Various interviews

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Also I've been interviewed by the 2D ARTIST magazine, which is in publishing now.
Decided to post the interview questions and answers in this journal:

1. I noticed that you were raised in Siberia in an industrial area amidst the Taiga. How do you feel that growing up in that part of the world has had an impact upon your work as an artist ?

Living in Siberian Soviet Russia has given me a great art education and provided me with an experience of two lifetimes, since I now live in Canada which is very different life compared to Russia. In terms of just education- In Siberia, I had high arts school Monday to Friday, where I painted/sketched/crafted  for 4 hours daily, right after regular school, for nearly two years and it was completely free. Comparing to Canada, Toronto- such education doesn't exist here and all the art schools are incredibly expensive. Akademgorodok, Siberia (a science city where I lived) had a surprisingly clear notion about green architecture, universities, roads and buildings were encased in deep forests, a web of gravel paths interconnecting buildings, put down as people walked between them. I camped and hiked daily on these paths, right outside my apartment building. Walk far enough and all civilization will disappear, before you nothing but a green ocean as far as the eye can see, waves of wind running back and forth between tree foliage, whispering an arcane tune and colliding at the shores of mountains and steppes.
My very first art inspiration came to me in 1995, Novokuznetsk, Siberia…
On the gabled cottage roof, covered in wooden planks, moldings, and swirly carvings, I've met a local artist. He was drawing some kind of forest on his canvas, via the view from the rooftop. I admired his glorious skill and pondered what it would be like to become an artist myself. Later on, I was enjoying a nice hike via the good old Trans-Siberian railway of the Soviet Union, while climbing various green mountains, covered with lush vegetations, with my good friends of that time.
Upon the climb, we sat on the mountain side, enjoying the mid-day sun, bursting though the clouds, in an explosion of light rays that lived on their own accord, playing with the shadows of the mountains, forests, and fields below.
The wind rolled about the fields, creating a magical, wavy sea of orange grasses.
And at that moment on I've said to myself:
"Every artist has their style. Whatever shall be mine?…"
… and while staring at those rays of light I had decided- "I shall become the master of the landscape and the sky. And draw it in a manner of a tasty delicacy that can be consumed in large quantities via the spoon of visual perception- and thus the delectable sky full of light rays that you see in most of my works now, was born."
It took me (counts fingers)… 15 years to master those rays of light.


In reply to Q 1. What was it that prompted a move to Canada as opposed to anywhere else ?

Over 131 million Russians left their motherland to live in Europe/USA/Canada/Australia, due to the unstable political/financial situation, war and conscription. The gap between the rich and the poor is extremely wide. Crime has been on the rise, ever since the collapse of the Soviet law systems as there had been nothing to replace them.
I was just one of those millions.
Canada just had a good immigration policy at the time. In fact, I could have ended up anywhere: Germany, Italy, USA, etcetera.
Interestingly enough-
My great grand father had a chance to leave to United states as he spoke Chinese and studied in China. He was a patriot however, and stayed in Russia, became a famous engineer and artist, painted portraits of Stalin and Lenin, received numerous gold medals and awards and was proclaimed "Hero of Soviet Union"; only to be sentenced to death as a traitor in Soviet Labor camps along millions of other innocent Russians during Stalin's insanity of 1935-40… because he spoke Chinese.



2. How does life compare in Canada ?

Life in Toronto, metaphorically is a "clear calm in a wave-less ocean", compared to the "stormy sea full of lightning and thunder and rain" of life in Siberian Russia. Living in a state of calm is nice, safe, secure, but there's little motion, time as it seems is standing eternally still.
Meanwhile, living in a storm is dangerous, but your ship moves forward to conquer new frontiers. In a storm the captain has a far greater chance of perishing, living in eternal danger, living in fear, never has a chance to stop and rest, and time runs at an ever expanding rate, accelerating, rushing forward. Life there is eternally in intense motion - people quickly change, quickly grow up, quickly finish university, quickly marry.  
Toronto is a multicultural corporate paradise, where many aspects of life are controlled by massive USA corporations. Toronto is a host to hundreds of nations, yet strangely enough - a lot of culture is lost in the stream of multiculturalism or stemmed by corporate powers. Free entertainment is hard to come by, a lot of things are based on their monetary values. Toronto is grid-based, streets are unnaturally straight, buildings are all square, the downtown core has little or no trees, everything is encased in concrete, glass and steel, tall skyscrapers rise to the heavens and block out all starlight during nights. Man has triumphed over vegetation and earth, by locking up the ground in concrete blocks. Free camping is nearly impossible to find, parks don't represent real nature, but rather are a "well maintained, confined, and controlled nature", trimmed, sprayed and washed monthly.


In reply to Q 2.  It sounds as if Toronto lacks much of the vitality and power that the Siberian wilderness offered. Have you found any wild areas in Canada that match it in beauty and magnitude?


Of course. Canada is as big and beautiful as Russia. Grand sceneries of wilderness exist, just not near the big city of Toronto. It merely requires a hefty 200-300+ km drive north, or a plane ticket to British Columbia.



