GENNADY GOUSHCHIN: A Tribute by Diane Neumaier,
November 2021
It is a pleasure to contribute to the retrospective catalogue of works by Gennady Goushchin, an artist I have admired for 30 years. In May 1991, in preparation for my first visit to the Soviet Union, I was introduced to Mr. Goushchin’s photo collage in Photo Manifesto: Contemporary Photography in the U.S.S.R., one of the earliest Soviet photography exhibitions seen in the U. S. Curated by Joseph Walker, Chris Ursitti and Paul McGinniss, Photo Manifesto was presented by The Museum for Contemporary Art, a ‘museum-without-walls’ in Baltimore, Maryland. The exhibition was installed in a vacant bus garage, a venue much like ‘unofficial’ industrial spaces that Russian, European, and American artists continue to enjoy as alternatives to official museums that exclude them.
Among the compelling Photo Manifesto images, I saw Gennady Goushchin’s Renaissance Portrait from his series Alternative Museum. The uncanny photo collage merges two portraits taken from photomechanical reproductions: Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa, and an official photo of Mikhail Gorbachev who would be the last Soviet leader, his famous birthmark perfectly air-brushed out of sight. Intrigued by his appropriation of mass-produced copies, I promised myself to look for Gennady Goushchin when I got to Moscow. Soon after arriving in Moscow in June 1991, a photographer myself, I was introduced to the Soviet Union of Art Photographers. I inquired about Gennady Goushchin, and Valery Stigneev was fortunately present, a photographer and historian of Russian and Soviet photography who had been in Baltimore for Photo Manifesto. The following day, Mr. Stigneev took me to meet Mr. Goushchin’s in his studio, clearly not the studio of a photographer as I had expected. For the record, Gennady Goushchin is an artist who identifies as a conceptualist and a sculptor. Valery explained to Gennady that I had seen Renaissance Portrait in Baltimore and wanted to see and learn more about his collage. Valery spoke limited English, Gennady even less, and I was utterly incapable of communicating in Russian. Gennady solved our language problem by arranging future meetings with Olga Samarova who would interpret for us. I am forever grateful for illuminating discussions with Gennady, Olga, and Valery. Gennady patiently gave me an introduction to Russian and Soviet art history and culture, a foundation for my 1990s returns to Moscow. With Olga translating between us, Gennady showed me his collage source material: paper reproductions of 19th and early 20th century Russian paintings and official Soviet popular photo-illustrated magazines. From photomechanically printed pages, Goushchin cut and layered elements, affixed them to other printed
pages. Through amalgamations, he critically altered original meanings. Several of Gennady’s collages juxtaposed 19th century romantic paintings with 20th century photos of ‘happy Soviet workers.’ Others posed ironic visitations to historic and idealized pasts. Gouschin’s brilliant combinations make evident his deep knowledge of art, society and history, yet the works are attractive and light, read like insider jokes, political cartoons, or satirical theater. His collage critiques both historical and contemporary social and cultural conditions. Elegant, beautifully crafted, the collages draw attention to physical flaws of Soviet materials and technologies by exposing inconsistencies of register, ink colors or paper texture. Revealing uneven material quality is essential to Goushchin’s collage. I learned much from Gennady in Moscow, just a month after encountering Renaissance Portrait in Baltimore in 1991‑the year that would see the dissolution of the Soviet Union. I interpreted Renaissance Portrait as a fusion of Gorbachev’s glasnost policies with Mona Lisa’s allure, together offering a chance to overcome the Cold War and advance reform. Gennady completely rejected my interpretation! Today I find Renaissance Portrait was a heartbreaking forecast of an increasingly troubled world. I would love to have a new lesson, to hear from Gennady how he understands his 1980s collage now.
As I write this tribute, I recall the April 1993 Photo/Foto Symposium at Rutgers University in New Jersey at which Gennady spoke about his collage on a panel of Russian photographer-artists, photo critics and historians. Norton
Dodge (who had recently donated his enormous collection of post-Stalin Soviet underground art to Rutger’s Zimmerli Art Museum) attended the Symposium and determined to acquire a large selection of Goushchin photo collages for the Zimmerli. In 2004, the Zimmerli Museum director chose Goushchin’s Renaissance Portrait to appear in official media publicity for Beyond Memory: Soviet Nonconformist Photography and Photo-Related
Works of Art, the exhibition I curated, and the catalogue I edited for the Zimmerli Art Museum at Dr. Dodge’s invitation. I am reminded also of a warm April evening, after the Photo/Foto Symposium, when the visiting Russian artists and scholars were staying in New York. I returned home to New York from work at Rutgers, entered my dark apartment and heard an impassioned Russian conversation. Suddenly a light was switched on and I could see Gennady and friends Eric Bulatov and Boris Mikhailov — all three were later featured in Beyond Memory. On a table were glasses, bottles, and a bouquet of flowers for me. Glasses were filled, toasts were proclaimed, and the exuberant conversation resumed. Thank you, Gennady, for a very happy memory!
Congratulations, Gennady Goushchin, on this celebration of your luminous career as a conceptualist and a sculptor!
