It all starts from the Motherland

The Studio of War Artists under the Defence Ministry turns 20

How to raise a patriot of your country? Masters of the brush have the answer: through art. The Studio of War Artists under the Defence Ministry of the Republic of Belarus celebrated its 20th anniversary with the We Serve the Fatherland exhibition in the Central House of Officers:  a compact and bright exhibition united the past and present, the works of masters who are no longer with us, and those who are still  in service today, actively working and creating new artworks.

The Belarusian studio under the Defence Ministry was once created in the image and likeness of the Grekov Studio of War Artists, which since 1934 united battle painters of the USSR and then Russia. Today Belarus is an independent sovereign state, which has become the successor and custodian of the best heroic traditions of the Soviet Union and the memory of the Great Victory, therefore the appearance of the Studio of War Artists in 2003 was significant, logical and necessary: at its origins were, among other things, front-line soldiers — the people artists Mikhail Savitsky and Leonid Shchemelev, the generation of war children — such outstanding masters as Vladimir Gordeyenko and Leonid Dudarenko, people’s artist Georgy Poplavsky, Nikolai Opiok, Vladimir Urodnich, Georgy Loiko, people’s sculptor of Belarus Ivan Misko. By the way, ‘the Grekovites’ conveyed their warmest congratulations to their Belarusian colleagues and an offer to hold a joint exhibition: the patriotic artists of the two countries certainly have something to say to each other.

Artist Vladimir Urodnich conducts tours of the exhibition

The first visitors to the exhibition were students of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University, cadets of the military faculty of the Belarusian State University and students of the Minsk Suvorov Military School. The masters themselves gave them a tour, telling them about their own works. Many of them are dedicated to today’s everyday life of our army and were written from life during exercises. Others are written from the memories of wartime childhood and are documentary almost to the smallest detail, says the head of the Studio of War Artists, Honoured Artist, laureate of the Presidential Prize For Spiritual Revival, honorary academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Nikolai Opiok, “Let’s remember 2003 —  we launched the Memory exhibition at the House of Officers. Today, having gone through a 20-year journey, holding hundreds of exhibitions, trips, meetings, we returned here with the exhibition We Serve the Fatherland. We work from the soul, from the heart, from what we know and remember. We want to continue what the artists of Belarus did, defending their native land with a rifle in their hands. They created their first paintings, remembering their military roads. We are their followers who learned war as children. Our work on paintings is more difficult; we approach these events more philosophically, because 80 years have passed since the beginning of the war. Documented: in December 1941, we — my mother and five children — lived in a bathhouse, and the fascists who kicked us out were operating in our house. I still remember those Germans and policemen in white-red-white bands by name and appearance...”

Many of the participants in the War Artists Studio were orphaned in early childhood, their parents did not return from the war: Vladimir Urodnich’s father fought in the partisans, the father of the recently deceased Vladimir Gordeyenko was one of those who, on the night of June 22nd, 1941, were the first to meet Hitler’s invaders neck to neck at the border... That’s why every work is like a manifesto: we will never forget!

Head of the Studio of War Artists Nikolai Opiok

“For these artists, addressing a military theme is an opportunity to talk about peace. Because when we talk about the army today, we, of course, talk about peace. I hope that young authors will come to the studio and also raise these topics. The studio of military artists is, of course, a phenomenon in the culture and history of Belarus, its participants are great and high professionals, they speak in the language of painting about the most important things that exist around us, about our history and modernity. If you walk through the exhibition, you will feel this message: everything that we love, everything that we must preserve not only for ourselves, but also for our descendants, everything that is our greatest value. Of course, the greatest value is our land, our Belarus, the world around us,” First Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Union of Artists Natalya Sharangovich emphasises.
It is the creators who, through their works, protect the people from moral degeneration under the pressure of alien ‘values’. High culture and art are also a deterrent against attempts to talk to us from a position of strength, Vladimir Makarov, professor of the department of ideological work and social sciences of the Military Academy of the Republic of Belarus reminds, “20 years is not much by historical standards, but the most important thing is that the Studio of War Artists took place in sovereign and independent Belarus. Every picture here is priceless. For example, The Shield of the Fatherland triptych by Nikolai Opiok has already entered the history of our country. The Special Forces painting by Vladimir Gordeyenko is very much loved by our paratroopers and special forces. They love it because this work can safely be called ‘The Last Battle’: the artist has studied all aspects of the theory, practice and tactics of special operations forces, the composition is built in all directions in such a way that it is clear that these people are prepared, if necessary, to exchange their lives for a bigger damage to the enemy. The thesis ‘in times of war the Muses are silent’ is incorrect: during the Great Patriotic War, not only the talent of our commanders and the heroism of the Soviet people, but also high art were placed on the altar of Victory. 

Tradition is the direction in which the Studio of War Artists works. This is loyalty to high meanings, this is loyalty to our Fatherland. The only thing we can wish for our artists is to remain at the forefront of this struggle and continue to live for the benefit of Belarus.”

DIRECT SPEECH

First Deputy Head of the Main Directorate — Head of the Department of Moral and Psychological Support of the Main Directorate of Ideological Work of the Defence Ministry, Colonel Oleg Kopyl,
“20 years of the War Artists Studio — is it a lot or a little? It’s probably not for us and not today to give such an assessment. What has been done, how much soul has been put into the works — this is still not a mathematical problem. The work that artists have done over the years will be appreciated by descendants. As the philosopher said: ‘Art should not descend to the level of society. Art should lift society up’. The studio makes a huge contribution to the patriotic and spiritual education of both the young, rising generation that will replace us, and our entire society.”

By Irina Ovsepyan

Photos by Daria Titova