Exhibition for the 130th anniversary of Mayakovsky at the Literary Museum. Review

The State Literary Museum (more precisely, in its current main building, the former apartment building of the Lyuboshchinsky-Vernadskys on Zubovsky Boulevard) is hosting the exhibition “About the Different Mayakovskys.” In fact, it is about one Mayakovsky – Vladimir (1893–1930), whose 130th anniversary is celebrated this year. The main proletarian poet appears in bizarre roles, invented by himself, such as “impudent in a yellow jacket”, a pathologically amorous “man in the clouds”, a factory “producing happiness”, a “puppy” writing notes to his beloved – “kitty” Lilya Brik. Every turn of Mayakovsky’s biography is thoroughly illustrated by his personal belongings, photographs, manuscripts, rare books, posters, posters, paintings, and graphics. The hero of the day looks like the forerunner of pop idols and online influencers, which in the current circumstances is more politically trustworthy than the image of an “agitator, loud-mouthed leader,” he believes Igor Grebelnikov.

The program of anniversary events for the 130th anniversary of Mayakovsky cannot be called particularly eventful: a musical in the Kremlin, a couple of performances on Moscow stages, a short exhibition in Zaryadye, a weekend of performances in Zotov. We did not have time to finish the reconstruction of the Mayakovsky Museum on Lubyanka with the memorial room in which the poet shot himself, although there was plenty of time – the museum closed for major renovations ten years ago. They promise to open it at the end of next year, although it is unclear whether the total installation and unusual interior decoration that made this place especially famous will be restored.

One gets the impression that Mayakovsky today is not the most desirable hero of the day, or at least his legacy should be handled with caution. Too loud, free, and unpredictable, Mayakovsky began his creative career in the camp of the futurists, and then, having become a skillful propagandist of Soviet power, did not change this heart-rending and rebellious tone by its very nature. He can remember a lot: these are the people who can be “cancelled” today, and from different flanks.

“…This is so that in a world without Russia, without Latvia, we can live as a single human community” (“To Comrade Nette, a Steamship and a Man,” 1926) – that’s another call, given the history of the Baltic states’ annexation to the Soviet Union. “Come here, / go to the crossroads / of my large and clumsy hands. / Do not want? / …I’ll take you someday anyway / – alone or together with Paris” (“Letter to Tatyana Yakovleva”, 1928) – sounds threatening. And everything that concerns his countless love victories today goes through the department of toxic masculinity and abusive relationships. His menage a trois with Lilya and Osip Brik will certainly be strongly condemned by moral advocates. Mayakovsky’s poetic debut came at the beginning of the First World War, and you can’t read his early lyrics out loud in the square either: “Do you know, mediocre, many, / who think it’s better to get drunk, – / maybe now a bomb has torn out the legs of Lieutenant Petrov? ..” (“To you!”, 1915).

The curators of the exhibition at the Literary Museum, having at their disposal an exceptionally comprehensive material (the basis of its collection are things handed over after the poet’s death by his executors Briks), are not hiding anything in particular (however, the very first years of Mayakovsky’s political activity were left out of the brackets – at the age of 18 he entered into the Bolshevik Party and was arrested three times), focus on the fundamental diversity and artistry of Mayakovsky’s nature. From the first windows of the exhibition we see a born star, “the impudent guy in the yellow jacket” – a high-cheeked, long-eyed, shaggy young man with or without a hat, in a blouse with wide sleeves and a huge bow tied around his neck. Everything is carefully thought out, as he described it in the essay “I Myself”: “The tried and tested method is to decorate with a tie. No money. I took a piece of yellow ribbon from my sister. Tied up. Furor. This means that the most noticeable and beautiful thing in a person is a tie. Obviously, if you increase the tie, the furor will increase.” And along with photographs, newspaper clippings, posters for performances, an early pictorial portrait, a catchy caricature “Futurism in the Village”, where the poet is depicted as a scarecrow in the middle of a field, dressed in a hat, blouse and bow, the first book of poems “I!”, published in 1913 year (all dated approximately the same year), they give the exhibition a certain perspective of perception: all subsequent episodes of Mayakovsky’s life begin to be perceived as scenes of a crowded play, or film, or pop concert.

Here he is – a hero-lover. Her father, the famous architect Franz Shekhtel, spoke out against the relationship of Vera Shekhtel, who was in love with Mayakovsky, but it was already too late: she had to have an abortion, and the story served as the basis for her drawing – a joint portrait with the poet, where he is holding a baby in his hands. A separate stand is another passion, actress Maria Denisova, over whom Mayakovsky lost his head in Odessa. True, the girl herself turned him away, since she was engaged to someone else: a shock (or even a real mental disorder, according to friendly memoirs), which, however, led to the creation of the poem “At the Top of My Voice,” a masterpiece for all time. For the first time, he read the poem at the home of Osip and Lilya Brik – both the reader and the poems charmed the couple so much that the husband immediately found money for their publication, and the wife became Mayakovsky’s long-term love. A showcase with numerous photographs and frames from the film “Chained by Film” (1918), where she played together with Mayakovsky, is dedicated to the early period of her relationship with Lilya Brik. Nearby on the monitor you can watch the entire film “The Young Lady and the Hooligan” of the same year, where he played the main role. Plus Rodchenkov’s photos in which he poses with Lilya against the background of a Renault car driven to her as a gift from Paris, as well as receipts for expensive parts for the car – this was already in 1929, in the wake of the NEP commercial boom and the success of the Soviet pavilion at the art exhibition. deco in Paris.

The further, the larger the scale of this benefit performance of biographical images: it is a rare case when genuine “Windows of GROWTH” are shown in such numbers – satirical posters with subjects on the topic of the day from the Civil War to the fight against illiteracy (and also the stencils through which these images were applied – one At the time, posters were produced by hand: Mayakovsky drew and wrote texts for the pictures). Then he is already a man-factory, “producing happiness”: in the 1920s, a fair share of all commercial printing in Moscow was produced with the participation of Mayakovsky – from advertising pacifiers, galoshes, GUM goods to candy wrappers. The income allowed me to buy expensive ties, dress well, use Parker and Montblanc pens – all things in a separate display case. It is clear that the way of life came into certain conflict with the proletarian rebellious poetry, and so the influential Kukryniksy drew caricatures of Mayakovsky, accusing the poet of being “beautiful.”

Not to mention the audience of his concerts, which over the years “trolled” the poet more and more harshly. An obligatory part of his speeches were his responses to notes; he collected them (there are about 20 thousand such notes in the museum’s collection) and even thought of devoting a separate book to his answers to them. At the exhibition there is a stand with copies of such notes – questions from the audience: “How did you become so “obsessed” with poetry? — How is Lilya Brik? —Who will read your poems after your death? – We are disappointed! Little impudence and a lot of swearing! “What did Comrade Lenin say about your work?”

The ending of the exhibition is presented without sentimentality, without tragedy. Beginning in April 1930, when the poet shot himself, his suicide gave rise to a number of conspiracy theories; here, death is represented as a kind of logical conclusion to a life overflowing with events: the last exhibit of the exhibition is Mayakovsky’s drawing “A Man Walking Towards the Sun” (1929). Apparently, such a life-affirming ending is also a tribute to the current anniversary year.