Epilogue
This project is a personal examination of the symbolic Russian individuals that influenced not only our history but also the formation of my values and attitudes. My thirty year (1968-1998) life apprenticeship in Russia permitted me to understand and appreciate the meaning of the word “homeland”. Its destiny so intricately woven from its past. We are a melange of East and West influences, both positive and negative. Presently, we are engaged in a spiritual cleansing of the negative effects. We are achieving inroads to a more tolerant compassionate society that will nurture artistic freedom and provide for a healthier self-awareness of its people.
My intention for this book was to demonstrate art as a tool for providing a more in-depth comprehension of my perspective of these people. In my illustrations, I attempted to balance my respect with the humor that I perceived exists with each subject and situation. I wanted serious portraits surrounded by life’s whimsical antics. In this work I used an intricate system of points in black ink on paper.
It is my hope that you will find pleasure in viewing my work. Its foundation lies in my love of two countries and their extraordinary inhabitants.
This is the last page of my book. However, the Russian history does not end here. There were, there are and there will be many wonderful people in Russia. I still have a lot to say about them in my drawings.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to:
-M. Gorbachev and V. Tretyak for their support of my work through the
ocean.
-Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Montreal, the Fondation
du maire de Montréal pour la jeunesse and Dawson College for their
excellent assistance and support;
-Stan Roach, my teacher, for his fatherly love, without which the project
would not have been possible;
-Svetlana Migdisova, for the lively yet informative text and for her
touching attitude towards the word Homeland;
-Elena Rif, for the most demanding task of translating the text and adapting
it for English speaking readers, as well as for her patience in looking
for the adequate term of the Russian expression “Kuzkina Mat”
(… just desserts) on the Khrushchev page;
-Arkadij Smirnov, Russian Text Editor, Chairman of History Department, Ul’janovsk University, Russia-for the home language support and historical look at the subject;
-Mikhail Chapiro, legendary Soviet-Russian portraitist, for his help in
making realism real in some of the book´s portraits (his web-site: www.chapiro.com)
-Christine Killinger, the beautiful lady who owns the deepest look and greatest heart;
-John C. Owen, my old Montreal friend and proofreader of the texts, for
his knowledge of the English language and his attention to small details—not
only of the Montreal hotel where John Lennon held his protest, but also
for his ability to tell Glinka from Mussorgsky;
-Denis Daigneault, scientist, historian, writer, educator and friend,
for the linguistic help;
-Michael Fuller, my American friend, for his genuine desire to help and
for his understanding of the advantages of Russian vodka as compared to
American whisky;
-Roman and Viktor Mikhailov, Victor Ŕndrîsov and Julia Dymtchenko for the web design, which gave the book a wonderful chance to become accessible all over the world;
-Company MaxRiga, Maxim for video support, www.maxriga.com;
-The Kogan, Rodriguez, Tsoy, and Gontmacher families, V. Kigelman, A.
Tretjakov, V. Yegupov, S. Mahmutov, E. Dymov for their selfless help;
-B. Neploh, M. Groysberg, L. Pruzhanskaya, L. Chif and V. Vandalovsky, E. Azaeva, M. Jeff Heinrich and J. Kenney, C. Barry and R. Granofsky, Diodora Bucur, D. Goldberg and N. Snipper, W. Larsen and M.Vanderstay, K. Krajewska for their support in publicity;
-P. Austin, S. Litvin, A. Ivanov, A. Palaev, L Likhten and many, many others!
-Gala;
-Last, but not least to Irina Vladimirovna Dymova.
- Alexei Dymov | |
