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Herman Feoktistov is a unique sculptor with a considerable for gift working in small forms. His medium is bronze. Herman has already earned a steady reputation for his creative achievements through his exhibits, awards and collectors. This present exhibit opens up a new aspect of his talent. Herman's lifetime idea finally finds its way out, being turned into the unique gallery of sculptures that entitled "The Native Americana". The Sacred Circle of Life is the basic image borrowed from the spiritual and everyday life of the plains tribes, but spread all over the Americas. In the form of an encircled cross it can be traced back to the prehistoric petroglyphs, and to the contemporary crafts of Native Americans. It is the symbol of the world in its perpetuity and change, the cyclic way of life of the people. It is also the system of moral beliefs and rules as developed by the Native Americans, based on the veneration of nature and its creations. The bulk of Herman's work, as diverse as it is, demonstrates the artist's interest in three subjects: the feminine, the history of the Russian army, and the Indians. One can see while looking at his Native American compositions, that the other two have found a new expression in the Native American imagery. The Native American theme became Feoktistov's favorite since his childhood. Then his sources were the GDR DEFA adventure films, for they were the only source available for the Soviet audience. Tirelessly Herman looked for the rare books and photos, because few artistic visual aids existed. This passion has brought Herman to discover the popular Indianist groups that were developing into a movement all over Russia. Some of these people found an outlet in making Native dress, in learning dances or songs, in collecting books or artifacts, or living in the bush the American Indian way, often identifying with some particular Native tribe. Herman chose to express his interest in Native Americans by becoming an artist. THE SACRED CIRCLE OF LIFE exhibit is a result of 10 years' work. Here are about 80 bronze pieces that plainly bespeak a unique achievement from many standpoints. The essentials for Herman's style were discovered much earlier. During his formative period Herman was greatly influenced by the Japanese ivory miniature figurines called Netske. Broad in their range of subjects, Netske are striking for their style and reflect the privacy of the intimate personal world. When turning this tradition towards a new area, possessing the history and aestheticism of its own, the Netske impulse has undergone change. The factors accounting for the change are connected with many aesthetic traditions which are quite diverse and require mention. First, there was the whole trend of the American artists/ethnologists, such as Charles Bird King, Karl Bodmer, George Catlin and Paul Kane; later Herman discovered the humorous and dramatic sculpture and paintings of a cowboy artist Charles M. Russell, as well as the pieces of his contemporary F. Remington. This was followed by a rich bulk of documentary stuff, provided by the old photos, taken in the days of twilight of the American Indian cultures by Edward Curtis, James Mooney, John K. Hillers and many others. These "white men's" ideas of the Indians, however striking, were soon overshadowed by the vigorous development of the Native arts in the 20th century. Blending the folk and the individual elements, this trend soon won the National and international market. In the area of sculpture, for instance, the powerful impact of the Apache sculptor Allan Houser can be traced in all of his followers. One other source is to be mentioned: the neo-classic/romantic rendering of the native subjects as practiced by the American sculptors of the 19th and beginning of the20th centuries; this can be traced in the use of marble and bronze as materials in Feoctistov's works. The geographic scope Feoktistov's Native Americana is wide as America: from the Eastern Woodland area to the Pacific coast. The Prairie region is dominant; less common but significant is the Southwest, and the Eskimo; exceptional yet present. It is appropriate to briefly characterize all of these. The Woodland region is represented by the "War trophies" piece, capturing the typical details of the colonial warfare, as well as the very essence of the Native character. In this group, "The spawning salmon", due to its structural balance and decorative dynamism, is the best. The North West Coast pieces, although slightly peripheral and influenced by the Curtis photos, are interesting for the experimental rendering of color and surface. The Native cultures of the Great Plains have captured European artists' imagination quite early, because of their will for survival, courageous stand against the invasion and the rich aesthetic potential, taking into account the lack of any serious traditional materials for the craftsmaking. These were the Centaur cultures which have taken the in the spirituality and wisdom from the surrounding expanses. It is not to be surprised that this group is the largest in Herman's creative output. Most of the scenes here are the events of everyday life. As well as the rest, these are stylized, yet not at the expense of aesthetics. Because of that, the earliest piece in the group, "The Pawnee Indian kindling the fire" is as attractive as the latest pieces. One should account for the emotional scope of the sculptures: the lyrical quality of the "Spring on the prairie", the spiritual tension of the "Dialogue", or the openly nostalgic "Grandpa's song"; piercing is the sadness of "The aged". Because dance was and is among the most important elements of the aboriginal life, and because of its expressive dynamics, it has become inspiring for quite a few of Herman's works. One must mention the exquisite "Dancing Cheyenne", "A dance with the shawl" and the "Dancing Rain". Fully aware that the