“We must look for some new forms”

Kateryna Bilokur is one of the Ukrainian art’s most prominent figures. Her method is highly individual and does not fit any of the known art schools in Ukraine. The folk artist created a unique gallery of paintings reflecting the harmony of the cosmos. In her lifetime, her work was known only to a narrow stratum of experts, although some pictures did get shown in Paris, where they caused a sensation. Pablo Picasso was delighted to learn that the author of the paintings was a simple peasant woman. In modern Ukraine, the image of Bilokur, too, has been reflected in art. One of these works is a sculpture created by Yulia Zobenko from Dnipro. It is housed in the Museum of Ukrainian Painting and has enjoyed steady interest of visitors, including Den/The Day’s editor-in-chief, who browsed through the museum’s collection during Den’s Days in Dnipro this February.

“In my opinion, this image can be broadly interpreted as a monument to all female folk painters, which our land is so famous for,” said the sculptor.

“OUR ART IS CLOSER TO THE ROOTS”

What did get you interested in the personality and work of Bilokur?

“I did my thesis on her when studying at the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design. I could not decide on the subject and found it hard to choose one. And then, I stumbled upon Volodymyr Yavorivsky’s book about Bilokur, and it somehow ‘got’ me. Having read it literally in one go, I thought, ‘this is probably the subject I need.’ Firstly, it was because I did feel some special affinity with the female image. And then, she had such a hard fate, being alone in her personal life and creative work. When I brought my advisor my first sketches of it, he took a deep breath and accepted it. He realized that I was interested in it. When people get interested, they can do anything. I studied with students from different countries and I know that when you are creating something of your own, it is more colorful and more interesting. I made several sketches, did numerous takes on some of them. Later on, my father held a solo exhibition in Kyiv, and I brought my portrait of Bilokur there. As far as I know, she only has a monument in her home village. However, it does not really make it clear that she was a painter, while I tried to express my vision in mine. I presented her just how my mind had it. I am convinced that when I went for a full-scale figure and showing her connection with the earth, I did right. Working on the portrait, I was not looking for photos, but was relying on her self-portrait instead.”

How did this sculpture come to be held by the Museum of Ukrainian Painting?

“It happened thanks to the museum’s director Serhii Burbelo. He came to my studio and saw the work, and then offered to put it on display at the museum. I did three takes on the Bilokur sculpture. There was a search that grew into a large sculpture. One shows her holding a palette, another has her wearing a headscarf and carrying a sunflower. These were sketches. It usually takes me six months to work it out, and only rarely did I create a fitting image on the first go. Anyway, you change something. With time passing, you see her somewhat differently, which extends to facial expressions even. My teacher pointed out: ‘Look – there she looks one way, and here she looks another way. Here she is with us, and there she is without us.’ He said I had to determine what would make the image better, to remove or add to it. My advisor suggested that I add flowers in her hair, but she is not a young lady of 15, after all. It would probably look nicely, but it would not be her. There is some spiritual work involved as you worry and think about it. Perhaps there were many artists like Bilokur, but nobody found out about them. It turns out that she was actually rather lucky because she got appreciated as she had to. Maybe, someone else had an even subtler taste for flowers and nature in some other time, but it was never realized.

SCULPTED BY YULIA ZOBENKO, KATERYNA BILOKUR IS HOUSED IN THE MUSEUM OF UKRAINIAN PAINTING (DNIPRO) AND HAS ENJOYED STEADY INTEREST OF VISITORS / Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day

“Beauty and singing nature of Ukrainians could not have appeared from nowhere. Perhaps we should thank Ukraine’s lush vegetation, nightingales, and sunsets for it. It must somehow influence the minds of people. When I sculpted Bilokur, it was clearly Ukraine, and one cannot help it. Our art is closer to the roots, we have a deeper meaning inside. Yes, we too sometimes overemphasize texture, but we make up for it with something other. This is probably more important. After all, if no substance is there, you will stop caring about it soon. You will go, see, and forget it, but when there is a soul and depth to it, you will remember it for a long time.”

“MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER MADE SUCH PITCHERS THAT THEY DID NOT BREAK ON FALLING FROM THE CART”

Why did you decide to become a sculptor?

