On November 30, an unobtrusive event for the world of politics and economics will take place. At the prestigious auction "Christie" (Auction Christies House) items related to the personality of the mathematician-logic, the excellent storyteller, essayist and poet Lewis Carroll will be exhibited. Like Pushkin or Shakespeare, he has devoted admirers who collect rare books, mathematical treatises, letters, and even personal items.
In Russia there are, of course, fewer such collectors than in England. Viktor Novichkov lives in Moscow, who has a large collection of original illustrations for the books Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. This strange collection is getting more expensive day by day and has no analogues in Russia.
Viktor Novichkov: 50 years old, a lawyer by education, worked as a lawyer, currently works in the field of PR, at his leisure replenishes the collection of illustrations for books about the girl Alice.
Hunting more than bondage
- Purely a hobby. Each of us has our own cockroaches in our heads. My insects show up in this original collection of illustrations for wonderful Alice books.
– Probably, you love works about Alice by Lewis Carroll no less than your own collection?
- Quite right. Even though I read "Alice" already in adulthood, this book by Lewis Carroll won me over right away. "Alice" is an eternal book, like the Bible, it contains answers to all questions that concern a person.
– Are there many people in the world who collect illustrations for books about Alice?
- In the English-speaking world, especially in England, there are many such people, but in Russia I don’t know anyone. But I know, say, one Japanese who, like me, collects original illustrations for Alice. He also has a decent collection. More often, of course, they collect books themselves.
– By the way, how famous is your collection in the world?
- Many people know about it, and not only in Russia. Russian illustrators of Alisa are some of the most original in the world, and foreign collectors quite often offer to sell something, but I refuse.
Today I have in my collection over two hundred editions of Alice and about three hundred sheets of original illustrations for it.
- Do you somehow distinguish between "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass"? Which one is your favorite, by the way?
- I'll tell you that "Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" for me are like the first and second series of a wonderful series in which mysticism and love are intertwined. It's just that "Through the Looking Glass" was written six years after the first part, and, in my opinion, the book turned out to be more mature and clear.
Have you ever collected anything other than illustrations for Alice?
– I have a fairly large collection of paintings and drawings by famous authors, but eclectic – I did not collect it by any period, style or name. You see, the image of the beautiful Alice is one of the most popular collectible topics in the world, like, say, the images of Shakespeare or Pushkin and everything connected with them. There are people in the world today who collect all sorts of items related to Alice in some way. These are puzzles, exclusive dolls or dishes with images of the characters in the book, playing cards, rabbits in pince-nez, croquet clubs... many famous artists. Besides, I've always loved children's books.
Sky, plane, Alice
How do you explain such love to yourself?- I am the son of philologists: my parents taught children's literature at the Institute of Culture, and, naturally, we had a huge library of children's picture books in our house. As a child, I was, as they say, a well-read boy and "swallowed" a lot of books: from Pushkin's fairy tales to Gianni Rodari's books. At the same time, you will be surprised, but I read my favorite "Alice in Wonderland" only in 1989! It happened.
- Pure coincidence?
- No, I knew perfectly well what kind of person Lewis Carroll was, I knew his works and a little about his mysterious life. Interest in his books about little Alice really appeared quite by accident. I read it for the first time on my way back to Moscow, on the plane from London. Then she immediately conquered me!
I owe a lot to this memorable moment on the plane to my own sister, who has been living in London since the 70s. Once, even before perestroika, she invited me to her place. Do you remember the realities when, when leaving the Union, they were allowed to change only 120 rubles? Then everyone took caviar, watches, blocks of cigarettes with them, so that, once they were abroad, they could sell it all.
“And what did you take with you?”
“My sister told me not to buy all this nonsense. She advised me to buy all the Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass books that I could find in the Soviet Union. And she also advised me to buy Beatles records. Then I could buy only four books about Alice and about three records of the Liverpool Four.
