TAT

TALES OF THE GOLDEN APPLES

Context

How a Soviet painting in the genre of socialist realism received a new life on the wall of a parking structure

Process

How two works by artists from different countries completed each other

Authors

Hoodo (Moscow), Karim Jabbari (Montreal)

Address

75B Lenin Street

«A Drop» and «Earth»

«Тамчы» һәм «Җир»

TALES OF THE GOLDEN APPLES

Context

There are two works at 75V Lenin Street. At the top is «Earth»: a rethinking of Tatar socialist realist artist Haris Yakupov's work «Gold of Tataria» about the history of Tatarstan and the oil industry.

Working with the plot and images from that painting, artists from the Moscow duo «Hoodo» used maps of the city of Almetyevsk, archival photographs and other materials. Thus a new work materialized on the almost 2000 meter-high parking structure. On the bottom is «Drop» by Karim Jabbari from Montreal, a calligraphic fantasy based on the title work Golden Tales project, the Tatar folk tale about children as the highest value. Working on «Drop,» Jabbari was inspired by a visit to the Bolgar State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve.

Haris Yakupov. The Gold of Tataria. 1974.

Working with the plot and images from that painting, artists from the Moscow duo «Hoodo» used maps of the city of Almetyevsk, archival photographs and other materials. Thus a new work materialized on the almost 2000 meter-high parking structure. On the bottom is «Drop» by Karim Jabbari from Montreal, a calligraphic fantasy based on the title work Golden Tales project, the Tatar folk tale about children as the highest value. Working on «Drop,» Jabbari was inspired by a visit to the Bolgar State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve.

Haris Yakupov. The Gold of Tataria. 1974.

«In the case of parking garage, the idea of total painting has grown out of the architecture (form) of the building and its island location in space — this dictated composition for painting. There are no «planes», that could be solved locally and without prejudice to overall integrity of perception of the object.»

Andrey Voronov

Architect, artist, creator of the spatial layout of the project

Process

Art form: mural
Method: neo-realism
Material: acrylic spray paint

Ital. Mural — wall

Monumental wall painting created on a faсade or a blank wall of a building or any other urban architectural objects.

«This double work was created as part of the pilot phase of the project in 2017. At the very beginning, the oil industry showed us a very important picture for them by Haris Yakupov, «Gold of Tataria». It is about people, of course. The duo that make up «Hoodo» (Andrey Cherednichenko and Olya Druzhina) created a homage to this work, which is canonical for the region. To place a work in the "severe style" in the modern world is a task that few authors can pull off. «Hudo's» work is distinguished by a special velvet color scheme, a special technique of «library» painting with hundreds of shades of colors, a millimeter of surrealism and, of course, a subtle, truly wise look at reality. The heroes of Yakupov in Almetyevsk in 2017 look at each other, colored strands in their hair, and the digital era is slightly visible in abstract graphics. Apples appeared by chance (artist's instinct), but in the end there were seven of them, as in the fairy tale.

Accordingly, «Drop» was the first reference to the fairy tale that gave its name to the whole project. When we were looking for text for calligraffiti, I asked Rustam Kubik (QBic) for help. He found an audio recording somewhere of a tale of golden apples, and we decided to write it on the wall. It was edited by Ilshat Mingaraev from Almetyevsk. This tale is found among different peoples with different interpretations. The main meaning of the cyclical repetition of the plot is that children are true gold. Tatarstan is a place where calligraffiti looks very organic, as they have been writing here in Arabic script for 900 years. Karim Jabbari belongs to the first generation of calligraphers who began to write on the walls in the 2000's. He was fascinated by the way languages are mixed in Tatarstan, so he used Old Tatar and Cyrillic in different writing styles, superimposing them in layers and mixing. The circle in the center is connected with the image of circles on the water, just as a culture arises when dozens of waves diverge from a small stone. Karim's style fits well with modern urban landscapes; he uses techniques of contrasting matte and glossy textures and uneven surfaces. This is a graffiti experience that is not typical for classical calligraphy.

The work of different artists combines in space in a natural way: a building standing on a hill, surrounded by a fence. Above is the Earth, below is the Drop. If you look from a certain point, both works are connected in a circle on the water.»

Polina Yozh

Project lead, curator, founder of the Institute for Research on Street Art

Fragment of the artwork «Earth».

Author

Hoodo (Moscow)

«Hoodo» is the illustrator team of Andrei Cherednichenko and Olga Druzhina, who work predominantly in wall painting. They met while studying graphic design. They have been painting together since 2012, before which they worked separately on the street. They created murals and paintings for the Arena CSKA Stadium, the Flacon Design Factory, Starbucks, and IKEA.

Fragment of the artwork «Earth».

«Hoodo» is the illustrator team of Andrei Cherednichenko and Olga Druzhina, who work predominantly in wall painting. They met while studying graphic design. They have been painting together since 2012, before which they worked separately on the street. They created murals and paintings for the Arena CSKA Stadium, the Flacon Design Factory, Starbucks, and IKEA.

Fragment of the artwork «Earth».

Karim Jabbari (Montreal)

Artist

karimjabbari.com

Karim Jabbari is one of the founders of the trend in street art called calligraffiti. He was born in Kasserin (Tunisia) and received a formal education in Montreal, Canada, where he began working with calligraphy in outdoor spaces. In his work, Jabbari interprets ancient styles dating back to Aramaic writing, bringing them closer to the modern generation. In addition to street art, he is engaged in light calligraphy, combining calligraphy and new media, and gives master classes around the world. In 2015, Jabbari appeared in TED Talks in Casablanca.

Working on a mural «Drop».

Karim Jabbari is one of the founders of the trend in street art called calligraffiti. He was born in Kasserin (Tunisia) and received a formal education in Montreal, Canada, where he began working with calligraphy in outdoor spaces. In his work, Jabbari interprets ancient styles dating back to Aramaic writing, bringing them closer to the modern generation. In addition to street art, he is engaged in light calligraphy, combining calligraphy and new media, and gives master classes around the world. In 2015, Jabbari appeared in TED Talks in Casablanca.

Working on a mural «Drop».

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