I
made this artwork in 1982. It was heave soviet time in Russia.
Now
I have different perception of reality, and I don't think
I would
make a work like that now. I have other themes that interested
me.
At
that time however I wanted to illustrate the phrase, the saying
"All world is a theater". The idea of this work
is - masks we all are
wearing. Some see these masks and trying to take them off,
open up
their faces, the others don't care. And all of this ix mixed
up. Like
a Brownian movement. And this is the world of Masks. Constant
theater.
Under one mask is hiding another one, and so on… Well, this
seems a
bit dark. But the clown can add a bit of irony to it and laughter.
When
I tried to exhibit this work, all kinds of stories were
happening.
Once
I was schedule to exhibit it in 1983 in Moscow in the Museum
of
Literature. I send the work to the Museum. One day before
the Grand
Opening this work was taken down. The Director and some sort
of
Committee took it down and hid it. The employees of the Museum
almost
went on strike. Miraculously the work made it back to my studio.
In
the other case, the work was taken down from the exhibit again,
but
then it was Oked, but under another title. Committee members
were
telling me: "We know what you are hinting on".
Another
story wasn't connected to political reasons. Maskarad was
exhibited at one library in Russia, and the hot water pipe
got broken,
and hot water was all over the exhibition hall. It happened
at night.
In the morning the employees of the library were fishing for
my art
works trying to save them. Maskarad was floating in water.
But I was
very fortunate - some people there knew what to do in this
kind of
situations (even though I don't think they had a real experience
in
that). And my art works were saved. However some restoration
efforts
were applied. |