Translated material
Graffiti in a big city
- In your opinion, was the decision of the officials of the Samara City Hall to paint the graffiti of the Samara embankment to the Samara City Hall?
Lyudmila Kuzmina : I have the impression that the city hall had to paint the wall of the embankment on the eve of the representation of the city as a championship contender - they painted it, made an urgent decision to paint and implemented it. That's right. And, no further than in March, it seems to me the same mayor's office that declared the fight against graffiti. It was necessary to give a certain, as it seemed to them a fashionable appearance to the city: graffiti was painted.
Anatoly Vinograd in: in 1991 - 1993, in the most perestroika time, I, being the director of the Samara Regional Museum of Local Lore, was outraged that some zealous figures painted with all sorts of inscriptions and stained the monument to V.V. Kuibyshev on his name. As a person of the sphere of science, and then also to an employee of culture, some ideological and political actions were completely alien to me, which, as a rule, had a temporary and biased character. I am used to thinking more eternal categories. Of course, I captured a general progressive movement in the country, and, of course, I was not a supporter of Soviet demagogy, it was in this case either in the personality of V.V. Kuibyshev, or in Soviet communist ideas. I saw elementary vandalism, "dance on the bones", whoever committed it. Vandalism and lack of culture in relation to the famous monument of sculpture, history and culture. Questions with such monuments, as you know, were resolved and resolved for a long time. This can still be discussed, transport them to some park, or to a museum, this is not the point. And he performed in the press, expressed his opinion, and somehow gradually the itch of all the destruction has calmed down. I must repeat the very basic idea that the school had to put into the heads of the young generation over the past years, but for some reason, over the past couple of decades, it has not been able to do this: led out from the monuments of history and culture, architecture and sculpture, take care of nature monuments, love, appreciate the parks, embankments, that magnificent historical and derivatives, which has been created for decades and centuries. Culture is the basis of our state; Smart culture along with science, education and enlightenment. It is impossible for the sake of only (!) Sports game (do not flatter yourself, not popular, albeit mass) to spoil the strict, delicate Volga facade of the city of Sama-Ry. These are citizens of leaders - lack of culture! Everything else is details. Graffiti is not graffiti, art is not art. Do not touch the cultural layer of your predecessors. Create your own, according to your cultural ideas. Take modern houses, highlight the sites for the "rock paintings" of a modern model, then maybe art will appear, there will be some masterpieces. And your descendants will not be ashamed of you, and for us, because we will support you then. It will then remain for centuries in memory of us and our cultural and educational level.
Andrey Astashkin : In principle, yes. A holy place is not empty and it is better to fill the wall of the embankment with more or less decent inscriptions and drawings.
Another thing is that the use of this style and the catchy word "graffiti" (I suggest for the "red word" and the "PR") does not look so appropriate. Of course, the city hall employees do not know that the origin of graffiti-moves in its modern sense is associated with the activities of political activists who used graffiti to disseminate their ideas.
Really really the administration’s employees were imbued with the ideas of hip-hop culture? The mayor of Azarov supports her “main line” - a protest against inequality and injustice, an opposition to the power of the emerging? I doubt. That is, they wanted the best, but it turned out as always!
At the same time, I am simply surprised by the dissonance between the official and the manner of execution, and I do not scold power. Let it be better than gray tedious walls ...
- Maybe the stream of indignation of the painted graffiti embankment arose due to the fact that the head of Samara Dmitry Azarov supported this idea on Twitter and this is paid by certain politicians of the campaign against a particular person: the head of Samara?
Lyudmila Kuzmina : I do not think that indignation was because of not love for the mayor. I do not think that criticism is paid. Graffiti, which was presented to us at the initiative of the mayor, is rather not graffiti in the understanding of this term, but simply agitation for the desired city hall of the event.
Andrei Astashkin : I personally did not notice the stream of indignation. It may have been passionate about other questions. Were there processors and rallies condemning the head of the city on this issue? They decorated and decorated. You can paint all this tomorrow again with gray! I think criticism appeared precisely because people, without even being in the subject, felt this dissonance between officialdom and hip-hop. And they spoke about him. At the expense of the paid PR provisions, I can not say anything. Unless nothing like - the elections are still far away.
- It is not surprising that the retaining walls of the embankment for many years have been gray and dull, and now, when they were painted with bright pictures of juicy flowers, they drew football players, advertising the World Cup - 2018, and critics immediately began to call a ghetto? What, in your opinion, are criticized in this case in the word ghetto?
Andrei Astashkin : It does not surprise me that Graffiti reminds people of the Negro ghetto - there this style has blossomed, there, in a ghetto, it would be especially important to protest against inequality, corruption, and lies of power. We saw enough Hollywood films with such pictures. Our ghetto are working areas on the outskirts of the city where there are no cultural establishments, but full of beer and glasses, where the boxes of houses are painted with dust in gray are also a completely adequate place for graffiti. But the embankment could be decorated with more classic plots. And to entrust this to students of art schools and schools. It would suit her more, it seems to me!
Anatoly Vinogradov : The color of the stone was not selected by chance, this is a sign of time. And not only in Samara, but also in other cities and other countries. Maybe we will paint the Kremlin wall into a cheerful peas? We will put the balls, badminton, tennis players, judokas there? In addition to the bright crafts, as if to raise the mood of the dull (for some reason) Samara citizens, an ideological background is completely clear: let's all want a stadium for sports games together! And then someone says that Samara does not need the stadium! Let's conjure all together, such is the leading line, then, suddenly, we will build something, at least a little.
