Traveling Exhibitions Available From The Museum of Russian Art

[LanaBrooks]

The Enchanted Art: A Legacy in Russian Lacquer

The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) is pleased to present the traveling exhibition “The Enchanted Art: A Legacy in Russian Lacquer.” This exhibition, featuring 64 lacquer boxes and objects from the Museum’s permanent collection, explores the unique Russian art of miniature painting on papier-mâché, an art form that dates back to the eighteenth century. Richly detailed, carefully crafted and colorful, the lacquer miniatures of this exhibition reveal the distinct styles and techniques that developed in family workshops and passed down through generations of master craftsmen in four villages: Fedoskino, Kholui, Mstera and Palekh.

Initially flourishing in the village of Fedoskino, Russian lacquer miniature production spread after the 1917 Revolution and collapse of imperial Russia. With religion deemed “the opiate of the masses”, churches were closed by the new Soviet State. Icon painting—a centuries-old, deeply rooted craft in the villages of Kholui, Mstera and Palekh—was banned. Nevertheless, artists found a clever solution to channel their artistic spirit: painting on papier-mâché miniatures. While the subject matter and materials were new, the essence and communicative power of the art remained.

Abiding by political directives, artists depicted ‘socially significant’ subjects such as portraits of political leaders, social and economic achievements of the USSR and industrial landscapes in their lacquer art. Yet they also stretched political prescription in masterful miniatures depicting fairy tales, literary works, historical events, and episodes from everyday life. Ultimately, the state’s active support of the arts helped ensure the evolution of a modern canon of Russian lacquer painting, where each village’s artistic style formed and emerged as a recognizable and distinct school.

The exhibition includes extensive didactics as well as a section that illustrates traditional processes, tools and materials used in the production of this intricate art form.

Installation photos of the exhibition are available on TMORA’s FTP site at
<Museum of Russian Art: FTP Site <http://ftp2.tmora.org/> > (Username: traveling; Password: exhibits). Didactics are available upon request.

For more information and exhibition availability, contact Lana Gendlin Brooks, Director of Operations, at The Museum of Russian Art, 5500 Stevens Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55419, <lbrooks@tmora.org <mailto:lbrooks@tmora.org> > or <The Museum of Russian Art <http://www.tmora.org/> > or 612-821-9045.



Matryoshka: The Russian Nesting Doll

The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) is pleased to present the traveling exhibition Matryoshka: The Russian Nesting Doll. Featuring 83 Matryoshka sets, the lavishly painted wooden nesting dolls have become an iconic symbol of Russia. Whether depicting ancient legends, religious themes, or political caricatures, Matryoshkas can tell us more than meets the eye—as one doll opens to reveal the next one inside—about the history of Russia. The dolls were selected from a private San Francisco-based collection of wooden dolls, one of the largest collections of its kind in the United States.

Matryoshka nesting dolls are one of the most popular gifts that millions of travelers purchase during their trips to Russia. The brightly painted wooden toys have become a symbol of Russia and Russian folk art; their bell-shaped silhouettes are familiar to the young and old. However, the Matryoshka’s history and meaning remain virtually unknown to many admirers of this popular art form. The exhibition Matryoshka: The Russian Nesting Doll is the first of its kind, uncovering the artistic and historical meaning of this iconic Russian toy and revealing the Matryoshka’s artistic richness and variety.
Painted Matryoshka dolls are fascinating storytellers. Elaborately decorated with scenes from Russian folklore, history and politics, they provide a visually rich source of learning for adults and children. The dolls available for display were produced over several decades and include pre-WWII dolls as well as dolls from various regional centers of Matryoshka production during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The exhibition also features unique Matryoshka dolls painted by recognized masters of Matryoshka painting.

Organized into seven sections, each thematic area uncovers the artistic and historical meaning of the most popular Russian toy and demonstrates Matryoshka’s artistic richness and variety. The exhibition features 83 Matryoshka sets of approximately 650 individual dolls displayed in 23 cases. Some of the dolls are stacked inside the bigger dolls and thus cannot be seen. The exhibition layout reflects the evolution of the medium starting from the early 20th century dolls to contemporary works as well as various types and styles of contemporary Matryoshka painting.

Installation photos are available on TMORA’s FTP site at Museum of Russian Art: FTP Site (Username: traveling; Password: exhibits). Text panels are available upon request.

For more information, contact Lana Gendlin Brooks, Director of Operations, at lbrooks@tmora.org <mailto:lbrooks@tmora.org> .

The Museum of Russian Art/5500 Stevens Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55419 The Museum of Russian Art <http://www.tmora.org> 612-821-9045



Photographer to the Tsar: Revealing the Silk Road


The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) is pleased to present the traveling exhibition Photographer to the Tsar: Revealing the Silk Road. This extraordinary exhibition features 26 color photographs of the Russian Empire’s portion of the Silk Road that were taken shortly before Russia’s 1917 Revolution by Sergei M. Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944), artist, scientist and pioneer in the field of color photography. Using a camera of his own design, Prokudin-Gorskii traveled to Turkestan in 1906 and 1911, documenting legendary sites and contemporary life thriving amidst the ruins of ancient towns at the heart of the fabled Silk Road.

The Silk Road spanned thousands of miles, connecting East and West, stretching from China and India to Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Mediterranean Sea. Caravans of camels transported rare spices, aromatic teas, richly colored textiles, precious Chinese porcelain, gold, and gunpowder to cities in Asia and Europe. A land of ancient oases and sunburnt deserts, Central Asia was added to the Russian Empire in the mid-19th century through conquest and annexation. Russia’s southern expansion into Turkestan in the 1860s occurred during the same decade it sold Alaska to the United States. Abandoning the seemingly barren northern regions of Alaska, the Russian Empire expanded its reach to the bountiful gardens and cotton fields of Central Asia.

In order to examine the newly acquired lands in the south, Tsar Nicolas II supported the work of Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii, a Russian chemist and photographer who was conducting a photographic survey of the vast Russian Empire. Traveling in a specially equipped railroad car, Prokudin-Gorskii journeyed to the historic settlements at the heart of the Silk Road including Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and Merv. His images of Khans and prisoners, beggars and merchants, crumbling mosques and burgeoning industry, Uzbek town-dwellers and nomadic Kyrgyz, capture the rich diversity of the peoples and cultures along the Silk Road. Taken in the nascent years of photography, Prokudin-Gorskii’s color images are of unprecedented quality and document this era with striking precision and clarity.

The exhibition images are displayed in individual custom-made light boxes fitted with wooden frames that are illuminated in a manner that recreates Prokudin-Gorskii’s technique of using light to enhance his photographs. The captivating images of this exhibition offer a unique and vivid view of the art, culture and history of late Imperial Russia and Central Asia, as well as the history of photography.

This beautiful exhibition was featured in the December 2009 issue of Art and Antiques.

Installation photos of both exhibitions are available on TMORA’s FTP site at
Museum of Russian Art: FTP Site (Username: traveling; Password: exhibits). Didactics are available upon request.

For more information, contact Lana Gendlin Brooks, Director of Operations, at lbrooks@tmora.org <mailto:lbrooks@tmora.org> .
The Museum of Russian Art/5500 Stevens Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55419 The Museum of Russian Art <http://www.tmora.org>
612-821-9045