Arts : Paintings : Vladimir Lemport
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Critics (English version)

MY CREDO

Credo. What is it? That's what I believe in. All my life I believed that bootlicking was against my nature. Praising the leaders would have done me no good even if I had tryed it. So, I realised I had a hard life ahead of me. And this proved to be true.

Childhood. My childhood was neither happy nor joyful. I remember searches and arrests, misadventures of my parents and, naturally, mine.

In my youth I got intimate knowledge of Stalingrad trenches. But my youth also brought me happiness for the rest of my life – I have survived! Everything was good after the trenches: the Stroganov Art College hostel which was in the basement, our art studio, also in the basement, where I still work now. Everything went fine until the present day. Now I am terrified – terrified that my last basement-studio full of our scuptures will be taken away by some smart rich guy. I can easily see in my mind's eye a broken padlock, the sculptures thrown out or stonen and Silis and I badly beaten with rubber clubs.

In the artist's village in Starosadskiy they already talk about it. It has already happened. And it's a pity. Our basement is full of sculptures in bronze, copper, majolica, and in simple plaster. The sculptures were not made on commission, they represent our feelings and ideas.

Studio of V. Lemport and N. Silis When we entered the former Stroganov Art College in the post-war 1945 we did not fully realize how lucky we were. Among our professors were painters Pavel Kuznetsov, Evgeniy Yegorov and Alexandr Kuprin, sculptors Georgiy Motovilov and Saul Rabinovich, the follower of Matveev. They tought us to work hard till 1 a.m. And to do more than our program required. Sergey Platonovich Markelov – our director – allowed us to stay in the college till late at night. He did not like smokers, and he would catch the smokers and shake them by the collar. He allowed half of his students to stay overnight and sleep on the tables in classrooms – it was so unlike of the present-day bureaucrats!

What can I say about my scultures? ("Sitting Woman", "Sculptor Silis", "Playwright Radzinsky", "Pieta"). Nothing at all. Newspaper photographs may help to see something.

Our professors Georgiy Motovilov and Saul Rabinovich would pronounce precious maxims which stayed in the minds of their students for the rest of their lives, and in my mind in particular.

"What is beauty? Look, look, it is the diversity of colours". No objections against this, all my life I followed the concept of contrasts, it existed from the times of Egypt.

"What is sculpture? It is the entry of object into volume". This is correct, the clearer is the entry, the better are the dimentions of the sculpture.

"Don't model flat surfaces. Each point of a scupture should be at some distance from another point".

"Model your sculpture in such a way as if it fills up all your head". This is hard to imagine, but there is a limitless unique world in our head, we should learn to feel, see and hear it.

Probably there are some among the first graduates of the Stroganov College who managed to achieve this.

Vladimir Lemport
"Moscow Artist", 14 (1398), 1992


FROM THE DEPTH OF HISTORY

Lemport in his studio When you hear: "They have been together since 1945" you should picture this exceptional year when the majority of people in this country shed tears, while the remaining were overjoyed, when a young man with a walking stick or a crutch was quite a common sight. I also came with a walking stick to take my entrance exams at The Stroganov Art College, while Vanya Kharchevin rolled in on a small cart – his legs and several fingers on both his hands were lost. He had a long red beard which almost touched the floor. I lived for five years with him in the college hostel and during that time he was always cheerful and good-natured.

There were more guys who came to take entrance exams at The Stroganov College: Zamkov with a black band over his eye, like Nelson, Sidur with only half of his jaw, Shevkov with an artificial right leg, Solovyev with a knotted heavy walking stick, Grachev with a lifeless arm on a band, Chumakov without biceps of both arms. Next to me in the hostel room was Mitya Gorshkov. He had been wounded in the abdomen, but had not lost his head at the time, picked his intestines, got to the hospital and survived

Embassy of the USSR in Athens. Interior. Recently I met painter Gneushev – he came to see our exhibition- I was amazed at how cheerful and young he looked. I remembered him when he entered our college – he face was badly disfigured at the time – during the war he had escaped from a burning tank.

At about the same time I got acquainted with Nikolay Silis who entered the department of stone carving of the same college. He was doing so well that on finishing his stone carving course he was allowed to take the basic course of MVKhPU (such is the abbreviation of our college) without exams in general education subjects, which he had very little chance of passing. He asked for my advice: how to pass the checkpoint of the metro without footwear. Was it funny? No, not quite. Lack of shelter, footwear, daily bread, were our real problems. Illarion Golitsin is someone to confirm the truth of my words.

