Sergei shorov watch pictures. — I am a great artist with a capital letter X
People closely familiar with the work of Sergei Shnurov know: music is not the only form artistic expression which he uses. The leader of Leningrad also has another passion - painting. Soon a personal exhibition of his works will open at Erarta, the most informal museum in St. Petersburg. He himself calls the direction in which Shnur works with the coined term “brand realism,” and his crowning and most recognizable painting is the “Shirt” with the Dolce & Gabbana emblem. However, Shnurov is far from the only public person who skillfully handles brushes and paints. HELLO.RU presents a selection of 15 celebrities who could very well become professional artists.
Text: / Photo: PA Images, Instagram, Legion-media, Personal archives, SplashNews/Gallo Images RUS
Prince Charles
Prince Charles working on location, 1998
Prince Charles is a keen collector and gardener, philanthropist and traveler. However, not many people know about another hobby of the Prince of Wales - painting. Charles began painting watercolors in the 70s, in fits of inspiration and guided by his own intuition. Later, he was able to communicate and learn from the experience of real masters of their craft - British artists Brian Organ and Derek Hill. Sources close to the royal house say: the prince regularly takes up his brushes during his days off, writes on outdoors and finishes the paintings in one go. The first time Prince Charles's paintings were presented to the public was in 1977 at Windsor Castle. In 2013, Charles held the exhibition Life in Pictures, presenting 130 of his best watercolor works, which depict landscapes of the Balmoral and Sandringham estates, as well as paintings painted during his visits to Greece, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey and other countries.
“What I write is the state of my soul,” says actor Anthony Hopkins about his work. Looking at his works - from delicate pastel paintings to figurative portraits in the horror genre, sometimes you are surprised that one person can have such a range of skills.
I've been drowning in peace for the past few years. I believe people can observe this state of my soul,” Hopkins says about himself. - However, in my youth I was a completely wild, reckless boy. Like Van Gogh. My life has been a real storm. And although Anthony Hopkins himself compares himself to Van Gogh, his works exhibit rather “Picassian motifs.” By the way, he once had the opportunity to play this artist in a movie (in the 1996 film “Living Life with Picasso”).
Vanessa Paradis by Johnny Depp
Portrait of Keith Richards Johnny Depp has been painting for over 30 years. It is not known for certain whether his first wife, artist Laurie Ann Ellison, had a hand in his development in this craft. One can assume: if the union had lasted longer than two years, we would probably have heard about them creative tandem. Depp's second wife, Vanessa Paradis, also became his muse, one of his most famous paintings he dedicated it to her. There are other portraits in Depp's collection of works, for example, of Marlon Brando, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Patti Smith.
Work by Macaulay Culkin
Actor Macaulay Culkin's life has been chaotic for the past 10 years - with drugs, rock and roll and suicidal tendencies. The paintings are part of this chaos. Macaulay began creating in 2012, forming with his musician friends creative union Three Men and a Baby.
We each had our own ways of expressing ourselves, and then we discovered that drawing together was fun. This process creates a special brotherly bond between us, and it’s wonderful,” Macaulay said.
The canvases of Macaulay and his friends are full of colors: from fluorescent to dark dirty, some images are more like collages with meaningless and contradictory elements, however, a number of plots can still be guessed.
Painting by Lucy Liu
Most people know Lucy Liu as one of the "Charlie's Angels", but narrow circle she is famous as a talented abstract artist. Lucy has been drawing for a long time and has exhibited a lot - however, not under her own name, but under the pseudonym Yu. Lin. A few years ago, Lucy first made a name for herself by organizing an exhibition of her work in London, and then releasing a book with her paintings.
For Jim Carrey, creating paintings is a kind of psychotherapy. Most often, Kerry depicts people, but makes the figures and faces broken and distorted.
When I'm in creative process, be it cinema or painting, the world around me stops. Getting to know works of art- this is the same chance for the viewer to stop thinking and forget about worry,
He told it himself.
James Franco was born into a family of artists and, perhaps, that is why he does not take his talent seriously. “Mom thinks that I’m a good actor, and an average artist,” Franco says about himself. Meanwhile, his work inspires others. Thus, Sharon Stone purchased one of Franco’s paintings for her collection, and the director of the film “The End of the World” hung the entire room of the main character of the film psychedelic paintings Franco.
