Located in the industrial eastern side of Moscow, Winzavod is a complex of contemporary art galleries. On a rainy Saturday afternoon, we traveled to Winzavod not knowing what to expect. Sophie had just found the place on the internet and we were both confused by what it was exactly. Winzavod, previously a wine factory, is now a space for presenting and creating visual art. It is an eclectic collection of buildings, where sleek, modern architecture mixes with the factory’s original red brick and colorful graffiti.
Choosing a gallery at random, we found ourselves in a sort of warehouse temple; it was Dmitry Gutov’s exhibit “εικών,” Ancient Greek for image or figure, and the origin of the word icon. Suspended in the room of a former warehouse, Gutov’s three-dimensional, metal depictions of classical Russian icons transformed the space into a holy ground. We instantly recalled the same icons we had seen a week before in Kremlin’s churches. The image of the Madonna and Child is one we have seen innumerable times in Moscow’s churches. Because of its ubiquity, we had often overlooked the image, sometimes forgetting its value as a piece of art.
In every almost every church, the portrait of mother and child is the same, but Gutov’s interpretation was a clear departure. Traditionally, icon painters used exempla, drawn samples of religious figures to create a standardized, instantly recognizable image (Gutov). The Madonna and Child from the Cathedral of the Assumption and Gutov’s Madonna and Child show the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus, depicted as a miniature man. Mary is the embodiment of love and tenderness with open palms and head inclined towards her child. The exempla that serves as the basis for both images is known as Умиление, meaning tenderness (lsa.umich.edu). Conventionally, icons lack realistic proportions and perspective in order to separate the depicted from the human world. Gutov updates this convention: the image is two-dimensional from head-on, but as the viewer walks around the piece, metal protruding from a flat picture plane adds a third dimension.
We were stunned by the beauty of these pieces. From some angles, the sculptures looked completely abstract. From others, it appeared as if the original image was in profile. As we examined each piece, we identified the traditional icon that inspired it and did a complete orbit around the piece to see all of the layers. In Gutov’s statement, he says, “I follow not just classical icon exempla, but also the very process of an icon’s painting.” He refers to the multiple layers of traditional icon painting, in which the wood base is sanded and treated many times before the image is stenciled, and then painted with layers of egg tempera paint (lsa.umich.edu). The sculptural quality of Gutov’s work similarly reveals multiple layers as the viewer changes position relative to the work.
James Billington refers to the Cathedral of the Assumption’s Madonna and Child as “a symbol of national unity,” as the icon was brought to Moscow in 1395 to inspire the defenders of the capital against attack (Billington 32). The icon united Muscovites under God in defense of their country. In the Soviet era, Socialist Realism in art united the country politically, with the same goals as Marxist Aestheticism, a major influence on Gutov’s work (Gutov). Both theories strive to portray truth and improve conditions of reality. Currently, Gutov observes an era of “spiritual consumption” (Gutov).
In our time in Moscow, we, too, have observed this spiritual consumption. Orthodox churches, reinstated after the fall of communism, appear at every corner, and religious trinkets are for sale at the metro kiosks, shops in underground crosswalks, and inside the churches themselves. At the crowded Orthodox Easter service we attended, we were surprised to see a mix of young and old: babushkas attached to tradition were not the only ones attending the service, but many young people were there to worship, too. It seemed to us that after the Soviet period of religious oppression, there is a strong resurgence of religion. Gutov illustrates this religious revival in his modern reworking of traditional iconography. His work serves to unite modern believers by tying together Russia’s past and present.
-Sophie Kissin and Mary Begley (Софья и Маруся)
Works Cited
- Billington, James H. The Icon and the Axe: An Interpretive History of Russian Culture. Vintage Books: New York, 1966. Print.
- Gutov, Dmitry. Artist Statement from the exhibit “εικών” at Winzavod Guelman Gallery Mar 23, 2012- Apr 20, 2012.
- “Russian Icon Painting” http://www.lsa.umich.edu/slavic/dept/webbasedlanguage/Russian/Culture/RussianIconPainting.htm Retrieved Apr 13, 2012. Web.
- Here is a link to The Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art’s website: http://www.winzavod.ru/