- Did you really find only four editions of Alice in the Union?
- That's not the point. When I arrived in London, I was able to sell these books for as much as a few hundred pounds to the owner of a shop that sells and sells exclusively books about Alice! This collector's pathos of that owner made such a strong impression on me that, flying back to Moscow in an airplane, I read avidly what that buyer almost tore off my hand for.
– So when did you decide to create your own collection?
- Every time I came to London, I brought all the new editions of "Alice" at the request of the same store owner. Over time, I began to buy these illustrated editions, not only for him, but also for myself. Later, several drawings for Alice fell into my hands, and I plunged into collecting illustrations for Lewis Carroll's fairy tales.
On the eve of the hunting season
- Do you often receive some interesting offers of a commercial plan?- The British often persuade me to sell beautiful illustrations by the outstanding artist Gennady Kalinovsky, but I always refuse. They really appreciate the black and white illustrations of this master.
In general, many major Russian artists made their own illustrations for Alice. These are Vladimir Alfeevsky, Mai Miturich, Eduard Gorokhovsky, Alexander Koshkin, Evgeny Shukaev. The folder of illustrations for Alice was made by Salvador Dali, they were shown at his Moscow exhibition last year.
At one time, I was offered to purchase one of the copies of this folder, it's a pity there was no money.
– But now you could buy this folder?
– I'm not sure, it costs just crazy money now. For me, my collection, as I said, is not a meaningful business - it is my favorite hobby. Besides, my topic is Carroll's Russian illustrators. But I think every collector would agree to have “Alice” in the image of Dali in his collection.
– Do you plan to purchase new items for your collection in the near future?
– Absolutely! All of us, obsessed with "Alice", will soon meet together. On November 30 this year, the auction "Christie" (Auction Christies House) will be held, where various items will be exhibited, one way or another connected with the personality of Lewis Carroll. This is a personal and rather large collection of the famous American collector - Nicholas Faletta.
- And who do you expect to see at this auction?
- Very, very many. There are over 4,000 illustrated editions of Alice worldwide. And this book is published not only on the European continent.
– No, although the British Cultural Council at the British Embassy in Moscow wants me to exhibit illustrations from the collection. So far, my plans are to compile a large catalog dedicated to Russian illustrators of books about little Alice. But this is not the only domestic project associated with Alice. Not so long ago, my good friend Oleg Kulik made the most original photo shoot "Alice and Lolita". These are works devoted to two, perhaps, the youngest and most charming images of Vladimir Nabokov and Lewis Carroll.
- Only, probably, this series of works should have been called "Anya and Lolita", because Nabokov called Alice Anya.
- Yes, it was a free translation and he called it "Anya in the realm of a diva", but again, that's not the point. This project is original if only because both Nabokov and Lewis Carroll are among the most enigmatic figures in literature. There is a theory that both were pedophiles. As for Nabokov, I am less aware, but with regards to Carroll, I can say that he was an extremely amazing person. The logician-mystic who taught at Oxford and composed such a grandiose story, in which the Freudians see hundreds of sexual overtones, even in his youth took a vow of celibacy. I don’t know if it was an accident that the children who asked him to tell fairy tales loved him so much. In "Alice" you can see anything, this book puts pressure on the subconscious.
From an interview with Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Nikolai Timofeevich ANTOSHKIN
Corr.: You know, some kind of paradoxical situation is emerging. The level of threats is growing, and not only can we not explain them, but we are also suppressing the initiatives of those who understand what is at stake. Indeed, today official structures do not pay attention to warnings. What to do in this situation?
Nikolai Timofeevich: There are duty services at the Ministry of Emergency Situations, it is necessary to give information there and record who and when they were transferred. Once, twice, thirdly - they will slowly believe. At first they did not believe in us and in Zhukovsky. Victor Timofeevich Novichkov comes, he must say to inform that then, such and such a plane may fall, he also specified - at 11 seconds after takeoff. We give this warning there, our friends are there, but they did not listen - the plane crashes. And at 11 seconds. Well? They listened a little. Or gives a warning that there will be no automatic docking, they also reacted with distrust. And in fact, the docking was not this automatic, the reasons have not been established.
