(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov - Евгений Козлов


"Igor, peace between us? – Peace? No Way." Oil, collage, paper, 226 x 97 cm, 1989 - Collection Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova, Turku, Finland
"Valera. The Soul present Within Things." Oil, collage, paper, 226 x 85 cm, 1989 - Private collection, Finland

"Игорь, мир? Mир? – О, нет." Бумага, масло, 226 x 97 см, 1989
"Валера. Душа Вещей." Бумага, масло, 226 x 85 см, 1989


русский текст >> стр. 1 >> стр. 2 >> стр. 3 >> стр. 4
english text page 1 >> page 2 >> page 3 >> page 4
back to >> "THE RAW, THE COOKED, THE PACKAGED."
text >>

back to >> art

click image to enlarge >>

Text by Hannelore Fobo, 2008-2010
русский текст >> стр. 1 >> стр. 2 >> стр. 3 >> стр. 4
english text page 1 >> page 2 >> page 3 >> page 4



The “New Composers” Valery Alakhov and especially Igor Verichev appear on several important E-E works (by Evgenij Kozlov) of the second half of the 1980s. Valery and Igor were Kozlov’s close friends and shared the innovative spirit of the time, a spirit that gave rise to movements perceived as “new”. Like the “New Composers”, the first Leningrad electronic music group, which still exists today, there were the “New Artists” in the visual arts, of which Evgenij Kozlov was a member, the “New Theatre”, the “New Art Critics”, etc. The crossover of activities and fluctuating membership was a typical feature of that period.

click image to enlarge >>
E-E (Evgenij Kozvlov) "Новые-е Композиторы" ( "New Composers")
72 x 46.2 cm,1986
Whether the two large works on paper with full-body portraits of Igor and Valera (short for Valery) should be respectively called portraits at all is a question posed by many E-E “portraits”. Indeed, the artist entitles only some of his works as “Portrait of …”. When he opts for a “talking” title instead, we receive additional information about the narrative of the work. Kozlov’s portraits always leave the realm of factual description, yet they are by no means psychological studies. It could rather be said that they shift the focus to a less evident but nevertheless more substantial sphere of human beings: the spiritual world to which we belong and with which we interact, but which we also actively create.


They are portraits in the sense that they present what is characteristic for the individual person; they go beyond the portrait when they develop the spiritual potential, the dynamis of this specific person, to use the Aristotelian term. With regard to this potential, the titles “Igor, peace between us? – Peace? No way” and “Valera. The Soul present within Things.” will be examined later.

click image to enlarge >>
E-E (Evgenij Kozvlov)
"И Игорь"And Igor"
63 x 49 cm,,1987

Composition

Speaking in technical terms, Evgenij Kozlov generally uses his own photographic works as his basic inspiration for portraits but then transforms or even metamorphoses the figures in the photographs in a complex and often surprising way. As mentioned before, the “portrayed” can be recognised, but the degree to which he or she is identical with the figure on the painting remains a matter for discussion.

The photographs were originally taken for their own sake: Evgenij Kozlov would either invite his friends over to his place or visit them and suggest that they play a game, creating spontaneous poses. For his follow-up works he would then choose elements from pictures he considered interesting in a particular way – a movement of the hands, a twist of the body, the position of the legs, and, especially, a certain look in the eye.

click image to enlarge >>
E-E (Evgenij Kozvlov)
untitled (Igor)
15 x 10.1 cm, 1986 or 1987

“Igor, mir? Mir? – O, net.” and “Valera. Dusha Veshei” both relate to photographs from 1986 or 1987. “Igor” refers to a single picture whereas “Valera” blends features from several photographs – three at least – perhaps even six.



The photographic appearance of the two works is further enhanced by the adoption of a monochrome negative structure, with a reversal of dark and light: the background is black, while forms and shapes are defined by means of delicate white contours and hatches. These contours and hatches have been painted using an oil colour, but they still display the hasty nervousness of a pencil stroke In some areas, softer and more regular strokes allow the deep blackness of the background to shine through the white colour; light arises from darkness. It is a ‘natural’ blackness, revealing a subtle geometric pattern that has been obtained by gluing together a considerable number of light-proof paper bags designed for use with photo paper (‑which the artist had previously used to print his negative films).


E-E (Evgenij Kozvlov)
untitled (Igor)
36 x 36 mm, 1986 or 1987
The lightness of both compositions makes them, in a way, more similar to drawings than to paintings. Yet, in the case of a drawing, we would focus more on the features of the object and not so much on the background, whereas here, due to the reverse use of black and white, the background seems to fill up the figures and to fully penetrate them. They would literally dematerialise if they were not kept in place by several almost pure white features. These features organise the space of each work and guide our eyes.


First of all, our attention is drawn to the faces of Igor and Valera. Here, a visual effect of monochrome negatives is employed: in parts with strong black and white contrasts, the white areas “overshine” the neighbouring black areas. Thus, the figures’ hair, eyebrows, eyes, and lips are filled with white colour, which makes them appear slightly larger than natural and therefore more dominating, especially on Igor’s face. The stark contrast between dark and light, diminished only by a few delicate shades of white, generates a deeply impressing, intense, happy expression.


"Igor, peace between us? – Peace? No Way.", detail
The other features that structure the compositions are specific for each work.

Five beams emanate from behind Valera’s head. The lower two form a horizontal line. These beams intersect at angles of 45 degrees. With seven dots around and between them, they make up a corona, separating the infinity of the background from the figure in the foreground. They are completed by the V-shape of the waistcoat pointing towards the half folded, half open hands. The intricate position of the fingers, stressed by white shades on jacket and shorts, mirrors the corona. At the same time, it harmonises the unusual posture of the body: the upper part straight as if standing, the lower part zigzagging, with the legs slightly bent as if in a sitting position, in a foreshortened perspective.


"Валера. Душа Вещей."
"Valera. The Soul present within Things.", detail

русский текст >> стр. 1 >> стр. 2 >> стр. 3 >> стр. 4
english text page 1 >> page 2 >> page 3 >> page 4