fact, I"ve been living in Germany for many years, I"ve become famous here and I exhibit, above all, in Europe. In Russia, the State Exhibition Hall called “Varshavka” took place my personal exhibition, the first one for these years. It was in May-June.
And I began to draw in the childhood, as well as all the children. Like anyone else, at the beginning I studied at the art school. That was more leisure filling than the education itself. In that time all artists were like the Celestials for me and I could not even imagine that one day the painting would become the matter of my life. In the school I had only excellent marks, therefore painting was only my favorite activity without any special plans for future. Then, once I went to Moscow, wanting to enter a nursery for artists together with a friend. I was accepted easily without any kind of stress. Well, probably, since that moment began the life for painting. After that, I studied a lot in both Russia and Germany. Having arrived here, I continued my study, but already in The Academy of Media Design.
Of course, I really want to tell kind words about my delightful people – my teachers. But here I will probably disappoint you, if I say that sometimes it seemed to me that there were enough accidental people even among them. And the epoch during which we lived had the direction of art which agreed with the state policy – social realism. Realism laid in no canvas, brushes and paints. Although, of course, it was a wonderful time. But it is necessary to add that I"ve always been a good student, but the skill to create scale canvases appeared later with experience. And the desire to paint came to me after a constant visiting of different museums. Thus, the great masters of the past became my teachers. Then I learned how to paint. That was the very after all the educations got by me. After that, learned how to think using the brush and now I paint thoughts with my brush. Here is nothing new: As Ilya Yefimovich Repin once told, 99% of labour and 1% of talent are enough for the creativity. Well, I hope I have slightly more than 1% of talent as I work very hard. Nevertheless, the God dictates me the themes for my works.
– What is the difference between the exhibitions here and in Russia? You were exhibiting in Germany and other countries. What impressions do you have in accordance with such exhibitions? Is there any difference in the manner of reading codes and are your ideas and feelings understandable to everyone, who comes to enjoy your works?
– The West exhibitions require very detailed organization. The organizer of exhibitions is a special profession, therefore everything should be made at the very high level.
As for the spectators, I would not begin to mention the differences in the perception of seen among visitors of exhibitions in Russia and the West. It seems to me that people all over the world mostly want one and the same thing, namely a kind of quiet life, happy tomorrow and today. Therefore, when I imagine pictures, aimed against the bloodshed, who will not understand it? The problems that I raise in my works are relevant and affect any society and any country. By the real images I lead people to the thought that in arrangement of our life something goes wrong and I also make them think. That is why, the codes are read alike. Of course, my pictures are intended for thinking people, but you can meet a lot of people of this type both in the West and Russia. It seems to me that I paint understandable and the public itself is grateful for it.
I take into consideration the fact that my exhibitions are not similar to these, when the exhibitions are made only or exhibitions without any content. Here is something to look at and something to think about.
Many exhibitions took place. For example, in Zurich, Paris, Lucerne, Bonn and Cologne. All of them were always successful. The rational western spectators enjoy the pictures, like children. My pictures represent itself a new trend in the painting. The German art critics mark the sharp social orientation and call my style as the philosophical realism.
In the Russian spectators I especially like the warm-heartedness and sensitivity, apparently associated with their upbringing within the classical art. In this way, their tastes are less suffering from various short-term innovations.
– To whom of living artists are you paying the attention? Whose works do you like the most of all? Now you live in Germany on the full-time basis. What does it happen here in the modern art?
– Let"s start with the fact that I like artists and their pictures in the whole. The artists, as I"ve already said before, are the Celestials.
I am resting my soul in museums near canvases of old masters. Everything from Leonardo to Repin is my air and space, in which I breathe and can"t stop to do it.
As for my creativity, I do not make idols for myself, draw no parallels, am not focus on anyone. I just drive my own road. I am hastening to tell the people in the language that is convenient to me about the world where we live. I mean, both the spiritual world and planet at al. The painting language is international.
In my view, visual art today survives the period of a crisis. This crisis is clearly seen in Germany. Of course, here you can find several big masters, but they all belong to the passing epoch.
In Europe the painting has the mass character. Everyone enjoy painting as it is a popular hobby. Popularity of painting, possibility for everyone to do it is a beautiful way. But it is early to call all of these “The Art”.
In Russia, it is clearly divided, for example, into the following categories: “The young artist”, of course, is not the artist yet, but the man who only understands this process. The artist in the whole is the sum of calling and education.
In the painting one needs to start with basics, studying it. If you build a house, first of all you lay the basement and decorations on the cornice appear later. If there is no basement, the house will not resist and there will be no decorations. But, often avoiding the educational process, teachers in the German Art Academies directly go to the creativity and self-expression. That is why, takes place the low medium level of painting and love of artists to installations not often requiring skills to paint.
I want to tell you some several words about the abstractions… Probably, someone may find many defenders of modern abstract art, but my opinion on this issue is unshakable. Painting is the art that exists thanks to the picture, allowing to communicate with many people, and the abstraction is a kind of therapy directed mostly at pouring out the energy from oneself. People need both, but I will not call the modern abstraction and classical art the single word. Today, according to the majority of artists working in this genre, it became the simple interlacing of lines, spots, birdlimes at the canvas. Therefore spectators are often surprised: why one"s that can be made by everyone must be called the “Art”. It"s like in “The Emperor"s New Clothes” fairytale, until someone shouts that the king is naked.
The abstraction in art, originally known as the creation of sense decorative forms, became the thing of the past.
– Tell me more about your creative plans?
– Oh, I"m sure that you"ve probably heard the anecdote, “If you want to make the God laugh, you should tell him about your plans.” I have the similar point of view. I have many ideas about the pictures and I wish only to work, work and work. And also to have enough time for it. I hope I will manage to reach it.
Sergio Fateev
Report from the opening of exhibition (the “Southern District” TV Channel)
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