Vladimir Kupriyanov Julia, 2007–2009
BiographyToday, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is finally possible to say that the Soviet civilization has become separate from the reality of modern life. True, there are still many echoes and relics of those years, particularly within the former Soviet sphere of influence; less so in former East Germany, but more in the former Soviet states or the Russian provinces. But overall it is fair to say that Soviet society is a thing of the past, and that it plays a role in contemporary culture only in that capacity. People still look back on the old days with much emotion: Those who lived in Soviet society feel either nostalgia for the past or hate every single one of its symbols and characteristics. Actually, the latter attitude is less common: People are far more inclined to idealize their own youth and its setting, than to constantly think about their lack of freedom. Actually, such value judgments allow little space for serious reflection and confrontation with the past; that remains the province of scholars and artists. But while the scholarly work of gathering facts requires time and patience, art distils theories from bits of evidence and scattered visual symbols. Vladimir Kupriyanov is a master of this kind of distillation.
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