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Yellow Linda with piano - one of the most famous paintings by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney held his first exhibition 17 years ago, now he has dozens of them, and the geography of museums inviting him extends from Liverpool to Kyiv. The most famous work musician - Yellow Linda with Piano, dedicated to ex-wife Linda McCartney. According to the Beatle himself, at one time he could not even think about drawing due to his emotional constriction. His friend, the American abstract artist Willem de Kuuning, saved him from this complex. One day they were looking at paintings together, and McCartney carefully asked: “What is depicted here? Purple Mountain?” - “Actually, it’s a couch.” The friend's response, McCartney admits, made him realize that there is no such thing as "right" in art, and it helped him free his creative impulses.
Marilyn Manson's work
“The Great and Powerful” Marilyn Manson began drawing in his early 20s, around the same time he started singing. Due to the development musical career, he slowed down a little, but did not even think of giving up painting - especially since he saw it as a real outburst of his emotions and “demons”. The first exhibition of Manson's work took place in 2002, and he held three more over the next few years. Now psychedelic watercolor works Manson is actively “walked” at auctions: prices for some paintings reach 50-100 thousand dollars.
Bob Dylan painting
This year, the legendary musician, writer and actor Bob Dylan was awarded Nobel Prize in literature, but last but not least he can be proud of his talent as an artist. Dylan painted his first “watercolors” in the 60s, while he was at home recovering from a car accident. The drawings attracted the attention of the general public in the 90s; Dylan even released a compilation album, Drawn Black. The first exhibition took place later - in 2007, for which the musician prepared about 300 new works. Art materials The works with which Bob Dylan works are varied: pastel, gouache, oil, watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and his style and manner are close to the works of the neo-expressionists.
Tim Burton is not only a director, but also an excellent artist. His sketches (this is the genre he prefers) can be compared in gloom with his own films. By the way, Burton's film career also began with the creation of animation, he studied at the California Institute of the Arts and then worked at Walt Disney Studios as an animator and character designer.
Painting by Sergei Shnurov "Shirt"
As we already said, soon in the museum contemporary art Erarta will host a large exhibition of paintings by Sergei Shnurov. In one of his interviews, the leader of Leningrad admitted: once upon a time, in “pre-musical” times, paintings fed him - he made and sold copies of Dutch artists. He calls his current work brand realism, without going into explanation of the details of his own genre.
Renata Litinova
Painting by Renata Litvinova
A talented person is talented in everything, this expression perfectly describes Russian actress and director Renata Litvinova. At business meetings, you can often see paper and pen in her hands.
I really like to draw. After directing, the next thing I like to do is drawing. We need to find a teacher and take classical drawing lessons. I saved this experience for myself for retirement,” Renata said in an interview.
Renata's favorite theme is women in retro style, as well as women, each in their own image. Many of Renata’s paintings, as her fans note, look like self-portraits.
Diana Arbenina showed interest in drawing quite a long time ago. She once started with graphic illustrations for her own poetry collections, then followed a short period of passion for watercolors. Finally, in 2006, Diana settled on the technique of painting in oils on canvas, without using a brush.
In free time from music former soloist Eva Polna devotes “Guests from the Future” to dancing and drawing. If she prefers to move to the rhythm of tango, then when she takes up her brush, she gives preference to landscapes. Some might call the singer’s paintings “unprofessional,” but we see the warmth and positivity that they emit.
“Retrospective of Brand Realism” is an exhibition of paintings and installations by the leader of the Leningrad group, which will run in Minsk until mid-January. Immediately the potential viewer thinks: what does its name reveal to us? Shnurov, in his characteristic sarcastic manner, answers: “The name should be complicated to confuse the sucker.” And so that this same sucker, as Sergei says, would feel embarrassed for his incomplete secondary education.
The exhibition of the outrageous showman occupied two floors National Center contemporary arts (probably everyone Belarusian artist or the sculptor only dreams about this).