“I have liked to draw since childhood. I attended an art school at first, then it was Dnipropetrovsk Art College, which I graduated from as a painter-decorator. While at the college, we studied painting, drawing, ceramics, fonts and posters. That is, the ‘palette’ was rich. Eventually, I realized that there was more to the world than painting and drawing. There is the three-dimensional space as well. Sculpture is just like a picture, but it can be approached from all sides. It is difficult, as it involves a form, a volume which is changing on every turn. Thus, this is something completely different. Also, my choice was probably influenced by the family tradition, as my father is a sculptor and architect. I saw what he was doing, and I liked it. In addition, my great-great-grandfather was a potter. It likely explains my penchant for using the volume. My paternal ancestors lived in the village of Veremiivka, Poltava Governorate. The great-great-grandfather made such pitchers that they did not break on falling from the cart. How he did it, no one knows now. The village was flooded to create a reservoir in the Soviet time. The built-up area was moved on a higher ground, but the move forced people to leave everything, and no old houses or fences have survived. They took what they could, and the rest remains only in stories.”

What works of yours can be seen in Dnipro?

“For example, the University of Economics and Law houses Nobel’s Planet. My father and I did it together. The planet is mine, while the sculpture of Alfred Nobel is my father’s. There is also the plaque in the Literary Museum of the Dnieper Region, and a relief portrait of Taras Shevchenko in the lobby of the Shevchenkivsky District Council building. For some time, I participated in exhibitions of the Bohdan Creative Association and two exhibitions in Kyiv, as well as competitions for the Holodomor Memorial design.

“Still, a male sculptor finds it easier to work if he has someone to take care of mundane things. After all, creativity requires immersion: you just cannot sculpt for a half an hour and then run away. If you really intend to work, you need to get fully immersed in it for the whole day. It requires mental and emotional effort, not to mention physical one. Only three girls graduated in my college class. However, two of them are now making jewelry and soft toys. I like sculpture. Yes, it is not easy, but one must overcome and conquer oneself to make it a success. I think that monumental art is more expressive.

“I teach sculpture, drawing, and painting at the architecture basics department of the Dnieper Region State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture. I work on private commissions as well, including portraits as well as interior and exterior sculptures. I would not say that I have a lot of work, but it is there, yes.”

“WE NEED A BALANCED, WELL-THOUGHT-OUT APPROACH TO ERECTING NEW MONUMENTS”

Ukraine has gone through “decommunization,” which has seen Soviet monuments and plaques removed... It has made our public places somewhat empty, because a monument at an intersection linked-up the local space, complemented its architectural environment. What should come instead, in your opinion?

“The Soviet sculpture was clearly not untalented, and some highly artistic works were created. Of course, sculpture is monumental propaganda. It performs this function as well. I believe that the monuments that have artistic value should be stored in some special place, while the new ones should be erected in a balanced, well-thought-out manner. For example, I do not really understand putting crosses everywhere. I understand that it was not allowed for a long time, but it does not seem to me that we need them at every corner now. We must look for some new forms. If it takes us longer, so be it, but it must be thoughtful, high-quality work. When a monument was installed before, the decision did not involve a single individual, but rather a team of professionals – architects, painters, sculptors. It is wrong when officials, even if in accord with activists, decide which monuments to install because they may well not fit into the urban environment.”

People are saying we need “Ukrainization” of the urban environment. We probably need monuments to people like Bilokur. I know that your father has been designing a monument to Prince Sviatoslav. Has anyone taken interest in it?

“Yes, he is working on it, but I do not know how it will end. He has proposed to install the sculpture on the slopes of the Dnieper River in Shevchenko Park, near the bridge leading to Monastyrskyi Island. For example, I did not even know that the city had had a street named after Sviatoslav the Brave. A street has been named after Princess Olha as well, although there is a monument to Maxim Gorky there. However, a tour of my hometown would reveal many interesting things. Of course, we do not need a bust or a full-scale monument at every intersection. Everything has to come in moderate amounts, otherwise it just does not work. Moreover, it is not some installation which can be replaced daily. Doing it beautifully and unobtrusively would hit the target best. It is sometimes better to just plant a tree instead of erecting a monument.”

Do you have a dream?

“I would like to have more time for creative activities. To achieve it, one needs to focus on it and eliminate distractions. I read Lina Kostenko’s poem Marusia Churai a long time ago, but still cannot get it out of my mind for some reason. I always come back to that image. I think that it cannot be just an accident, something should be created out of it, and that image will get realized in sculpture.”