A retrospective art exhibit at the Novy Museum features photographic portraits of the artist posing as famous cultural figures.
Like in any major transitional period in history, Perestroika saw a rebirth of creative self-expression. One of the most provocative Russian artists associated with the era was Vladislav Yuryevich Mamyshev-Monroe, whose first retrospective is now on display at the Novy Museum.
“The Life of the Remarkable Monroe” presents up to 300 of Mamyshev-Monroe’s works from different collections, from the earliest drawings, collages and photographs of the 1980s to the photographic series and video pieces that brought fame to the artist. The title of the exhibition refers to a particular series of photographic works in which the artist turns into prominent historical figures. By doing this, Mamyshev-Monroe created a new way of seeing the world through the eyes of many people. This approach, invented by the artist, reflected the time of change he was experiencing.
Mamyshev-Monroe tried to perceive his own life as a performance, transforming into diverse characters ranging from Joan of Arc and Lyubov Orlova to Fyodor Dostoevsky and Shakespeare’s Polonius. However, American film actress Marilyn Monroe evoked his inspiration like no one else. That is why Mamyshev-Monroe took the starlet’s name as his artistic pseudonym.
As well as showing Monroe’s audacious transformations, the exhibition also introduces visitors to the artist’s criticism of glamour and the cult of celebrity-worship emerging in the post-Soviet territory.
Mamyshev-Monroe was born in 1969 and was expelled from school for drawing caricatures of Soviet leaders. He began his independent career performing with Sergei Kuryokhin’s Popular Mekhanika orchestra in the late 1980s and, at the same time, taking part in exhibitions. The artist held more than 30 one-man shows during his career.
A selection of his works can still be seen at the Russian State Museum, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and Moscow’s Multimedia Art Museum.
“The Life of the Remarkable Monroe” exhibition will be at the Novy Museum 29, 6th line, Vasilievsky Island, through Aug. 31. For more information, visit www.novymuseum.ru
Source: The St.Petersburg Times - Anna Frumkina (text and photo)