What is not surprising. The town of New Brunswick is one hour train ride from New York's Manhattan. Formally, it is even another state - New Jersey, the zone of cheap gasoline and oil refineries. Location good. The only pity is that very far from the tourist routes - as Schyolkovo from Red Square. And it must be great to want to get there (that I'm talking about New Brunswick, of course). A friendly, clean campus Rutgers - frankly, not Mecca, connoisseurs of fine arts. There's an honors science, biotechnology, physics, chemistry, interdisciplinary studies. So much for the few Russian students and graduates to the nonconformist our case small. Well, fewer people - more oxygen.
After some brief wrangling (at first not allowed to take pictures, then allowed, but no flash in the darkness, completely impenetrable to "Soap") I go to an empty museum hall. And after a few seconds up the mood in the tone of Aladdin's cave of wonders. Left look - a selection of masterpieces Lianozovo. Just look - outrageously beautiful Tselkov to the ceiling. Zaberesh left - a retrospective Sveshnikov, including his earlier something like the Dutch of 1950. In depth - parade mockingbirds from our Sots Art. Includes a support thing - "The Origin of Socialist Realism" in 1982-1983. by Komar and Melamid, who came all the "books" by contemporary Russian art as an illustration Sots Art. And of course, mandatory Kabakov, the most famous Russian contemporary artist in the West, submitted by the quiet work that is not a problem, even to decorate the house. Treasure really a lot: Vadim Sidura and sculpture, and a good unknown. Yes there list - soon all will see themselves.
Of course, an eye-catching work of Vladimir Yankylevsky Pentaptih number 2: Adam and Eve. 1980. Wood, oil, see Vol Absolutely chic thing. Length - more than 11 meters. I understand that pentaptih that the knockdown, but it is in 1980 - as in those circumstances could create such monumental works? Amazing. Incidentally, the book Yankylevsky "And the two figures ..." is his correspondence with the Dodge, which shows not completely healthy relationship with Dodge. Then recall the words of one scholar that give work to the exhibition - is the only thing a collector can truly do for the artist. Or maybe it was, yes bylem overgrown. How else to explain that pentaptih Vladimir Yankylevsky is now one of the main decorations of the current exhibition?
As is the case with the information accompanying the collection? Zimmerli Museum - Institute of fairly secretive. On the Internet, you can not count: site Zimmerly most useful thing - instructions on how to reach it. Full catalog, as warned LCR, it seems, no. In general, and no wonder - in the collection of Norton Dodge more than 10 thousand works. In the official sources, even the figure of 20 thousand. Along with drawings and photographs - who would have considered them. And in general, after ten thousand - it is not a figure and statistics  However, all is not so bad. In the museum without any problems (only stands to hell) you can buy a 360-page album of five kilograms, which is called the Nonconformist Art. The Soviet experience 1956-1986. Issued Thames and Hudson in collaboration with the Zimmerli Museum, edited by Alla Rosenfeld and Norton Dodge. Ïîñâÿù self-profile collections. So it apart from dozens of articles by Russian and non-Russian art is more than 500 illustrations, including 326 color photos. And all the most "delicious". Plus Zimmerli Journal of anthologies and works of non-album photography and collages Beyond Memory (edited by Diane Neumaier) you can get another couple of hundred photographs - so what happens is quite tolerable information picture a thousand works. By the way, in the "mansion» Zimmeli in the exhibition is only about 60 items from the collection of the collector. And all the space allotted assembly Dodge, comparable to the area of the hall a good picture. Imagine sixty works from twenty thousand? For example, at the time of the visit in the halls, there were no Krasnopevtsev no Roginsky, no Yakovlev, no Rukhin (St. Petersburg avant-garde work, incidentally, adorns the jacket of firm album). Yes, many of whom do not even have first names. This is doubly a shame because in the collection of Dodge these wizards are real masterpieces (though the album is, so that in the future to find out how to make up for this educational gap )
By the way, Norton Dodge collection is not the only decoration Museum Zimmerli. There is still, for example, a permanent exhibition collection of George (probably George) Ryabova - from icons of 16-17 centuries before Sergei Sudeikina, Kuznetsova, Natalia Goncharova, Nikolai Roerich, Yuri Annenkov and even Alexei von Jawlensky (work "Head of Christ" -- - in the style of his abstract goals). Also very strong collection, which cries out for attention lovers, and just any audience.
Returning to the collection of Dodge. Of course, this concentration works unique, committed museum class. Not everyone, of course. Many things are migratory, many names of the second and third row. Knocks strange division along ethnic lines (for example, has Armenian nonconformists, where enlisted Sergei Yesayan, or Estonian nonconformists, where little-known artists side by side Hulot Sooster). But in terms of the whole is much higher than, for example, the well-known private collection of nonconformist spouses Bar Gera. Simply not comparable.
And do not leave the thought that no place for him there. Closely (well, that is 60 works from 20 thousand). Away. And in general. What is clear is that the most appreciative audience Norton Dodge collection remains in Russia. At home these works, where a comprehensive look at the national post-war art is still nowhere. More remains to fantasize. They say, that would not have agreed to porcelain Vishnevskaya, and the collection of Dodge ... dream, as simply a rhetorical ... It is clear that no one will give ... And it now goes to the hundreds of millions. If only estimate the weight of dozens of works exhibited in the market prices had already obtained 10.12 million easily. Well then it at least to bring to show more often, to publish books in Russian - in short, to do only what a collector can thank the artist. And then we'll see. In this world, anyway. In the meantime, let's see photos of the room nonconformists. There's amateur video, will soon publish.