"Wonderful catch" for seaside fishermen

Journalist Article - Anna Lim

At all times, the sea has attracted a person to itself. Vladivostok. The country's sea gate on the Pacific Ocean. It is in this city, like nowhere else, that the closest connection between man and the ocean, passing from generation to generation, is felt. Magnificent sunsets and sunrises, seagulls in the blue sky, fresh sea breeze, violent storm elements enchant the true connoisseur of nature.

The sea has a mysterious power to control itself forever.

However, the sea is not only a riot of colors and beautiful landscapes, the sea is trade routes, the military fleet and, of course, the most valuable food resource - fish. In the Far East, perhaps, you will not find a family whose life would not be connected with the sea. And the profession of a fisherman is especially respected here. Every day, ships go out to sea, and fishermen are constantly risking their lives when fishing for seafood. Their work is difficult and dangerous, where the main ally - the sea - can suddenly turn into the worst enemy, and only experience, perseverance and dedication can be opposed to the whims of the weather.

The difficult, but romantic work of people mastering the harsh Far East has long been a source of inspiration for artists. The heroes of their paintings were often those who devoted their entire lives to the sea. Recent years have been difficult for our country. Much has changed, including the attitude towards painting. Material concerns came to the fore, sharply pushing back the pursuit of spirituality. Many people have simply forgotten how much art can give a person. And not everyone has the time and desire to visit galleries and openings. Therefore, the association of professional artists "ArtTerra Incognita" decided to continue the tradition of the partnership of traveling exhibitions, which developed in Russian classical art at the turn of the 9th - 20th centuries. Such events were arranged to draw attention to social problems and to introduce the public to new trends in painting.

Young Far Eastern artists also made the decision to go to meet their audience themselves. And at the leading enterprises of the fishing industry of the Primorsky Territory this summer they organized a traveling exhibition "Wonderful Catch". The ArtTerra Incognita participants set a goal: to revive interest in the topic of fishing, to show the unique nature of the Far East, to emphasize the inseparability of the "sea-man" connection. The exhibition featured about 80 works devoted to this topic: from still lifes and seascapes to portraits and subject paintings that tell about the harsh fishing days. The exhibition began its work in the administration of the Vladivostok Sea Fishing Port. Three weeks later, the staff of the TINRO-Center were able to get acquainted with modern realistic painting. And the final stage of the exposition took place in the building of JSC Dalryba.

It has become a good tradition of "ArtTerra Incognita" to create for each exhibition a copy of a painting by some famous artist of the past, on a theme that coincides with the works presented. Members of the creative group, in turn, played the role of a guide, tell visitors about famous canvases and masters who created masterpieces of painting, thereby bringing the classics closer to the realities of our time. This time, at the opening of the exhibition, viewers were able to get acquainted with the history of the painting, which gave the name to the entire exposition - a free copy of the famous cardboard by Raphael "Miraculous Catch", made in 1515 by order of Pope Leo X for tapestries for the Sistine Chapel.

The original is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The author of the copy, member of the association Anna Kopytina, emphasizes: "Raphael is a great master. In his work he exactly followed the biblical plot of Chapter V, the Gospel of Luke. The classic plot is intended to emphasize that since biblical times the work of a fisherman was held in high esteem. The fishermen were the apostles. Peter and Andrew, depicted in the picture. We look up to Raphael, but at the same time we understand that painting has changed a lot since the Renaissance. There is a certain educational moment. Seeing the paintings of famous artists of the past, people can compare old art and new, determine what- something close to oneself. At the same time, regardless of whose favor the choice is made, beauty will prevail. After all, having come into contact with real art, people become internally richer. "

Among the other works presented at the exhibition, the strongest impression is left by another painting by Anna Kopytina "At the Fish Factory", which depicts the process of fish processing during the summer salmon fishing. In the center of the composition are the factory workers, girls carrying heavy containers with fish, standing on its butcher, talking merrily, laughing. This is fishing season, that short time when salmon comes to the Far Eastern shores, when every hour is precious and every pair of hands is worth its weight in gold. Therefore, the work at the fish factory does not stop for a moment, the workers lean over the tables heaped with fish again and again, forgetting about fatigue and aching hands and back.

