The Free Art Workshop in Moscow 1957. Archives in Translation
Location: 4th floor, B-wing
The 6th World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Moscow in 1957, was a grand and memorable event that ushered in bold changes in the USSR as a result of the so-called Khrushchev’s Thaw. Guests from all over the world were invited to the premier of the new and more open politics of the new leader of the Soviet Block. In order to leave an impression of a democratic society with refined cultural life, short intensive courses on Western culture were organised to Soviet delegates, not forgetting to conduct refresher training on Communist propaganda, too.
Although the reception proved to be memorable to many participants, especially to those coming from the black continent, as they received truly huge attention, the festival undoubtedly left an undying impression on Soviet culture. In many ways, it became a learning platform of modern Western life. Jazz music began to spread and the steps of rock’n’roll were learnt. For many, one of the most exciting events was the meeting of abstract art, introduced in the form of country-displays at the large international arena, but also at the open art studio. For the first time in the history of Soviet social realism, a profound and nearly uncensored discussion between the followers of abstractionism and realism was born at the international art seminar.
Although not many Soviet artists converted into abstractionists, the role of the event in creating an air of cultural freedom is hard to overestimate. Lola Liivat (born Makarova) imported the topic of the festival to Estonian art history. Her entire life changed as a result of the event. However, we can suspect that these days also remained the heyday of the American artist Harry Colman, who demonstrated action painting at the international art studio accompanying the Moscow festival exhibition and stirred much attention. Unable to compete with thousands of more original abstract expressionists living in the USA in the 1950’s, he became a star of the art world for several weeks in the Soviet capital. His working was shot by documentalists from many countries and his movements were commented by journalists and caricaturists.
As an art method, abstract realism that diametrically differed from social realism had become one of the favourite cold war weapons of the USA Hence it’s no big surprise each Colman’s brush stroke was interpreted as a political gesture. However, his visit was probably not put up by the US government. Rightly suspecting the festival to become an event of Soviet propaganda, US politicians advised young people not to participate. The majority of those who still showed up, quite unexpectedly became the missionaries of capitalism as a result of the questions flooding at them from the young people of Russia. The same happened to Colman and his wife Katherine, also an artist, who acted out the role of a supportive wife at the demonstration, thereby becoming almost a reproduction of the famous photos of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner by Hans Namuth.
The exhibition “The “Free Art” Workshop in Moscow 1957. Archives in Translation” tells the intimately personal tales that took place behind the curtains of big politics, about the self-myths of the artists and their becoming into political acts. The festival that seemingly took place as a “historical mishap” is reconstructed via photos, documents, press reflections and documentaries.
Curator: Kädi Talvoja
Designer: Laura Kõiv
The project has been carried out within the framework of translate and with the support of the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union.
