“Personal Things”
Vladimir Sitnikov
There is a lot of pop art going on in Moscow at the moment. The exhibition “Personal
Things” was shown in Moscow this year, exposing pop art by one of Russia`s
most famous contemporary artists, – Vladimir Sitnikov.
Vladimir Sitnikov
was born in 1958 in Moscow and started studying art at the V. Motovilov`s Studio
at the House of Cinema and the Children Art School of Krasnopresnenskii District
of Moscow when he was still in his teens. Later, from 1980 until 1985, Sitnikov
studied at the Moscow Polygraphic Institute and at the printing studio of V.
M. Orlov, where he worked into the technique of etching and linocut. In the same
time period, he did easel painting, graphics and engraving in the Novinskii Studio,
in the Cheliuskinskaya House of Creative Workers. The artist has been living
and working in Moscow and, to date, has had solo and group exhibitions in Moscow,
Hamburg and New York.
In “Personal Things”, Sitnikov reveals his confession about personal
things, demonstrating that something profound and innermost intimate inhabit
these private belongings, giving rise to a hybrid space of temple, museum and
shop. The exhibition showed photographs of objects which, under no circumstances,
had a material value, drawing a clear line between illusionary and real market
value.
The subject of
the exhibition, “Personal Things”, is a signature of Vladimir Sitnikov.
In his former series “Production Costs”, the artist showed classic
pop art, exposing mass products. In “Personal Things”, Sitnikov demonstrates
the nature of familiar and personal products in contrary to mass products. Like
Jim Dine, Vladimir Sitnikov incorporated images of everyday objects in his art
works, diverging from the coldness and impersonal nature of pop art by making
works which fused personal passions and everyday experiences.
The exhibition space was divided into five separate sections of which each was
structured wholly unique. This provided the opportunity to simultaneously observe
various stages, in which the photographed images amounted to “things”
which justify the individual function and existence of the object. At the end,
the exposed images became a mirror, showing heads, torsos and feet, and, all
sections together, finally formed a single unity.
The provided opportunity
to reconstruct Time, Space and Sensation, established the main effect of the
exhibition, – vivid presence. Similar to the house of a stranger that contains
many unfamiliar, namely the intimate objects of someone else, a stranger, the
‘personal things’ shown in the exhibition slowly evolved a characteristic
unity.
Cliché-Symbolism marked the series of the artist. He exposed freely chosen
objects and emphasised the abstract aesthetics of cosmetic, fitness and tatoo-shop
articles. One constellation was installed as metaphor, showing shops and fashion
boutiques as scale of measurement in order to measure the value of own private
objects. The motive of time appears in an improvised calendar which showed repeating
but yet forgotten popular songs and poems.
One work was called
“Portrait Number”. It was to understand that each time a portrait is
taken, it will reflect an unconditional and absolute moment, demonstrating a
scene of privacy and familiarity and yet, crucially, at the same time the portrait
revealed the link with calculations of everyday life by marking conventional
familiar belongings, which in fact are under no circumstances public belongings,
with everyday and commonly used numbers.
Classical pop art images were shown and quickly reminded of famous American pop
art works like “Brillo” by Andy Warhol. Thus, visible to those for
whom Absolute is Krasota, these particular objects that have left the frame of
pure establishment have risen to art.
The artist`s famous Ties were linked to a handbook. Sitnikov has made the lines
of the author visual: “I want that you look good!” © Selma Stern
2003
Selected References:
V Mire Knig, In
the world of books, No.2, 1989; Decorativnoe Iskusstvo, In the world of books,
No.2, 1990; Alexander Jakimovich, On the Other Side of Hopelessness, Stolitsa,
Capital, No.14, 1993; Marina Kaminarskaia, Political Games of Wandering Consciousness,
Vecherniaya Moskva, Evening Moscow, 5 April 1990; Janna Aviazova, The Parliament
of the Kho People is Made of Plasticine, Moscow Tribune, 31 July 1993; Sergei
Drozhin, Cars and Girls Featured at Guelman Gallery, Commersant-Daily, No.143,
30 July 1993; The Artist Likes Pointille, Girls and Cars, Moskovskii Komsomoletz,
19 October 1993; Marina Ovsova, Airplanes are of Top Importance at Guelman Gallery,
Vechernii Club (Evening Club), 23 October 1993; Vladimir Tuchkov, There was a
Clap of Thunder at Guelman Gallery, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 9 November 1993; Oleg
Torchinskii, Silence as Object of Art, Kuranty, 30 October 1993; Galina Valentinova,
Artist and Power, Bookelt of the Exhibition Hymn, 21 November 1993; Alexander
Brener, Untitled, Booklet of the Exhibition Girls and Cars, 29 July – 25
August 1993; Sergei Epikhin, Cars of Unwillingness, or Mnemosyne`s Lullaby; krokingallery@yahoo.com