The tongue-in-cheek moral of the exhibition is that modern man lives by brands and completely identifies with them. Apparently, that’s why here you can see a portrait of Zemfira woven on a carpet by Ufa grandmothers, an iconostasis of Stas Mikhailov, Leps’ glasses on a glass (with or without vodka), Stepashka in a Darth Vader mask, a monument to a girl with an iPhone and other, in the author’s opinion, brands of the end XX- beginning of the XXI century.
Among the five dozen works, there are still paintings from Leningrad videos, which also parody the mass obsession with brands.
Exhibit
Bag
Drink in St. Petersburg
Brand realism is an art direction invented by the musician himself ten years ago. According to the creator's idea, it reflects the phenomenon of the existence of our contemporaries, who become thoughtless hostages and idolaters of statuses and brands (yes, including Shnurov himself). Many began to call Brand-Shnur also an artist, although the ideas of his works are embodied not by him himself, but by a creative team about which nothing is known.
Exhibit of the exhibition “This too shall pass!” TV presenter Vladimir Pozner is depicted behind the blinds, against whom Shnurov has a grudge after an interviewin his program
Painting "Shirt". It turns out that the idea is that the viewer is revealed true meaning paintings only if you turn it 180 degrees.
Before the opening of the “Brand Realism Retrospective”, a press conference was held at which Sergei Shnurov spoke with Belarusian journalists. With him was the artist Vladimir Tsesler and, as the musician put it, he is also his friend and teacher. Attempts to discern the true essence with your questions modern representative pop culture - sarcasm and trolling. Everything is just a game and a mockery.
“I’m like that wizard who touches some nonsense and it turns into a work of art” (from material sb.by).
“Searching in the museum, fluttering feelings - all this is funny to me. Here is a girl standing and peering at seascapes or meditates on Repin. Isn’t it funny?” (from material onliner.by).
Playfully, Shnurov makes money from his own brand. The price of a ticket to the exhibition is 20 rubles (and for that you could go to the Opera House or Kupalovsky Theater - and, perhaps, really experience the thrill of feelings that Shnur does not believe in). For those who attended the recent concert of the Leningrad group - 10 rubles. This is the price for wasted time with “exhibits” (as Sergei calls the audience of his exhibition).
“Chesnok” did not talk with the leader of “Leningrad”, but found out the opinion of one of the “exhibits” about the exhibition - Alexei, whose youth and youth passed back in Soviet times.
“What do you see in Shnurov’s works? The desire to have fun, have fun, and not think about culture" . And then he remembers his favorite artists:“Shishkin, for example, didn’t just draw. His works include hidden characters and meanings. And how important are the details! The same scarf in the portrait of Pushkin by Orest Kiprensky» .
Alexey refrained from reflecting on the creativity of the creator of brand realism.
“Velasquez, for example, asked further development easel painting. And you will already see what remains of Shnurov’s activities.” .
I remembered the words of one of Shnur’s songs: “Our people love all kinds of shit.” But according to the musician, it is by accepting it within oneself that a person is able to defeat it. We will see over time how he will continue to surprise us. In the meantime, his videos are gaining thousands of new views. While he continues to do mass art its own either mocking or philosophically shocking stuff, aggravating the situation of world branding. So some “exhibits” (viewers) of the exhibition could critically identify the direction of Shnurov’s art as nonsense (realism). It’s just clear that it won’t become a brand.
Victoria Gomza
The main shocker Russian stage Sergei Shnurov never tires of delighting fans and sympathizers with odious antics, with the brightest images, topical lyrics and, to be honest, excellent music. He is beautiful in his difference from others, brave, effective, and certainly talented. But few people know that Shnur’s creativity is not limited to the stage, and even those gaining Lately The popularity of thoughtful quotes is not the limit of his capabilities. deserve no less attention from everyone who is close to the hooligan spirit of “Leningrad” and all modern art in general.
What is brand realism?
Don't be surprised if you haven't heard of this direction in art. Sergey Shnurov is an artist whose paintings are a kind of standard of brand realism. And all because he himself came up with the main concept and came up with the name. It was based on a kind of protest against the development of market conditions and the primacy of certain brands in the mass consciousness. Each of his paintings contains either a symbol or a hint of a certain brand, starting with petroleum products and ending with faith in a higher power.