November 2021
It is a pleasure to contribute to the retrospective catalogue of works by Gennady Goushchin, an artist I have admired for 30 years. In May 1991, in preparation for my first visit to the Soviet Union, I was introduced to Mr. Goushchin’s photo collage in Photo Manifesto: Contemporary Photography in the U.S.S.R., one of the earliest Soviet photography exhibitions seen in the U. S. Curated by Joseph Walker, Chris Ursitti and Paul McGinniss, Photo Manifesto was presented by The Museum for Contemporary Art, a ‘museum-without-walls’ in Baltimore, Maryland. The exhibition was installed in a vacant bus garage, a venue much like ‘unofficial’ industrial spaces that Russian, European, and American artists continue to enjoy as alternatives to official museums that exclude them.
Among the compelling Photo Manifesto images, I saw Gennady Goushchin’s Renaissance Portrait from his series Alternative Museum. The uncanny photo collage merges two portraits taken from photomechanical reproductions: Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa, and an official photo of Mikhail Gorbachev who would be the last Soviet leader, his famous birthmark perfectly air-brushed out of sight. Intrigued by his appropriation of mass-produced copies, I promised myself to look for Gennady Goushchin when I got to Moscow. Soon after arriving in Moscow in June 1991, a photographer myself, I was introduced to the Soviet Union of Art Photographers. I inquired about Gennady Goushchin, and Valery Stigneev was fortunately present, a photographer and historian of Russian and Soviet photography who had been in Baltimore for Photo Manifesto. The following day, Mr. Stigneev took me to meet Mr. Goushchin’s in his studio, clearly not the studio of a photographer as I had expected. For the record, Gennady Goushchin is an artist who identifies as a conceptualist and a sculptor. Valery explained to Gennady that I had seen Renaissance Portrait in Baltimore and wanted to see and learn more about his collage. Valery spoke limited English, Gennady even less, and I was utterly incapable of communicating in Russian. Gennady solved our language problem by arranging future meetings with Olga Samarova who would interpret for us. I am forever grateful for illuminating discussions with Gennady, Olga, and Valery. Gennady patiently gave me an introduction to Russian and Soviet art history and culture, a foundation for my 1990s returns to Moscow. With Olga translating between us, Gennady showed me his collage source material: paper reproductions of 19th and early 20th century Russian paintings and official Soviet popular photo-illustrated magazines. From photomechanically printed pages, Goushchin cut and layered elements, affixed them to other printed
pages. Through amalgamations, he critically altered original meanings. Several of Gennady’s collages juxtaposed 19th century romantic paintings with 20th century photos of ‘happy Soviet workers.’ Others posed ironic visitations to historic and idealized pasts. Gouschin’s brilliant combinations make evident his deep knowledge of art, society and history, yet the works are attractive and light, read like insider jokes, political cartoons, or satirical theater. His collage critiques both historical and contemporary social and cultural conditions. Elegant, beautifully crafted, the collages draw attention to physical flaws of Soviet materials and technologies by exposing inconsistencies of register, ink colors or paper texture. Revealing uneven material quality is essential to Goushchin’s collage. I learned much from Gennady in Moscow, just a month after encountering Renaissance Portrait in Baltimore in 1991‑the year that would see the dissolution of the Soviet Union. I interpreted Renaissance Portrait as a fusion of Gorbachev’s glasnost policies with Mona Lisa’s allure, together offering a chance to overcome the Cold War and advance reform. Gennady completely rejected my interpretation! Today I find Renaissance Portrait was a heartbreaking forecast of an increasingly troubled world. I would love to have a new lesson, to hear from Gennady how he understands his 1980s collage now.
As I write this tribute, I recall the April 1993 Photo/Foto Symposium at Rutgers University in New Jersey at which Gennady spoke about his collage on a panel of Russian photographer-artists, photo critics and historians. Norton
Dodge (who had recently donated his enormous collection of post-Stalin Soviet underground art to Rutger’s Zimmerli Art Museum) attended the Symposium and determined to acquire a large selection of Goushchin photo collages for the Zimmerli. In 2004, the Zimmerli Museum director chose Goushchin’s Renaissance Portrait to appear in official media publicity for Beyond Memory: Soviet Nonconformist Photography and Photo-Related
Works of Art, the exhibition I curated, and the catalogue I edited for the Zimmerli Art Museum at Dr. Dodge’s invitation. I am reminded also of a warm April evening, after the Photo/Foto Symposium, when the visiting Russian artists and scholars were staying in New York. I returned home to New York from work at Rutgers, entered my dark apartment and heard an impassioned Russian conversation. Suddenly a light was switched on and I could see Gennady and friends Eric Bulatov and Boris Mikhailov — all three were later featured in Beyond Memory. On a table were glasses, bottles, and a bouquet of flowers for me. Glasses were filled, toasts were proclaimed, and the exuberant conversation resumed. Thank you, Gennady, for a very happy memory!
Congratulations, Gennady Goushchin, on this celebration of your luminous career as a conceptualist and a sculptor!