With the connivance of our Director Markelov, a kindhearted person, about twenty students slept at night in the college classes, later they formed the backbone of those who lived in our hostel. Sergey Platonovich Markelov could not stand the smokers, he flew into rage when he saw a student with a cigarette. Our hostel was a pleasant place to live in thanks to Pavel Kuznetsov's canvases decorating the walls. Pavel Kuznetsov was one of our professors teaching painting in the college. Victor Kabanov explained the aesthetic meaning of his paintings to us, and did it well.

Embassy of the USSR in Athens. Fragment of frieze. Photography by G. Rosenberg and V. Uskov In 1947 the campain known under the code name "cosmopolitism" struck us like an epidemic of flu. Specially appointed people started to look for cosmopolites – that is to say, enemies of Soviet people and Soviet art – in our peaceful MVKhPU.

Like in Breadbury's novel "387 F" mechanical dog sniffed, sniffed and pointed at everybody's favourite Georgiy Ivanovich Motovilov, head of the chair of sculpture. In those times he was at best threatened with a dismissal.

A small group of enthusiasts, among them Silis and I, rushed to stand up for him. I approached Zemskov, someone who took the lead in the persecution: "What is the accusation? Why do you accuse him of cosmopolotism and what is cosmopolitism?" The answer was more then odd: "Where are his honourable titles? Where are his Decorations, Medals, Laureate's Prizes? He has not got any, and this is a sure sign of a cosmopolite".

That was a fact – no titles and medals ment that things were really bad! We were holding meeting after meeting trying to prove Motovilov's innocense. Finally we succeded – we had proved his innocense and we had defended him. But in the process our teacher got too terrified by the accusation. Soon after he took part in working on the multifigure high relief, rejected and dispised by him previously in his concepts. Besides the subject of this high relief was Stalin, adored by masses of people. Our hero had changed completely. Students engaged in degree thesis were moved to "Kalibr" factory to be closer to common people. Motovilov was one of the ten sculptors who recieved Stalin's Prize for the work on the high relief.

Embassy of the USSR in Athens. Fragment of frieze. Photography by G. Rosenberg and V. Uskov Soon he was awarded the title of a professor and became inaccessible to the likes of Zemskov. But for some reason he also became inaccessible to us, his defenders. Still, Motovilov's great merits stay unshakeable for all first graduates of The Stroganov Art College. He taught us to work long hours. Gave us the basics of monumental art. He introduced concepts of relief and methods of decorative art, he broke our habit to use banal vignettes and sugariness in allegorical compositions.

In 1949 we were waken up by an alarm and ordered to go to the Fine Arts Museum to unload sculptures. These were not Venuses and Appolos, but figures and busts of comrade Stalin – the presents of MVKhPU to mark Stalin's 70th birthday. All Venuses and Appolos were taken down to the store-room, and the Museum itself was turned into an exhibition of presents untill 1953 – Stalin's death. At the same time sculptor Golubkina's Museum was closed. Even prior to that Museum of New Western Art had been closed too. The Stroganov Art College students had to study four more years before graduation, but there was nothing to look up to in their studies and development.

Embassy of the USSR in Athens. Fragment of frieze. Photography by G. Rosenberg and V. Uskov While we were still students, both Silis and I tried working for a master – someone who got a commission, but did not have the abilities and skills to do the work. That was "negro's" labour.

The year of my graduation, 1950, I wrote an article for the "Soviet Culture" newpaper together with Silis and Sidur. The article was titled "Young Specialists and Old System" and told about the deplorable situation of art college graduates. In 1954 newpaper "Literaturnaya Gazeta" published our article "Against Monopoly in Sculpture" which discribed how young artists were used as cheap workforce by eminent sculptors. That year I invited Silis and Sidur to the Designer's Office, which worked on the project of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. We got an opportunity to install two large statues in stone there. That work was signed by four sculptors, because at that time Boris Barkov worked with us. Thus we were a creative group of four people. Barkov was the first to leave the group – he could not stand discipline, necessary for any organization. Several years later Sidur left too. But in 1956 when the three of us were still together we took part in a joint exhibition at The Academy of Arts. At that time we signed all our works by three names without deciphering who was who.

Theatre of Russian drama in Ufa. Architector A. Pechjonkin, sculptors V. Lemport and N. Silis. Exterior.Silis and I did not part. A lot of sculptural works have been created for architectural designs of different cities… Certanly each work was created basically by one sculptor, but besides a sketch there are heaps of work to deal with in completing a monumental design, so both of us were satisfied with a share, we were equally sharing the work, the authorship, and the royalties. But when we were dealing with our uncommissioned works we do not interfere with each other's creations, we follow the physician's principle: "Be careful not to harm". When an artist follows his friend's advice he can correct his work, but it will be done at the expense of his integrity and his individuality.