means and the material he uses reduce the color gamut, Feoktistov compensates these natural losses with the color play whenever possible, thus achieving a highly dramatic effect. Hints at the portrait quality give these pieces a special touch. Close personal connections drive the sculptor to use the features of concrete persons he knows and loves, as a homage of friendship and spiritual kinship ("Dancing Rain", "Dance with the shawl", "Mato Najin", "Blue Shield" and some others). Among the multi-figure compositions two are of particular attention. "The Horse Thief" is good for its catching upon the daring practice of the prairie tribes, for the taking of the enemy's horses was the way to wealth and influence. The piece is notable for its double rhythm pattern: the vertical rhythm of horse's feet and the horizontal rhythm of horses'/rider's heads. Equally intense in its rhythm and feeling is the "Exiles" group. Herman's longtime interest in the female imagery gets the new dimension in Native Americana. Thus, "The Cheyenne women" is outstanding in its vivacity, open intimacy and the intricate rendering of the details. It exemplifies the very spirit of the traditional ideals; other sides of the same ideology are to be found in the epic touch of "The Native Madonna" and the "Mothers and Daughters". The series of portrait renderings of the plains chiefs of the "contact" historical period is inspired by old photos and yet looks new in three-dimension execution. Among these, featuring Geronimo, Lone Wolf and others, "Chief Joseph" looks most powerful in his dignified Native splendor. The sculptor's approach towards his subject sometimes takes a comic perception. It varies from mild ("The Laughers" or "Cowboy Yarns") to the bitter irony and the grotesque. To convey the latter, Herman practices the body distortion. The effect is reminiscent of the primitively grotesque nature of the so-called "Cigar-store Indians", the wooden life-size figures of the Native Chiefs put before the tobacco shops. "Warrior in a Buffalo Hat", "The Fox Warrior", "Dancing Coyote", "The Lakota Horseman", and the portraits of Sitting Bull and Red Cloud must combine this tradition with the reverberations of the Netske stylistics. A separate group of sculptures includes the mythological pieces, opening good possibilities for the artist's fantasy. The top character in the Lakota myth, The White Buffalo Woman, who is the culture hero, the bringer of the Sacred Pipe and the life-code, is the first to mention. Herman's piece, honoring this character, expressively combines femininity, magic and the transformation theme, as well as the motherhood aspect. "The Prairie wind" personifies the Wakinyan or the wind spirits of the Lakota, but is much broader in its complex image of freedom, blending together the horse, the eagle, and the nomadic humans. The Trickster is an important character in the Native mythology, very popular in the North American Indian lore. Herman uses his Lakota name, "Iktomee", in the composition of the same name. Inside the spider body, as in a temple, appears the witty and cunning storyteller/shaman, intoning the vital songs of change for his people. Another Trickster/Transformer, The Raven, is also widely known all over the continent. Herman's metaphor for him is grandeur ("The Great Raven"). Although the Native Americans were the main subject of the American Western expansion, the American West itself has a multiple meaning as an epoch, the way of life, and as a range of historical human types that came to conquer the land. The West has produced its own art genre: the Western adventure story. In the Russian visual art, this genre is totally new, Herman becoming the ground breaker here as well as in other respects, in creating the Russian version of the American Western story. Any country, and especially as wide and diverse as the American West, begins with the natural environment. Thus, the wild animals that have become the regional totems and icons, the living symbols of the American West, are the Eagle, the Buffalo, the Beaver and the Grizzly Bear. These have found their prominent place in the artist's imagination. The most popular symbol of the American West is the Cowboy, as an embodiment of personal freedom and independence, horsemanship, the moral code and the peculiar life-way. In Herman's Western Americana this hero has become the subject of many sculptural pieces: "The cowboy's morning", "New Spurs of the Vaquero", "The Encounter", "Cowboy Yarns" and many others. The comic rendering of the same comes in such pieces as "The gentleman suitor", as well as in a double piece "At your service, gents". Two allegoric compositions, "The Gold" and "The End of the Trail" capture the very beginning and the far end of the Old West. These possess a quality of a wide artistic generalization. Aside from his sculpture, Herman Feoktistov turns towards the embossing technique. With it, he renders the accessories of the Old West in the form of compositions on the belt buckles. Cowboy regalia, Native symbols, and portraits insignia produce a sharp feeling of the Western stylistics. Original choices are the wild horse inside a lariat, the buffalo scull, the war shield and the pipe designs. Although the "Sacred Circle of Life" Exhibit is dedicated to the Indian Theme, it has a special address, for it honors those dedicated people who live out the Native Way and sustain the Native American Cultures in Russia, and those who are the keepers of these lively traditions. Herman explains it, making his statement a true manifesto of the Native American Culture: "These people have learned how to live in harmony with nature. Notwithstanding the hardships that befell them, they have managed to retain their spirituality from the times of antiquity to the present. Perhaps they may provide a lesson for us the way of survival, of retaining our own spirituality - provided we learn the respect for all Natural life". A.V.Vaschenko, |