Lyudmila Kuzmina : In this case, its original meaning is invested in the ghetto: restriction for others except. Why is graffiti on the topic of the championship, on the topic of football? Graffiti is not only football or championship? Graffiti is a creative on a free topic, it is free self -expression. So this was not the wrong way. It was an agitation on the topic of football. In addition, graffiti should not violate visual comfort. In this case, the agitation was outraged, and created some visual discomfort. From the fact that the wall has been for many years, since its existence was gray, does not mean at all that graffiti should have appeared on it with the theme of football to the upcoming championship. It is not at all necessary that this topic here is most appropriate and most desirable inhabitants.
- What do you think: where is graffiti permissible in the city, but where not? We are talking about graffiti in general: both about spontaneous and about what is now drawn in Samara with the permission of officials.
Lyudmila Kuzmina : It seems to me that the city can be cheerful, unhealthy, with places and objects of different directions that distinguish it from others, that is, not to tire of surprising the townspeople and guests of the “face is not a general expressing”. In my opinion, there should be deaf walls for real graffiti. Which, however, find themselves in the field of view of people, underground crossings, so that there are no gloomy walls in them, in Samara on the walls under the roofs there are graffiti, some pipes, walls and temporary fences that are next to the construction, sidewalks of pedestrian zones, just sidewalks, if they were more dumping in quality and cleared. There are enough places for graffiti to surprise and delight the townspeople. It seems very appropriate to me graffiti on the camps of monotonous high -rise buildings in sleeping and not only areas. Modern architecture in Samara is not very strive to please us and surprise us. And the monotony of the urban multi -storey landscape, as you know, does not bring great joy.
Anatoly Vinogradov : Graffiti as a phenomenon somehow does not particularly excite me. I do not like sloppiness when the facades of houses are stained. As a specialist, I will say that such “graffiti” was painted by primitive people on the rocks (I was even in Krasnoyarsk at a special exhibition of an artist who copied the so -called writings from the rocky slopes of the Yenisei). But they got both history and art, they put their souls into creativity, philosophy, their views. There were, of course, unsuccessful tests, of course. Graffiti can be treated from different points of view. With social: a way of self -expression of youth, especially creative youth, and the more they will prohibit, the more rebellion will be. From an artistic creative point of view: it can be both the daub and art; Any species does not come out completely from masterpieces. The number goes into quality. In general, here we are discussing for free those issues for which officials pay salaries. They should think. Otherwise, why did we choose them? However, did you choose? Many are not believed.
Andrei Astashkin : And here you don’t have to think. These guys with spray cans have rules on this score. The Code of Honor of the Routor says: "You can not write on cultural monuments, on houses representing cultural value, as well as on memorial walls and tombstones." Correctly written!
- Graffiti, as you know: a subculture of multimillion -dollar cities. What graffiti do you personally like?
Andrey Astashkin : Talented. In any direction of art, there can be a yield, and there are peaks of a creative spirit. I am indifferent to "tags" with nicknames of rateers. The image of people and animals, the plot, popular in prehistoric times attracts. Creative meaningful phrases are good, which indicate social and political problems. And, of course, graffiti should not spoil the view of the house. Sometimes such an inscription looks ugly ... Body is not interesting to anyone except the author!
Lyudmila Kuzmina : I like joyful, amazing, surprising, bright, smart and graffiti, like creative art. I don't like the clumsy, oak agitation.
- Maybe you need to paint graffiti public transport or buildings of official institutions?
Anatoly Vinogradov : Invite the "graffitchiks", talk to them humanly what they want, as they see problems. You can meet more than once. And decide together where and how you can draw. Without rudeness, kindly. They will paint public transport to you, and at home in some places, and advertising will organize, where it is paid, where it is free. Art at competitions is revealed. Make a competition (and so that the leader’s elections are honest there!). In general, you need to meet people. Do not be afraid of democracy. Without it, nothing will work out at all in power.
Andrey Astashkin : It's time to give the White House to the Routers. They will express everything they think about today's government in an artistic form. This is certainly a symbol of grayness, bureaucracy, injustice. Only after all, Merkushkin is not Azarov, he will not allow! And buses are advertising squares, why give them to someone?
Lyudmila Kuzmina : If the transport is boring and old, then in order to give him originality and pay attention to it, then it is possible and possible, if it is not vandalism. Bureaucratic buildings? Unless vandalism and in protest, because we have bureaucratic buildings are just the most well -groomed. I even saw how the bureaucrats were cleaned from the dust of the building, although Naumov’s mansion would have earned this for a long time. But they do not clean him ...
-How "Golden mean" with graffiti: so that the city is creative and
Champions of morality and morality were not outraged by painting
embankment?
Andrei Astashkin : The recipe is very simple: making decisions need to have an artistic taste. Officials in the Samara region do not enter into job descriptions. We have the minister far from these matters (and this is not her fault). So the point is for consultants. We have a lot of talented artists - at least, at least the Korzhov spouses are attracted to work. This will not completely remove the moment of criticism. But disputes about "subtle matters" must lead the masters who are versed in the intricacies!
Lyudmila Kuzmina : "Golden mean"? Is it for contemporaries and, especially in the art of avant -garde? Probably, this is still not vandalism, and not outside of morality. But criticism should be reasonable and in moderation.