Director of the Russian museum Vladimir Gusev: "The arts can not be forced to engage"

[Евгений]

The State Russian Museum sums up the year, the Year of France in Russia and Russia in France. However, in the Museum are preparing for exhibitions and festivals dedicated to the Year of Italy in our country and the year of Russia in Italy. On the upcoming events of 2011, prospects for return Toropetzkaya Our Lady of the museum, the relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church and the contemporary art process, told the Interfax news agency the Northwest director of the Russian museum Vladimir Gusev.

- Vladimir Aleksandrovich, tell us about the outcome of this year as it was for the Russian Museum? What events in the life of the museum were the defining set the tone for next year?
- Probably, the main event of the year was the restoration of the Summer Garden and the fact that we were able to maintain funding. Work on the Summer Garden are continued, and they are in many ways, has now entered into the most difficult stage.
We helped the decision to adopt the program the third phase of reconstruction and development of the Russian Museum. There is a program "Revival", adopted 10 years before the 100 th anniversary of the Russian Museum, which was completed in 2008. But since we got in the management of such important objects as the Summer Garden, Mikhailovsky Castle as a guardhouse itself Engineers Castle, the program extended. It operates until 2015.
But after that fell on hard times: the beginning of underfunding. Therefore, our program is also under threat. Our main task - to solve the problem of complete renovation of the Russian Museum, because everywhere were minor flaws. And then we finally complete the formation of the exposition, which in principle we can do - a thousand-year history of Russia in the collections of the Russian Museum.
[SPOILER] In addition, this year very successfully passed our flower festival "French garden on the banks of the Neva." We are now full swing preparing an Italian festival of landscape art, which will be devoted to the Year of France in Russia. It will be called "Italian Noon. We work with Italy, she is very interested in this, and the festival is included in the official program of the cross, the "Russia - Italy in 2011.
In connection with this year, a year in Italy, we will have a number of exhibition projects that we carry on and their sponsorship money, we are always in search of funds. This helps us and the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Board of the Russian Museum. The first real project - an exhibition at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence (the largest of the currently existing Florentine palazzo, one of the most important sights of Florence - IF), which opens Feb. 7.
This will be the best stuff from the Russian Museum collections to avant-garde. In particular, in the Palazzo Pitti is a gallery of self-portraits, which is closed to the public. There posted self-portraits of artists from around the world. Is there a self-portrait and Kiprensky, and Nef, Kustodiev and Aivazovsky.
They have a wonderful portrait of Anatoly Demidov, written Bryullov. We'll bring a self-portrait Bryullova and hung on the contrary, which would like to invite the viewer to examine the history of Russian art.
There we will put the masterpieces from the collection of Russian art, the exhibition will show that the museum's collection - is the country's history in pictures. It will not be very large exhibition of about 60 items.
There are several other projects that I do not say - requires a lot of work on fundraising.
Successfully continue to evolve our e-business: we have discovered not so long ago, a virtual branch office in Beijing, on the same days, opened a branch in Ufa, was the presentation of such a branch in Paris. After that it was opening a branch and a direct bridge to Krasnoyarsk, and recently opened a branch in Minsk.
We are actively working with Rossotrudnichestvo. This federal agency cooperation with compatriots abroad, very good structure, business and sensible. Russian museum plans necessarily next year to open a branch in Rome, when it will happen - it depends on the degree of preparedness, most likely in the middle of the year in Baku - in the near future. There branches will be opened within the cultural centers of Russia, which are created in conjunction with Rossotrudnichestvo.
And very important for us that this December will complete the restoration and reconstruction of two pavilions guardhouse Engineers' Castle, which is funded by the European Development Bank. One of the pavilions will be the center of children's art and children's education - is to work with children, including - with children with developmental problems, creative studio, children's art museum. And second, we plan to create a model, the standard electronic branch of the Russian Museum. The first floor is equipped by the European Development Bank, the second and third - in agreement with our sponsors, those who are interested in the development of the Russian electronic industry. It should be a ground for demonstrations of the latest electronic tools in the field of culture.
It is worth noting that at present is a tendency to decrease in funding, and it is believed that the exhibition - it is generally some sort of self-indulgence, and that the museum should do exhibitions on extrabudgetary funds.
For example, I'll call a few numbers. We, as a public institution, receives funding under Art. 226, which is funded by a number of positions: it guards the museum, design estimates of work, exhibition and acquisition of artifacts.
In 2009, we received this article, 86 million from the budget, with more than 50 million spent only on protection.