Brand in art and art as a brand
It is worth mentioning one more artist, whose paintings, if they did not become the main source of inspiration for Shnurov, at least have much in common. It's about on whose canvases we can see Marilyn Monroe, cans of popular soup, Superman, Mao and Lenin, Coca-Cola... What unites these images? All of them, according to the artist, are brands. Just like Warhol himself. Like all art in general.
However, the idea of ridiculing the predominance of the material over the spiritual is not at all new. This is all as old as time. Many artists have turned to this idea; Warhol and Shnurov are not alone. But artist Sergei Shnurov is the first who managed to put everything together and formulate it in such a way that everyone could understand it.
Word to the author
“The Apocalypse is near,” assures Shnur. Voicing the author's manifesto, he argues that it is time to stop drinking kvass, we need to make up our minds as soon as possible. The paintings of Sergei Shnurov are an attempt not only to ridicule the dependence of individual citizens on show and vanity, but also a kind of reminder of the frailty of existence. The artist openly mocks the worship of the Golden Calf in general and brands in particular.
These ideas resonate in the singer’s work: in his lyrics and videos. Take, for example, the famous Louboutins.
The path to art
The rebellious image of the artist comes easily to him, and that’s why it turns out so organic. But he does not allow one to see what the artist skillfully hides behind rude lyrics and disregard for etiquette. But Shnurov is not at all a poorly educated dork with an eternal hangover. Behind him are the Leningrad Civil Engineering Institute, the famous “Putyaga” (lyceum, where he acquired the specialty of a restorer) and the Faculty of Philosophy of the Theological Institute.
The artist has been attracted to painting for a long time. By the way, one of the first musical groups, which he headed while still a schoolboy, was called “Van Gogh’s Ear.” And Shnur began drawing in his native St. Petersburg.
First exhibition
The paintings of Sergei Shnurov first appeared before the public in the St. Petersburg gallery “Fine Art”. According to the artist, his long-time friend, an artist, helped him with this, and he himself did not have to make any efforts. The exhibition was called “Exclusive Brand Realism”. The small gallery housed only eight paintings, which were chosen by the artist himself.
Images
The exhibition of paintings by Sergei Shnurov attracted many visitors. His paintings are quite diverse. Many of them can even be called provocative.
For example, the painting “Don’t Steal” tells sad story about a kitten that died near a Bosch refrigerator. Apparently, there was an attempt to steal food and some kind of accident, which resulted in a very impressive puddle of cat blood.
The panorama depicting the Spit of Vasilievsky Island is also very interesting. The high torches smoke, but the water is dark because of the oil spilled over it. Take a closer look and you will understand that there is no water there at all, the oil has completely absorbed it.
Some paintings by Sergei Shnurov are outright parodies. For example, his interpretation of Matisse, decorated with the eloquent signature “In the Hermitage”. Well, or a black rectangle, clearly referring to the work of Kazimir Malevich.
Of course, there were some “below the belt” themes, it couldn’t have been otherwise - it simply wouldn’t have been a Cord. The capacious title “Act” speaks for itself - the canvas truly depicts the act of physical intimacy in all its glory. By the way, visitors to the exhibition were given the opportunity to purchase this painting for 30 thousand dollars.
Expert opinion
In the fall of 2016, on the eve of the upcoming exhibition of Shnurov’s paintings “Retrospective of Brand Realism,” an interview with Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the Hermitage, was published. According to him, Shnurov is definitely a bright figure in contemporary art. Piotrovsky, who discerned serious talent in the paintings, urged people not to consider the artist’s work as pop art.
The opening of the exhibition is scheduled for February 1, 2017. This time it will be held at the Erarta gallery of contemporary art. But who knows, perhaps someday we will see paintings by Sergei Shnurov in the Hermitage? Still, one can argue endlessly about his work, but one thing is undeniable - he still made his contribution to St. Petersburg art.
The concept of “brand realism” was invented by Sergei Shnurov back in 2005. And then he wrote his manifesto. According to the musician himself, everything he does, be it song art, videos or this exhibition, is within the framework of “brand realism.” Shnurov’s theory is that a person of the 21st century lives among artificially generated product brands, naively believing that they are real life. The latest model of anything, but always a fashion brand, becomes the object of emotional desire, and a person receives pure emotions from a TV show. The musician also calls himself a brand. “Fortunately or unfortunately, Sergey Shnurov is also a brand that manipulates other brands. I can no longer not be him. I can be a brand with a smaller capitalization, I can be bankrupt, I can be with developing expansion. But an ordinary person I will never do it again,” admits Shnurov.