3. There seems to be an apocalyptic theme that runs through much of your imagery. What is the thinking behind this?

"We find that the average–there are a number of different size atomic bombs. The total devastation at varies, but they average on this earth map here. If they are expertly spread out, you'll find we get really complete coverage of all humanity."
~Excerpt from Buckminister Fuller's lecture, "The World Game"

From the darkest dreams of imagination in my starkly-realistic and highly-detailed style "Dreaminism" I bring to my viewers, visions of the future that will inevitably come to pass if mankind's planet-wide industrial machine isn't adjusted in time.
I have stood witness to a fall of a Nation and great noble ideals. I have seen Russian cities ravaged by human carelessness, industrialization, depression, oppression, crime and war. I have seen science fail and unleash death in the dark cases of Chernobyl and the Aral Sea "accidents". My vision is that of a Romantic artist, with one exception - to showcase not just the destructive power of nature, but also the destructive power of man.

In reply to Q 3.  Do you see Science as something which is ultimately destructive with regard to your paintings and what symbols would you say offered hope in your imagery?


Technology and science is a double edged sword. It can be good and evil at the same time. Its duality can be seen anywhere around the world. On the positive side we created great cities, raised skyscrapers to the heavens, chased away the darkness of the night with electricity and have lengthened, greatly simplified and improved human life.
On the negative, we can use that same power to wage war on our own kind, or flatten the landscape into an infertile desert in just a few seconds. Even though my paintings are dark, in them there are always rays of light piercing through the darkness, and signs of life holding onto the last strand of survival.



4. Which artists would you say have had a bearing on your work?

Mainly at its core, my artworks are inspired by Ivan Aivazovsky – a Russian seascape Romantic painter. He painted the struggle of man against the ocean. I paint the struggle of man against global events and himself.


Q 4a. Do you think Romanticism still has a place in the modern art world?

Romanticism isn't as popular as it used to be back in the 18th and early 19th century. Modern popular culture seems to have different ideals, controlled by corporate consumerism and shaped by the digital computer revolution. In my opinion it should never be forgotten just like noble ideals of chivalry or living to enjoy the beauty and power and nature, romance and humanity, rather than products or television. Personally I don't even own a TV as it is a lot more fulfilling to go out and make my own life an adventure, rather than watch adventures of others.





5. Since discovering Photoshop would you say your interest has completely moved away from architectural design and focused on illustration and digital painting?

Fate has quite a clear and developed path for me and if I stray from this path I'll be simply faced with closed doors and messages so ridiculously clear that I don't even have to ask questions about my purpose in life. It's as simple as that. I tried getting into architecture, but 1% held me back from getting into full-time architecture degree at university, I tried doing design, but got no paid interior design jobs. I even tried a job in spray-painting a plane, but the plane crashed on landing before I could get to it. Only now that I've truly begun painting digitally has my life equalized. Now it is comparable on a dime standing on its end. I have everything that I always dreamed of as a kid living in Siberia: a life without fear or worries, daily art classes at university, a career in freelance illustration that I love, my own apartment in the big city, a kitty, a car for the weekends and great friends.
It is a turning point in which dreams become real.

6. Looking at your photographs it appears as though there is some sort of narrative attached to them. Is this a fair comment?

There's a narrative to any photography and mine is no different, of course. My photography merely reflects and represents my journeys through the world. I always carry my camera with me, in hopes of some day capturing an extraordinary event like a UFO landing or the sky falling. Till that happens however, I'll just stick to drawing such events.


Q 7. If you could summarize your work in a sentence what would it be?

Romantically apocalyptic dreams of the 21st hour at the dawn of the twenty second century.


(people I would like to eat, because they're so delicious)
:iconyurski: :iconnefgoddess: :iconsheharzad-arshad: :iconbirdman007: :iconhypnotic: :iconrabidmongoose: :icondilekt: :iconfishermang: :iconzulamun: :iconmatrix2003: :iconmj00: :icondreadjim: :iconmr-frenzy: :icontigaer: :icondchon: :iconskybolt: :iconmusicfan: :iconladyrapid: :iconnarfmaster: :icontul: :iconwb-skinner: :iconfusion-light: :iconplasmax7: :icondying-breed: :iconalyn: :iconswaroop: :iconlaura-ah: :iconmeow360: :iconvoodoobiatch: :iconkatibu: :iconx-axis: :iconphoenixq: :iconredface: :iconevanna: :iconzombiesandwich: :iconthesohnly: :iconmiangs:
:iconnoergaard: :iconmifuyne: :iconhorusrogue:


(Most admirable and virtuous digital painters. If you aren't already watching them, you should!)
:iconinetgrafx: :iconbakenius: :iconantifan-real: :iconspyroteknik: :iconenayla: :iconarcipello: :iconkeithwormwood: :iconyonaz: :iconkerembeyit: :iconanry: :iconartgerm:

My kitty: :iconromanromanich:



(communities that I've joined for delectable retirement benefits)
:iconjardin: :iconthree-: :iconi-am-canadian-eh: :iconcommunism: :iconengland-community: :iconabstractsilence: :iconair-brushed:



© 2007 - 2024 alexiuss
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Bernardumaine's avatar
Congrats for your interview, 2D magazine magazine is pretty nice !!!