In 2010, we have allocated funding only 67 million rubles.
In 2011 allocated only 35 million rubles - it turns out that the museum is almost no funds for the exhibition. But a good show - it's like a good show: today, just a picture hanging on the wall - this is not enough. The situation with the exhibition is almost a dead-end job.
But at the same time we manage not to close, but sometimes even in some more affluent countries, museums are closed rooms, because there is no means to protect the living. We still manage to keep working, but doing it the last effort. Looking for a new, modern means of protection and security.
- Toropetzkaya icon of the Mother of God was given to the church near Moscow in temporary storage, while it has not been returned to the originally agreed terms. Why has this happened, what arrangements for icons currently in place?
- Firstly, when we went to this trade-off (transfer of the icon in the temple - IF), of course, had to overcome the resistance in the museum, and many were not willing to give the exhibit and had to take a decision for themselves. I and many of my colleagues believe that nobody has the right to the aggression because all that concerns our common history.
Today we must address the issues of history, without aggressiveness, and not at the meetings. When this issue should be understood in relation to the Russian Museum is very simple thing: often heard the idea that we keep that stole the Bolsheviks that had been pillaged and destroyed temples and churches, so let's return.
Basis of the collection of ancient Russian art of the Russian Museum was formed before the Revolution. Probably not be called a Bolshevik Nicholas II, who gave the museum a collection of icons, which he, in turn, gave Russia a merchant, attended by this same collection.
And Prince Gagarin can not be called a Bolshevik, because he lived long before the Bolsheviks and even words have not heard. He began to collect icons. And, say, an icon of "The Angel with the Golden Hair," which adorns our collection, was found in the bell tower of Ivan the Great - there was a tent, where to put icons obsolete. They say, did not fit in size did not fit into the temple, there were kept so-called dimensional icons that have been made in the size of unborn child. Church folded them back and they were doomed to perdition. Not because the Church is treated badly, but because everything is changing, something is written off.
And Prince Gagarin found it. At the same time created drevnehranilische at the Academy of Fine Arts, collected the first private collection. For example, Nikolai Likhachev, Nicodemus Kondakova, Michael Pogodin and merchant Theodore Plyushkin, who collected a million things. The name of his Pushkin suggested to Gogol, and met his father in Valdai - he was a merchant and his son became interested gathering. Assembled a collection of a million things - there was everything but still it was a good collection.
In the end, it was decided to purchase a collection of the emperor, and she was brought on a few carts in St. Petersburg. Much of this collection, especially the icon, was part of a collection of Russian Museum. This was also before the revolution.
True, Russia has paid off with Plyushkin differently in their own way. He died, and the Bolsheviks had already shot his older son, who was a knight of the four orders and had to get money for the collection. And at Pskov it and a number of collectors and intellectuals were shot by Bolsheviks. This is the question of who was collecting a collection of ancient art, which is stored in the Russian Museum.
As for talk of a transfer of items, then we, museum staff, the state hired to ensure that we kept that assembled before us. So when they say that the museum workers here do not give - so it is good that does not give. It would be worse if they say: please, take it, think of it, we will still have that store.
But with Toropetzkaya icon a little different, a purpose-built temple. Nothing serious is that the temple built oligarch. Thank God that he built a temple, not a casino, not a restaurant and nightclub. There are pilgrimages, there are many people coming. At one time, churches in Russia were built by those who would now called "new Russian": merchants, rich people.
The icon was taken from us under the word patriarch in temporary storage. We have transferred to temporary storage. We then are asked to extend, we have extended. But already on this icon should be back to us in March 2011.
Those who took the icon, there are some tricks: for example, they state that the museums do not have the sufficient conditions for such complex artifacts. And they really did a wonderful shrine, where the icon is stored, and promised to convey it to us. But if museums do not have enough funds, including the storage of exhibits, there should already reflect the state to be missed.
We are ready to look for ways to compromise in the relationship of the museum and the Church. But our willingness to compromise, depending on how the issue is resolved with Toropetzkaya icon.
- In July a meeting of the Advisory Board of the Russian Museum, which has been tasked to double revenues store in 2015. Please tell us about the aims of the Advisory Council and the museum plans to accomplish the task.
- Home busier than our Advisory Board - do it Russian Museum better known, attractive, competitive. After all, Russian art is much less known than the world. Historically, that was shut down the iron curtain, because of what Russian art do not actually know. So now we breaketh the situation: we want to make sure that the Russian Museum went to a demand for our collections in the audience to Russian art was not considered a catch-up European art.