Several dozen works are located on two floors of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art - from a knitted carpet depicting the singer Zemfira to cans of condensed milk with oil and an installation in the form of a gravestone. Sergey Shnurov acts as the author of the ideas for art objects. “Sergei doesn’t do anything, he invents everything. He has the ability to generate ideas. German art theorists came up with the term “artistic will,” when a person has a certain charge and he carries it,” said Dmitry Ozerkov, curator of the exhibition “Retrospective of Brand Realism”, head of the Hermitage’s Department of Contemporary Art.
Sergei Shnurov. "Credit", 2016
press service
When asked what kind of reaction Sergei Shnurov expects to his work, he answers “any.” He is more interested in the question of the commercial success of art objects. “I always keep in mind the commercial component. And I never do anything that cannot become commercially successful. This is a useless exercise. If you need to reflect your immortal soul, then go to Instagram,” admitted the artist and musician.
On the eve of the opening of the exhibition, Sergei Shnurov spoke with “ RBC Style"about the social implications of his works, actionism and his own art collection.
Sergei Shnurov
Roman Pimenov/TASS
— How and when did your art experiments begin?
— Oh, they started in the fifth grade, at the moment when I decided to publish a samizdat magazine. So it was a long time ago.
— And how do you define your place in contemporary art today?
— I great artist With capital letters X.
— Who do you think is behind the last word in contemporary art: for the author or for the viewer?
— This is an interaction and a kind of game in which the author is the attacker, but no one knows how his ball will be reflected. You can predict, you can, having some kind of analytical apparatus, imagine what trajectory the retaliatory strike will take, but nothing more. Still, there is always a share of improvisation on both sides.
— But does the viewer influence you personally? Are you working with his reaction in mind?
— If you don't have an audience in mind, sing in your bathroom at home. When they tell me that the audience f***ing means nothing to them, the question arises, why the f*** did you even go on stage?
— What influences the viewer better today - a word or a visual image?
— Together. Today one cannot exist without the other. And everything is proof of this latest clips"Leningrad". We haven’t written albums for a long time, because I understand the pointlessness of this activity. This is a dead form that no longer works. The viewer can read the text separately, but it will be a weak signal that transmits worse. But YouTube has arrived, and there is an opportunity to have a greater impact. Art strives for unification and syncretism. And that's what I do. And here brand realism, as some kind of exhibits, supports the brand realism that I implement in the Internet space and at concerts. It's all the same thing.
— How important is the social connotation of your art objects to you?
— A person does not live outside of a social context at all. As Aristotle said four centuries BC, man is a social animal.
Sergei Shnurov. "Vegan", 2016
press service
— Name three contemporary artists whose work you like.
— I can name great and influential artists, but this does not mean that I like everything they do. I would include Koons, Banksy and Kiefer among them. The exhibition of the latter is currently taking place at the Hermitage.
— You said that you are waiting for the emergence of new media formats. What do you think about such an art format as actionism?
— The fact is that “Leningrad” has existed in this genre for a very long time. And actionism is not new to us. We organized spontaneous concerts on Nevsky Prospekt back in the early 2000s. So, forgive me, but I was there. And what they do modern authors in this genre... It seems to me that this does not completely permeate society. A resident of Metallostroy is not interested in all this. This is a small product designed for export. This is not about everyone. And what is not about everyone is not interesting to me either.
— Have you ever bought works of art? And if so, whose?
— Mostly they give them to me as gifts. I have a little bit of the Russian avant-garde, I have a wonderful work by Viktor Tsoi, done with a felt-tip pen, and I have Mayakovsky’s autograph.
— Speaking about selling your works, you said that you can give something to drunk people. And when you are sober, you become more mercantile. But still, what is the price range for the works that you sold?
— One of the works cost 2 million rubles. And now she's in private collection. But in general the price fluctuates.
The exhibition “Retrospective of Brand Realism” at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art will last until July 12, 2017.