Veliky Novgorod 1926

Editor: This is Pyotr Konchalovsky’s “Veliky Novgorod,” a cityscape made with ink on paper, created in 1926. It's striking how the textures created with just ink make me feel like I can almost touch the wooden fence and feel the leaves of the trees. What do you see in this drawing? Curator: I see an artist deeply engaged with the materiality of his subject and medium. Look at the visible labor – the hatching, the varied pressures, the palpable density of ink accumulating to build form. What does that say about Konchalovsky's relationship to the tradition of landscape, and the very act of depiction? Editor: I suppose it acknowledges the process of its making... like it's less trying to mimic a photograph, and more showing *how* he translated the scene onto paper. Curator: Precisely. It foregrounds the means of production. The drawing becomes a document of his physical engagement with the subject, the ink, and the paper. How might this process reflect the larger social context of art production in Russia at that time? Editor: Hmm… Well, it was part of the Russian avant-garde movement… was that movement connected to the labour movement at the time? Curator: Yes, very astute! Think about the values associated with labor, with handcrafting objects – versus the slick mass production valued in the West. This aesthetic decision is very much embedded in social realities and art ideals during the avant-garde movement. Editor: So it's not *just* a cityscape, but a statement on art making, materiality, and Russian values during a really pivotal period? That’s something to think about. Curator: Exactly. Seeing the work this way gives the artist back his power as a labourer making deliberate, materially significant aesthetic decisions.