In domestic art was his way: to the XVIII century it was a religious art, is why so many icons in our collections. But today we need to change this situation by showing the viewer that can attract the interest and our secular art, painting. Now after many, even ours, experts say that Russian art is secondary, it catches up to Europe - this is absolutely untrue.
In fact, starting from the XVIII and XIX century the situation has changed dramatically. Russian artists have quickly learned from Europe. Already work Kiprensky testify to this. When he worked in Italy as a graduate of the Academy of Arts and wanted to remove their works from Italy, Italian customs with difficulty they were released: they said that the Russian artist can not write so that it works by Rembrandt.
And in the XIX century, all caught up in the XX century Russian avant-garde has become the legislator of the world of the artistic process, although later, in 1932, the year it was closed again. Slammed the iron curtain and began to look at Russia as a minor, in terms of fine art, country. We have to overcome, to reverse this view.
Russian museum plans to actively work on the museum design - a design and vestibules, and information for visitors, and advertising. But all this costs money, and here the main task of advisory board - to involve in cooperation with the Russian Museum of Russian and foreign partners to promote our museum.
Expect that this second shed on us the golden rain is impossible, but a number of measures, we now need to take.
- Vladimir, in which, in your opinion, the state is now modern Russian art, whether it can compete with the West? As the Russian Museum is working with contemporary art?
- In today's art is not possible to carry out division by Russia and the West. The process of globalization, with all its plusses and minuses. Russian Museum has traditionally been most active in working with contemporary art process. The first exhibition took place exactly in the vanguard of the Russian Museum, and Kazimir Malevich, who said that a museum - is the cemetery for art and sarcophagi, found in the basement of the Mikhailovsky Palace, a refuge when he was expelled from everywhere. The collection, which was going by the avant-garde, in 1926, when the Bolsheviks tired of these games, she was transferred to the museum.
We have the largest collection of avant-garde, and not in vain in 1930 in the Russian Museum was created Department of Contemporary Art. When everything is covered herself, the museum continued to still keep the avant-garde, hid him when they tried to destroy this "formalism". Then we resumed Division of the latest trends, now it continues to work. Marble Palace we have the theme of contemporary art and Russian art in the context of the world.
- Do you think, I wonder whether the contemporary Russian art audience? That visitors are increasingly choosing the Russian Museum - contemporary or classic?
- Modern art, as a rule, do not like contemporaries. And worse, the more complex world, the less he likes the people who live in it, the less like art, because art - a kind of world, how is society. It is sick and expresses these diseases. But contemporaries often spit on contemporary art: they say no, we want to we were blue-eyed, tall, blond, and we draw the curves, skew, humpback.
Modern art - it is, what is the kind of society. And we show it very actively, although often we are blamed for this, say that looking for the situation. We conduct exhibitions, releasing albums, in particular, came out that "non-conformism. Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum," Art of the XX century ".
I can not say I'm very fond of contemporary Russian art, that it pleases me very much. I was already just do not know, honestly. It's totally different than what we are used to, than that which we have been taught. Today's art does not want to blow golden dreams, does not want to portray a wonderful world when you want to relax and watch, say, a blue sky. Today's art irritates, provokes, makes to think about something unpleasant, about our problems. And it's very different.
I'm not saying this is good or bad. In general, progress to be in art can not. If there had been progress, then our current artists have been a thousand heads higher than the artists of the Renaissance, but it is not.
The fact that we are expanding the territory, showing contemporary artists, takes off to some extent inherent in it for a Russian man, whether the Soviet aggressiveness. That earlier, for example, did not like something a person, then immediately walked letter to the Central Committee. Why is it black all smeared? That he allows himself? And so on.
Now do not swear. Do not like the ancient Russian art - go to the Marble Palace, a modern look. Do not like modern - no need to spit and complain, because it is possible to see the exhibition Aivazovsky.
Aggression becomes possible when a person has no choice. When a person is cornered, and he says: you gotta love just that. He does not want to oppose, wants to get out of this situation. There is aggression.
- The authorities of St. Petersburg is often raised questions about the rebuilding of St. Petersburg culture, the image of St. Petersburg man as educated, modern man, who spends his time and money not only to work and passive recreation, but also to visit the museums, theaters, exhibitions and so on. In your opinion, how to join the residents for the arts, without triggering the audience rejection of this initiative?
- It is impossible for art to involve force. Do not have to deal with mass culture. If forced to walk to the museums, the wing will come of this: people will resist.