Visual symphony by Yuri Zlotnikov was shown on Krymsky Val

Without a solemn ceremony, modestly and quietly, the Tretyakov Gallery nevertheless opened the long-prepared exhibition of Yuri Zlotnikov “Signal System”. A book was published especially for the project for the first time, where the artist explains his method, based on psychology, physiology, theory of color and form. Drawing dots and lines, the author set up an experiment, recording his feelings and analyzing them. His experiments and research can be correlated with the research of innovators from different fields – Einstein, Pavlov and Kandinsky. The “Signal System” series of 64 drawings, painted during the Thaw, formed at the exhibition into a living visual symphony, making each viewer a participant in the classic’s research project.

The Signal System series, which had not previously been exhibited in full, became revolutionary. It is with her that the history of scientific and kinetic art in Russia begins. So the name of the cycle is by no means a metaphor, but a completely scientific term that Yuri Zlotnikov formulated during a painting experiment that he conducted from 1957 to 1962. He described and analyzed every work and even every movement, relying on the works of Ivan Pavlov on physiology, Wassily Kandinsky on color and form (“Point and line on a plane”) and Albert Einstein. These notes were compiled into a book published for the opening of the exhibition. The concept of “signal” is described in detail there, associated with a person’s psychophysiological reactions to color as an irritant, which gives rise to certain sensations. Red is more aggressive, green is soothing, blue is viscous.

“Yuri Zlotnikov introduced the concept of “counterpoint,” which explains the dynamics of the impact of elements of different colors and shapes on a person,” says co-organizer of the exhibition, gallery owner Sergei Popov. — This artist can be put on a par with the scientists of his time. True, it was impossible to exhibit his work back then, in the 1960s, and he didn’t even try. He was not interested in money or fame, it was the interest of an explorer and discoverer. Some works from this series were first shown in the 1990s and 2000s, but they remained little noticed during those noisy years. Only now can we realize the discovery that Zlotnikov made many years ago.

The “Signal System” series at the exhibition forms a visual symphony that can be “heard” at the level of nerve endings. Each drawing breathes, pulsates, rings. At first it’s easy, with separate “notes” – thin lines and rare dots. Then the “music” becomes louder and more rhythmic, filled with a variety of colors and more saturated shapes. In the middle it resembles jazz – free improvisation with major notes. In the finale, the essay arrives at a logical contrasting code.

The curator of the exhibition, Irina Gorlova, explained that they, together with the artist’s heirs, grandchildren Alexander and Andrey, arranged the drawings in the order that seemed most logical to them. Zlotnikov, although he described each work in detail, did not leave any instructions on the sequence of the drawings of the “Signal System”. That is, each time you can combine his “gestures” into a new sonata. By the way, Zlotnikov studied music as a child, knew first-hand about tonality and harmony and, obviously, used this experience to build his theory about signals.

— It is obvious that Zlotnikov, to one degree or another, relied on the works of Malevich and Kandinsky. But at the time he was working on the series, they could not be seen in the public domain. How well did he know the Russian avant-garde? — I ask the artist’s grandson Alexander Zlotnikov.

— Grandfather could see the works of Malevich and Kandinsky because he was friends with the employees of the Tretyakov Gallery, they secretly showed him what was kept in the collections. However, he was not only influenced by them, he was very passionate about Cezanne.

— They say that Yuri Savelyevich had, to put it mildly, a difficult character. How do you remember him?

– Our whole family is difficult. Every evening there is a battle of views. I got along with my grandfather very succinctly, because I myself have a vile character. (Smiles.) There were many family tragedies that we often discussed, for example, my father’s conversion to Orthodoxy.

— By the way, how did it happen that the son of an avant-garde artist became a hermit monk and icon painter? What parish is he in now?

— In the 1990s, after a divorce from my mother, my father was initially in the parish of a church in the VDNKh area. Then I deepened more and more in faith. Then he became an icon painter in Optina Pustyn. Then the Valaam courtyard was sent to build a monastery in the mountains above Krasnaya Polyana. He leads a hermit’s life there. He paints icons according to all classical canons.

— Can you describe any of the presented works, as you understand it?

– Let’s take the final one. A white sheet of paper is just a background, it does not carry any load. There is a green spot on it, in the center of which there is a red dot, and next to it, on a white background, there is a black dot. What’s going on here? The main irritant is a red dot, it activates attention and creates a pulsation. The black dot balances the red, creating balance. And green, a biological color, softens, calms, and creates contrast. Each color “sounds” in its own way, and together a certain composition is obtained. If one of the elements is removed, then our reactions and emotions will be different.

— The composition is arranged in such a way that it seems as if there are two eyes in front of us, and the green spot is the shadow of the face. It vaguely resembles a portrait where yin-yang is encrypted. Or is it wrong to make subject associations in Zlotnikov’s “signals”?

– Why not? This is a natural human reflex. Everyone has their own association. This is also part of the Signal System method.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29245 dated March 28, 2024

Newspaper headline:
Tretyakov gave a signal