Director of the Pushkin Museum: "I am very sorry contemporary artists'

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The director of the Pushkin Museum Irina Antonova: "I am very sorry for contemporary artists»

Irina Antonova, the complexities of museum management, sponsors and children

Modern audiences in the museum has become more selective. Attract the public is becoming increasingly difficult. Queues are built today only at the exclusive exhibition. Whereas previously the most notable exhibitions were held here, now and the Tretyakov Gallery and Historical Museum, and the Arena (I'm very glad that there is such a powerful center) do show. Besides, people have the opportunity to travel abroad, to compare.

In the battle for viewers, we are thinking of new projects. Say, the first to step on a comparison of modern design with classical art: large-scale exhibitions held Chanel, Dior. When we were approached by the curators house Chanel, I asked them to show not only the latest trends - we are not a salon where new items are set to sell - and the origins, the concept of the emergence of fashion inspiration designer. After all, she was associated with the Chanel artist who worked for Diaghilev's ballets, was interested in Russian art. And when we did the exhibition of Italian fashion designer Capucci, then put the exhibits in the halls of ancient art in the Greek courtyard, because he's architecture, its dress like ancient toga. Now preparing another exhibition - a series of photos from the magazine Vogue «Naked nature." Again, we want to transform it - to place in the context of contemporary photography theme "from antiquity to the present day" to include in the exhibition works from the museum. We must look for new perspectives of known phenomena, new twists. Ultimately, it is very useful to see and make the old and the new. Some of the sages said, "need to move forward, but back, looking at the past." The artist, who does not know the old art, bleeding.

[SPOILER] it difficult to manage such a body, as a museum? It is much more difficult to communicate with those who go up and makes some claim to this body. It has always been difficult. Culture requires the state to large investments. Recently put in order the Bolshoi Theater, soon will have a new grand Mariinsky, we also build on the museum's "small town" to allocate more resources (project includes three new buildings and renovation of old and will be completed by 2018). But so far there is no deliberate law on culture, understanding of how to raise the industry, how to work with the audience, to make attractive cultural facilities. What about the government? It gives money if to convince him of the need for the project.

A number of exhibitions that you have seen, we have been able to carry out only by sponsors. We really helps fund "Art, Science and Sport", created by Alisher Usmanov. He ensured the exhibition William Turner (the most expensive show in the museum's history, made the money sponsor. - Forbes Woman), organized a gala evening at the Bolshoi Theatre for the 100th anniversary of the museum, will soon be pre-Raphaelite exhibition. Such projects not beat ourselves. Surprisingly, he asks nothing in return.

The museum can not work for self-sufficiency, we can not take for admission are the same money, as in a theater, a thousand or two rubles, and sometimes higher - because then the museum nobody will come. When we set the cost of 300 rubles, for many, it seemed excessive, and in fact we have half of categories for free. While maintaining the museum - and the building itself, and exhibits - in decent condition requires huge investments. Salaries of our employees just miserable: 5000-6000 rubles. So much we are caretakers, not if it raises, we are giving away - from what we earn on visitors. Youth recently completely ceased to go to work in museums. And I understand them, especially boys. They better go to the gallery. You know how the gallery? They come there at 12 am, lights, pour a cup of coffee, talking about art, about artists, diverge. This one work. And we have to come on time, leave on time. We regime. Little money, and the regime is. For young people learn mode to work.

Researcher with language skills gets 12 000-14 000. What is it for the money, how they live? In your list of Forbes will not soon, museum professionals, and most likely, never. But the museum is interesting work. There are a lot of events. Employees travel abroad with exhibitions, accompanied by exhibits. Opportunity to see the world - which will not do for the money - also gives vent. Turnover of the basic structure is minimal. We have normal psychological climate, quite intelligent-minded public, wall to wall here, no one ever came. Yes, the female character, of course, means something (we like the weaver, us men do not go), but I venture to think that every museum on their genes. In the Tretyakov Gallery - with their mercantile origins - its interior climate, the Hermitage has retained much of the palace of the past. And we have a university background. Ivan Tsvetaev, our founder, was a professor at Moscow University. I also graduated from the Moscow State University. After the first year the institute - I passed my last exam on Ancient East on the eve of the day when war was declared, we still went to the movies happy - our faculty entirely transferred to MSU. We all university, scientific environment - what unites us.

In the international community there is a discussion for a long time, who is the director of the museum: the scientist or manager? And actually need both. I'm such a manager for our museum, which will be able to build up the whole system, from entrance fees, salaries, publications, books implementations, infrastructure, advertising and public relations. In the West, there are managers in all major museums - the subway, the Louvre, the Dresden Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Prado.

The more people we "infect" art, the better. We must teach children to understand the art. At the center of "Museion" We do a lot for this. Optionally, these guys will be art critics or artists, but it will develop their mental and emotional abilities. A person who knows the art understands what beauty line, proportion, harmony and disharmony. In order to have a good understanding of the life we ​​have to deal in art.

The volume of bad products that dumped on the audience today is astonishing. I am very sorry for contemporary artists, those who have a genuine work of art back to its nature, it is very difficult to work. Secondaries, imitation, reproduction onslaught, unreal, fake - a violation of the laws of art itself. Of course, one can have on the table a tiny statue of David by Michelangelo. It gives some idea of ​​the masterpiece, but it's not what's in front of the original. Even the cast of the museum, the parameters repeats the original, does not give a complete picture because it does not reproduce the original material - marble with its glow. If you see pictures on the Internet, so you get the pleasure of communicating with the original, it's wonderful. But only if it meets these pictures, you will not even take off the top layer of art. Real art - a bottomless pit, and creates the bottomless time. The way a person XVII century saw Rembrandt - this one, as a man of the XIX century - more. And so, as we see today - the third.

The real joy in this very ability to open deep. After all, what else are the joy? Not all delicious, eat all the beautiful dresses will not match. It is the enrichment of the emotional sphere of life gives us joy.

My biggest fear that children are not forgotten how to cry with happiness. Not in pain, not of grief, not with envy - that he has a cool pair of jeans, and I do not like mind - and with happiness. And where happiness? Of love and of art. And it's next. We must be able to be happy in love. Because if it's just a temporary sex - came, did the trick, got dressed and left - this does not cry.

And art can not exhaust itself. Enough for it to travel the world and see what's going on in museums. People crowded shoulder to shoulder in the subway! Yes, there is in this vanity, fashion, but not only. This living need to look "real" masterpieces. People are crazy tired (this is a special type of fatigue from visits to museums), but for some reason, go and come from around the world in the same Louvre, the Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery. So this is for some reason they need.