- Title: UZBEKISTAN: PRICELESS RUSSIAN ART COLLECTION UNDER THREAT
- Date: 23rd June 2004
- Summary: (L!3) NUKUS, KARAKALPAKSTAN, UZBEKISTAN (RECENT) (REUTERS) SHORE OF THE AMUDARYA RIVER BIRD ON THE SAND WIDE OF AMUDARYA RIVER
- Embargoed: 8th July 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NUKUS, KARAKALPAKSTAN, UZBEKISTAN
- City:
- Country: Uzbekistan
- Topics:
- Reuters ID: LVA8C163Y7C597B08SWE2G8IUU1K
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- Story Text: Priceless Russian art collection that survived Soviet repression under threat.
In a dusty, almost forgotten corner of Uzbekistan, not far from the dying Aral sea, sits what may be one of the most important collections of 20th century Russian avant-garde art.
This priceless treasure of art collected and saved by one man during the Soviet era sits in the town of Nukus, in Uzbekistan's small autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan.
The area was once a rich trading point on the famous Silk Road. Now it's an impoverished region whose soil has turned to salt.
It was the very remoteness of the area that helped Moscow artist Igor Savitsky save thousands of paintings from being lost or destroyed by the old Soviet authorities.
He first came to Karakalpakstan in 1950 as a member of an archaeological dig.
Savitsky was entranced by the native culture -- the remnants of nomadic Karakalpak tribes who once ranged across the desert sands, in a region with a rich and long history.
After moving to the area, Savitsky began to actively advocate for Karakalpak culture, which was fast disappearing. At a time when handicrafts were considered signs of backwardness by the Soviet authorities, Savitsky travelled from village to village, acquiring stunning examples of local craftsmanship in jewellery, textiles and pottery, appealing to women to donate pieces for posterity.
He also opened workshops for local craftsman, such as carpet weavers, to help maintain traditions that were being rapidly erased by the dominant Soviet culture.
Most of the paintings Savitsky collected are works from the 1920's and 1930's and are now housed at the Nukus Art Museum. In the face of continuing funding problems and lack of space, the museum has some how managed to hold on to its art treasure billed as of one best collections of Russian avant-garde art.
"Usually some people are very suspicious when we state that this is the world's second collection, but this is not our evaluation, this was done by many art experts, including the Russian art experts in the Russian museum of Saint-Petersburg who stated that some names are even not represented in central Russian collections and in terms of quantity and quality this is the worlds second collection of Russian art of the beginning of the twenty century or as western art experts say now: without the Nukus museum you can't understand the history of modern art," says Nukus Art Museum director Marinika Babanazarova.
Savitsky opened his museum in 1966. Over the years and until his death in 1984, Savitsky added some 30,000 paintings to the museum's collection of works. He searched out artists who worked under the radar of the state but were part of the great European revolution in the modern art history. They were virtually silenced by the state and Savitsky literally rescued many of their works from destruction.
Some of the paintings are by artists known world-wide such as Lyubov Popova and Mikhail Shemyakin.
These are the fortunate artists who escaped the Soviet Union to live and work freely in the West.
But the real treasures in Savitsky's collections are the works by artists who are virtually unknown--those who were exiled to Soviet labour camps or who wasted away in state mental hospitals. Artists such as Shukhaev, Kurzin and Lysenko. Most of these artists had never seen their works exhibited.
"Savitsky [was] never hunting for the stars as usually the museums do, I don't want to offend anyone, but this is the traditional approach to art: the artist need to be well-known, need to be accepted and very rarely some unknown artists are taken to the collections. Savitsky's approach was quite opposite: what he thought to be real art was taken to the museum. He was lucky no one controlled him in his selection and he really took what he regarded to be real art" - says Marinika Babanazarova.
Savitsky's main principle in collecting art also was to show "
the kitchen of the artist." He sought out not just showpieces, but all the experiments and works of an artist that he could get his hands on.
He went to the homes of artists, to their relatives and found works of art stuffed in cellars and hidden away in attics. When he could Savitsky paid for the paintings, when couldn't always left an "I owe you note." Just last year, the museum faithfully paid off all his debts to the descendants of the artists.
But saved from obscurity, the museum still struggles to survive.
Despite moving into a new lavish marble building, unveiled just over a year ago by the Uzbek President Islam Karimov, the museum is only able to exhibit around 3 percent of its collection of paintings. The rest is stored at the old museum building, which has no climate control.
Many works are not even framed and over one thousand works need restoration badly.
Some restoration work and preservation of the paintings has been done with the help of foreign charities and donations. The organisation "Restorers without Borders"
was active until recently but has been unable to carry out much work after one of their sponsors, financier George Soros, fell out with the Uzbek authorities.
Savitsky's collection has regained acceptability and popularity in recent years, but the museum faces financial problems and needs more funding for equipment and staff salaries. Museum staff fight a constant battle against the harsh elements of the desert.
And it would be ironic if this priceless collection which survived Soviet repression was only to be lost to an indifferent world. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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