It has been a busy year for artist Leonid Tishkov, who released a book, "How to Become a Genius Artist Without a Drop of Talent," as well as a new body of artwork, his "Private Moon" series, which was accompanied by a documentary video and a children's book.
For Muscovites who have not had a chance to catch up with the well-known conceptualist lately, a selection of photos from his Private Moon series is currently on display at the Pechersky Gallery in the Winzavod Contemporary Art Center.
"If the moon can be a companion, then I am a companion of the moon," Tishkov said during a lecture at the National Center for Contemporary Arts.
His new series of art, photographed largely in Taiwan, uses a large fluorescent sculpture of a crescent moon, which the artist has strategically placed in the midst of numerous different landscapes.
The artist was originally inspired by the eighth-century Chinese poet Li Bo, who wrote numerous verses about the moon, including the stanza: "You will never reach the moon/ That shines in the darkness of night./ Yet the moon, wherever you go/ Will follow you." Tishkov took the basis for his work from this image of the moon, always present yet eternally just out of reach.
In Tishkov's images, the fluorescent moon ties together wildly varying scenes: We see it stuck in a tree in a quiet park, hanging from the mast of a fisherman's sailboat at a dock, and stuck in scaffolding high up on a new skyscraper. The project was originally created as part of an exhibit made for a Taipei children's museum and was made with the help of numerous Taiwanese assistants, including photographers and videographers who helped to make the shots and the subsequent documentary.
The photo project was accompanied by a children's book, his second recent publication, after the release of "How To Become A Genius Artist Without A Drop of Talent" earlier this year.
Apart from its original display in Taiwan and the current exhibition in Moscow, Tishkov has announced that he will contribute some of the images from his Private Moon series to the exhibit "Republic of the Moon," a project that aims to examine mankind's relationship with the earth's only natural satellite. The exhibit is organized by The Arts Catalyst, a London-based arts foundation, and will be on display in London in early 2014.
A selection of images from Tishkov's Private Moon series are on display in the exhibit "The Journey of the Private Moon on Formosa" at the Pechersky Gallery in the Winzavod Contemporary Art Center, 1 4th Syromyatnichesky Pereulok. Metro Kurskaya. For more information, see the gallery website.
Contact the author at g.golubock@imedia.ru
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