Art day

Today I went to Ueno (I so love my station as it costs me 190 yen to Shibuya, 160 to Shinjuku, 190 to Harajuku, 190 to Roppongi, 230 to Ueno....great!! very convenient and cheap).. After totally having burnt my gaijin skin on Zushi sun to the condition of sausage and having spent 2 days just diying from heat and hurt of each part of the body, I finally felt better and decided to go to Marc Chagall exhibition in Ueno.
I watched it after having attended exhibition of Soviet constructivist pair Rodchenko and Stepanova which was held several months ago in Meguro. It is interesting to compare artists who lived in the same time but was divided by such historical break as 1917 year Revolution. One of the artists accepted new Soviet Russia and believed that Revolution which destroyed old "tsar" country will bring freedom and new wave in art. Others saw only deconstruction in revolution which killed cultural traditions and so important religion traditions of monarchy Russia..First ones as poet Vladimir Mayakovskiy, painters Kazimir Malevich, Rodchenko, Stepanova stayed in "new Russia" after Revolution and became "poets of new country". They founded fantastic art, very powerful and with strong message to use simplicity of forms and material and construct art from simple, primitive things - this was theme of posters, objects, paintings by Rodchenko and Stepanova.
Immigrant culture was different. Like writers Ivan Bunin. Alexander Kuprin, artists like Chagall lived by memories of old, classic Russia with its "pravoslavniy" customs, burgeaus lifestyle...That is why all their works are full of bright, various colours at one side (comparing to basic red-white-black of Soviet art), but at the other side all these works are so full nostalgy, solitude,they are so melancholic and full of memories and thoughts about left but not forgotten Home...

That is why when I went to first exhibition I got strong portion of energy...
Watching Chagall paintings you recognize that in most of them, especially of the late period. there is always "Russia from childhood" - in depictions of his native town Vitebsk with all these small houses and always churches, in all these cows, horses..I thought about people who immigrated that time - who had to make it decision and spent the rest of their live abroad - France, Germany, USA . Some of them became interantionally famous artists, some just died in poverty but they always remembered their home, their cultural roots, their country was always depicted in their novels, paintings with such love ....And how probably it was difficult to live on memories of lost homeland....

As to this exhibition, there was very interesting Part 3 presenting Chagall works on ballet costumes and sets..This unknown his side is demonstrated with a lot of drafts and drawings in color...

Also exhibition presents works of Russian avant-garde artists who started their way with Marc Chagall , as Kazimir Malevich, Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov - so you can watch Russain avant-garde painting scene of 10-20s.

From all paintings I liked "The fall of Ikarus" (1975) most - Ikarus from Greek myth who tried to reach sun with the help of his artificial wings is falling to Vitebsk town - mixture of humour and some nostalgia - in the last years of his life Chagall thought on the fate of artist.

P.S.
Tomorrow is important day for me...Very important..If everything goes well, I will drink dead! If not I will be just dead.. I should finish reading 2 books and write my impression - all for tomorrow interview..Grabbed white shirt from cleaning, polished shoes, remembered all supposed interview questions from manual books..
I think I haven't forgotten anything...Maybe...
じゃ、.かかってこい！