Natalia Zabolotna’s primary job as director of the
Mystetskyi Arsenal art museum in Kyiv was to oversee the pieces under her roof.
But on July 25, the night before a visit by President Viktor
Yanukovych and the opening of an exhibit meant to celebrate Ukrainian heritage,
she took a can of black paint and doused a piece that she deemed “immoral.”
A day later, the destruction of artist Volodymyr Kuznetsov’s
“Koliivschina: Judgment Day” has prompted the resignation of the museum’s
deputy, helped fuel a street protest, and triggered alarm within the country’s
artistic community.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, Kuznetsov expressed
shock at the destruction of his piece.
“I had agreed to come on Thursday night (July 25) to finish
the work. In the afternoon, I was not allowed to come inside,” he said.
“At first, I did not know that my work had been painted over.”
The painting, a mural measuring 11 meters by 5 meters,
showed a flaming nuclear reactor with priests and judges semi-submerged in a
vat of red liquid. A car that appeared to be carrying officials was shown
plunging into the vat — likely a reference to the numerous traffic accidents
caused by officials in the country. A hodgepodge of other figures were grouped
alongside, including what appeared to be the image of Iryna Krashkova, the woman who accused two police
officers and a civilian of beating and raping her last month. Her case has
prompted a wave of protests.
Zabolotna, who has since apologized for destroying the work,
cited the nature of the exhibit in explaining her actions. “Great and
Grand,” as the exhibit is called, opened to the public this week in
commemoration of the 1,025th anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus, the
medieval kingdom that laid the Orthodox foundation for modern-day Russia,
Belarus, and Ukraine.
In comments printed in the publication “Left Bank,”
Zabolotna said the exhibit “should inspire pride in the state.”
“You cannot criticize the homeland, just as you cannot
criticize your mother. I feel that anything said against the homeland is
immoral,” she added. Zabolotna also claimed that Kuznetsov had diverged in his
work from the concept that was previously agreed upon.
The same explanation was cited by the Ukrainian Ministry of
Culture, which denied any involvement in the incident. Some observers have
suggested that Zabolotna was under pressure to get rid of the work ahead of
Yanukovych’s visit. Others suggested that she may have feared the state would
cut funding to the museum over the painting.
But Kuznetsov said the act was unforgivable.
“No one has the right to destroy somebody’s work, especially
to do this without permission,” he said.
“Perhaps there is a hierarchy at
Arsenal and it is against such a hierarchy — state and religious — that my work
is directed.”
Another artwork, “Molotov Cocktail” by Vasyl Tsygalov, was
also reportedly removed from the exhibit ahead of its opening.
The controversy helped fuel a small protest that was
held outside of the museum on July 26. Eight people were arrested for
holding the unsanctioned rally against what they described as the mixing of
church and state in Ukraine and official censorship.
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