The views of the audience linger for a long time on the works of Elena Gulyaeva. The plots of her paintings are simple: city sketches, still life with fish, the bays of Vladivostok, but their colors are remembered for a long time - pink, blue, lilac. You feel something infinitely tender, warm and spring when you look at St. Nicholas Cathedral, Sea Town, Lucky Catch, Still Life with a Shell, and Clouds. Bright, saturated colors seem to reflect the cheerful character of the author. And the enthusiastic mood that permeates her paintings is inevitably transmitted to the viewer. Elena admits that most of all she loves to work on seascapes. "Open spaces, sky, clouds. When you write from nature, everything seems to work out by itself. After all, we have such beautiful places! These spaces, colors ... The direction in which I work can be called romantic realism. I do not write avant-garde, this is Not mine. It seems to me that people should be given joy with bright colors. "

The works of the only graphic artist "ArtTerra Incognita" Ekaterina Kravtsova were also given special attention. Damp, cold "Stones", wetly gleaming after low tide, shreds of sea "Foam" in transparent greenish waves beating against the coastal "Rocks". The seaside nature is majestically beautiful and harsh. There is no place for a city man, pampered by the "blessings of civilization", and strong, silent people, pioneers who conquered the eastern shores of our state, can feel like a fish in water. According to the artist, contemporary art is too divorced from the real problems of concern to our society, and is often incomprehensible to him. “Today we see that educated, intelligent, creative people: culturologists, philosophers, artists, art historians, even when they are given the opportunity to get together and exchange opinions, as if they speak different languages. Cultural figures do not understand each other, but there is also simple folks". Art should be closer to people, to its origins. Of course, we are not talking about primitiveness or the desire to evoke any response, when you can simply shock a person, cause him fear or disgust. On the contrary, the artist must express his ideas, appealing to both the rational and the sensible at the same time, so that the majority of viewers can understand and share his thoughts.

Still lifes with fish and other gifts of the sea, and plot scenes, and portraits of toilers of the sea attracted attention. Many will recognize the familiar landscapes with views of the coast of the Primorsky Territory and the Kuril Islands, and the ships on which they had to work.

According to Anna Kopytina, the exhibition is primarily intended for the fishermen themselves. "These are really courageous people. Young guys, going to sea for fish, sometimes do not realize what awaits them. But, faced with danger, they grow up, learn to help each other, find themselves. This is the very wonderful catch that awaits them. man brings their seas - self-knowledge and self-renewal. The artist should not be isolated. He tries to understand the way of thinking and feelings of a person before capturing it on canvas. Preparing for the exhibition, we tried to understand as best as possible how fishermen live. Some of us have been on the Kuril Islands, they worked during fishing trips at fish processing plants, getting closely acquainted with the coastal life of fishermen. " The experience gained was especially useful when preparing works for the "Wonderful Catch" exhibition. The material brought from Kunashir, the spirit of island life, where the word "putina" carries in itself, without understatement, sacred meaning, formed the basis of the plots of many paintings.

The members of the ArtTerra Incognita association, ArtTerra Incognita, are planning to further, while doing easel painting, direct their creativity to the image of people who are engaged in work that fills a person's life with material and spiritual benefits. "After all, only when a person works, he realizes his significance in society, the importance of his profession, the profession of a fisherman. And painting should reflect this. The purpose of art is to see the beautiful, heroic in everyday life and remind people of this," says Anna Kopytina:

“It seems to me that today people often lack just this. And if a person is shown all the beauty of his profession and lifestyle, then he will keep this feeling for a long time, he will strive for perfection, he will try to develop the best qualities in himself: the ability to love, compassion, keep friendship, be responsible ... "

It was a regular working day at the Vladivostok sea fishing port. People entered the port office and stopped, noticing the festival of colors instead of the usual whiteness on the walls. Someone, shrugging their shoulders, hurried on about their business, But most turned around, came closer, recognized the familiar outlines of islands, bays and coastal settlements. Some had a quick glance, while others carefully examined the pictures, as if comparing them with something deeply hidden in their souls. One of the spectators expressed himself briefly and succinctly: "Fortitude and courage are the main things, and they are here." Perhaps it is difficult to find words that would better characterize the people who have linked their fate with the sea.