“Crazy teacher”, by contrast, considers himself guardian of the present laws and regulations. In keeping with its educational zeal and ready to endure the boredom before explaining truism he comes in its class to indicate that twice two – four, and the Volga empties into the Caspian Sea, to write on the board that oak – tree, rose – flower, deer – animal. But in contrast to the professor of the jokes, who while explaining to the students, he saw, the “crazy teacher” trying to present the most obvious, fundamental things hopelessly confused in his own explanations but sometimes he does not understand this, and therefore opens up something new, which is “crazy scientist” has tried to create unceremoniously broken the code of the universe. It does not matter whether they are speaking of nonsense the teacher of primary school or a religious teacher who denies their own doctrines.
Evgenij Semenov’s “Living Mathematics” from the first sight recognized as a number of works by followers of Moscow conceptual school precisely because it is the work by “crazy teacher”. In creating his pictures he was inspired by books or rather a collection of tasks “Living mathematics”, “Entertaining geometry”, “Entertaining Physics” published in 30-40 years, the 20th century. The universality of scientific laws in the textbooks was illustrated by fascinating pictures which the artist applies to all cases of life and permanent elements of the universe: whether it the seasons, birth, death, the love or mid-life. The books’ characters who demonstrated the terms of tasks, forced away from their routine work in order to reflect on the eternal, as if skiers and pedestrians for the first time made a stopover on his way from point A to point B, looked on the sides and found that around, it turned out, winter or summer, sky, grass, trees. Grandfather and grandson let “pancakes” on the surface of a pound, they saw in circles divergent on the water, the image of the beginning and end, birth and death.
Playing dominoes, all of a sudden, feels love triangle. And even dominoes, created the perfect square were not such important as the frame of an empty field with elegiac says “that is all”.
But turn away from the whole transient and incident it still does not work, as the attention of the audience captive for clinging to unnecessary and inappropriate to the occasion details: embroidered Ukrainian shirt land surveyor, peaked cap of grandfather, gaiters and scarf of skier or delicious hat of character who drops into a box encrypted message. In general in pictures to illustrate something absolute beyond any whims, eternal, as the rules of mathematics or the order of the change of seasons, the eye notes nostalgic, old-fashioned, had a scent of the past — in general, anything that calls into the question the sanctity of the order of the things. They say that earlier more chilly in the winter and snow, and the summer – more sunny. May it be the four which consists of two and two was more than present, and even the laws of arithmetic like the laws of human society can be dated, generated by a certain period and work for it?
Despite its apparent involvement in the artistic concerns of Moscow conceptualism, Evgenij Semenov quite atypical entered this circle. He – one of few artists of his generation is not perceived as conceptualism underground, esoteric doctrine transmitted by word of mouth, but meet him in the “open access” as a fact of public artistic life – the first exhibition of unofficial art postcards, held in the early years of adjustment. The artist comes to conceptualism at a time when the soviet world suddenly gone into nonexistence as one of the key issue of which is to change in thinking and mythologize the Soviet, which was perceived as the Egyptian eternal beyond the historical formation, which someone is unlikely to survive. No wonder that one of the cross-cutting themes as the relativity of Semenov has become what is considered to be an irrefutable sign of an era, and the fact that seems timeless abstractions. That is what unites a variety of techniques, aesthetics and the artist’s project registry, whether it is harmless joke “Future now” – touching cards in 1900, signed by the artist in the view of the key phrases of 2000. Thus, for example, that the motto of the cult TV series “X-files” “True some where there” attributed the lash frisky child playing coquettishly in her luxurious languor, or one of the most sensational artist projects Biblical scenes, figures of which were Down syndrome patients. Evgenij Semenov wanted to show that perhaps the characters occurred Evangelical stories were people of a different nature than we are. Even the colors in the box of colors, the basic elements on which should be doing all the artists can not be that would be identified at all times and for all, all see the same. You may refer to the historical precedent, but that is sooner or later he proves to be insufficient. In the “Labels” he invents labels for the tubes with the names of “The color of Time” (with Leonardo self), “The color of sacral space” (with Van Gogh’s self), “Color of the lack of God” (with self Malevitch). But sooner or later a painter will have to choose if the “Color of the sky when I woke up and could not remember the dreams that seemed to me important” or “Color of the sky, when I once again changed my views on life”.
In general, the artist appears opposite Moliere Don Juan, who believed that twice two – four. It was at this Evgenij refused to believe, but admits that it was yesterday or ten minutes ago, and with curiosity ready to see what was available at any other time.
I.Kulik