The present exhibition shows the results of this princinle put into practice. It turned out that we are quite different, and these works cannot be signed by two names. Each of us signs his own work, thus we take a risk that preference will be given to one of us. We believe that this cannot spoil our relationship – we have been working together for 42 years.

What makes a group strong? I do not know what Silis have written about our exhibition, but I am sure that he will add what I have missed.

V. Lemport
Moscow Artist" 28 (1241), 1987


THREE HYPOSTASIS OF VLADIMIR LEMPORT
(Two years after his death)

Theatre of Russian drama in Ufa. Architector A. Pechjonkin, sculptors V. Lemport and N. Silis. Decoration of the portal, fragment of frieze (cooper). Banal remark: time is irreversible. We all know that sooner or later we shall leave this world. But human state of mind is such that we "cheat" all the time. We all think in terms of eternity. Probably, we are right. Eternity will remain, while we may be there, or we may not be there. (Sorry for tautology).

Artists, as well as all adherents of arts, are really lucky. "A hostage of eternity held in captivity by time…" (B. Pasternak).

An artist, no matter in what sphere of arts he works, leaves his individual imprint – his works. "Manuscripts do not burn…" Sculptures do not disappear.

Volodya Lemport remains alive thanks to his sculptures, which are in the studio and at the exhibitions. Photos of his works are published by mass media, his works are majestically present in dozens of monumental architectural compositions scattered, I can say, all over the world.

Office building in Ashkhabad. Architector A. Akhmedov, sculptors V. Lemport, N. Silis. Fragment of the gorelief.Half a century long partnership of two artists is a phenomenal occurrence. Never the less it has happened, and one should not be surprised or moved by such an alliance. There were three of us at the beginning: Lemport, Sidur, Silis. At one time we even signed our works by abbreviation "LeSS", but the union of three was not durable. The two of us – Lemport and Silis did not part.

A leader inevitably emerges in any group of people. In our case Volodya Lemport from the beginning dominated in our group. He was a war veteran, war-disabled person, decorated with "Red Star" order, which he received foe the Stalingrad slaughterhouse. But that was not what justified his right for leadership. He had something about him that (a priori) excluded any other possibility.

Library named by K. Marx in Rostov-upon-Don. Architector Ya. Zanis, sculptors V. Lemport, N Silis. Gorelief on the central facade.Probably that's why we parted with Vadim Sidur, probably that's why I always accepted his authoritative decisions concerning our creative work and everyday life.

It is hard to talk about Lemport's sculptures. Sculpture is probably the most "silent" type of human activity. One should see sculptures, touch them.

All three of us started as graduates of The Stroganov College (now The University named after S.G.Stroganov). We were taught by I.I. Motovilov, S.L. Rabinovich and architect Polyakov. We graduated as realists though without prefix "soc" (socialist). Soon we became known as nonconformists, with all the ensuing consequences. Individual creative trends started to show inside our small group.

And now about Lemport…

I was always amazed at his ability to instantly imprint whatever attracted his attention. There was some unknown powerful intensifier in his brain. An hour or a day after meeting a person he would instantly make a portrait of that person, the figure, or the whole composition. And he would work in clay using the right size. I am not talking about likeness, it was always there. But whatever he created was much more than simple likeness. Some half-forbidden essence was present in his works. May be this was the reason why many our friends after being thus immortalized in clay would stop seeing us for a long time.

Sometimes I asked Lemport jokingly: "Volodya, don't make his portrait, let him stay our friend for a long time." Lemport's spirit was always ahead of his resources. Any passion turned into furious maniacal syndrome. He would get addicted to whatever captured his imagination at the time. Thus, at one go he learned the French language.

Then he got "addicted" to a guitar. He overcame the after-effects of the wound in his left hand and managed to play classic pieces almost professionally. And he had encouraged me to master this hard skill too. With two guitars we played arrangements of Beethoven and Schubert.

Some time later Lemport got keenly interested in translations, mostly of songs. Songs by Georges Brassens, Brel, Villion, then spirituals by Harry Belafonte and Louis Armstrong were included into the repertory of his table concerts. And not too long before his fatal illness he did something amazing – he translated the complete text of Dante's "Divine Comedy".

I would not dare to say anything about his translation, but I can say that his illustrations for the translation were the work of a genius.

In the conclusion I can add that the energy generated by Lemport did not disappear – it remains in his works: sculptures, drawings and writings, which stay after his death. This is a pledge of his immortality.

N. Silis
"Our Isograph" 9, 2003