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THANK YOU: A series of works in
dedication
to Valentina Ouporova
Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, Ekaterinburg, Russia What I'm saying is simply that every totalitarian
state, no matter
how strict, has had its underground. In fact, two undergrounds.
There's
the underground involved in political resistance and the underground
involved
in preserving beauty and fun.
--Tom
Robbins, "Still Life with Woodpecker"
The Thank You series is part of an exhibition first shown at the Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts in Ekaterinburg, Russia in September of 1999. Dedicated to our mother, Valentina Ouporova (1936-1998), the show included photo-based works on paper, a site-specific installation and performance celebrating her life and works. She was a teacher, puppetmaker and poet, with a passion for the Russian decorative arts. Her puppets and handiworks gained recognition during her lifetime and were exhibited throughout Russia. Valentina was also committed to helping children, the elderly, and those in need. To us, her life is a symbol of a generation once filled with utopian beliefs, tragically broken by WWII, repression, deprivation, and painful transition through two radically diverse social systems. The underlying thread in the Thank You series is a
poem that
Valentina wrote at the end of her life entitled "Thank you." In
short,
she thanks God for everything--the good and bad times, nature,
children,
song, her soul, and existence. We layered this poem in different
forms throughout the series and embossed her needlework into paper.
Each
piece is a combination of digitized photoetching, aquatint, and
engraving.
For one month, in various cities and villages throughout Russia, we
wrote
the entire Thank You poem on the streets she frequented during
her
lifetime.
In
memory of Valentina, who taught us how to find beauty and have dreams.
--Scherer & Ouporov, 1999-2000 |
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