Do you remember the plane crash in Irkutsk? I can say that in about a month I received this warning, and we immediately passed this information on. But I confess, I did not control it. Due to the fact that after Chernobyl I had an attack, I was in the hospital, and my temperature reached 42 degrees, I missed this case. When I left the hospital, just the event was held, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Battle of Moscow. And at this event, I see - the entire flight safety service slowly began to run away. I ask: "What's the matter?" In Irkutsk, they say, the plane crashed. I immediately thought - I received this information, gave and warned, but then I forgot about it, can you imagine?!
And there were many different cases, a lot, and the guilty ones too. In the same car accidents. So, I call the commander, I ask: “Were you warned?” He: "I'm sorry, comrade commander." I say: “It’s to blame, it’s to blame, but there is no person, the driver died. And if you had sent him not today, but tomorrow, would anything have changed?”
Unfortunately, only after the tragedies do people understand, begin to listen and believe. They began to believe at the top. How many such people we saved with Grigory Petrovich and Viktor Timofeevich, and with other people - I can’t count. And it is not necessary to count, the most important thing is that they are alive.
V. Chernobrov, "Secrets of time"
Another case that was quite accurately timed independently by Yu. Roscius and myself is an episode told in 1955 by Viktor Timofeevich NOVICHKOV, a well-known psychic-hypnotist specializing in ether-smell diagnostics. Later high-speed video footage documented that Novichkov was indeed occasionally able to see events taking place in high-speed mode. One of the "critical" cases happened to him at the barbershop.
The hairdresser decided to drink tea while working, but the glass burst as soon as boiling water was poured into it. The seriousness of the situation was that a glass of boiling water was at that moment above Novichkov's feet, and ... as Viktor Timofeevich later described, "the glass did not shatter into smithereens, it cracked, and slowly, slowly, fragments and water flew down ..."
In 1994-1997, we repeatedly met with V. Novichkov, and he swore that at that time he was able to consider the stages of cracking approximately the same as they would be seen by a television camera, increasing the shooting speed by 20-50 times relative to the usual ... How do you What do you think Novichkov is doing now? He not only did not forget the strange phenomenon, which he witnessed almost half a century ago, but also tried to develop in himself the ability to cause it artificially. For what? To see the past and future of specific people and objects! To be more precise, Novichkov, in collaboration with the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, is now engaged in the diagnosis of aviation accidents and the restoration of the picture of already occurred air crashes. He certainly succeeded in several successful predictions, which I personally witness.
Just as I can witness how an ordinary person in an extreme situation can spontaneously receive not only the ability to slow down Time, but also an invaluable gift of foresight. In the late 1970s, my classmate Boris Nikolaevich KOSTIN told how he went to ride in his father's Zhiguli in the summer: "... The car jumped out onto a slippery place, someone must have spilled oil on the road. And now I see like in a long dream that someone spills oil on the road, and I drive along it, get on the oil, the car skids, turns ... and so on. where I just saw how it would be carried. Now I knew what would happen next, I knew where to turn the steering wheel "... Probably, that's why Kostin remained alive.
In early August 1985, Marita ANDREEVA from Saratov saw SOMETHING even stranger. So in 1996, at my request, she described what happened: “I was driving a taxi along the highway in the Orenburg region. Besides me, the taxi driver and my father were in the car. Suddenly, a ZIL-130 (dump truck) drove across our car at high speed (so it seemed) As a result, our taxi ended up in a ditch. At the moment when all this was happening, I imagined the following: I see how a taxi with its right wheel runs into a striped roadside pole and suddenly ... as if I was sitting in a dark room in front of the TV and watching some that movie where the car (something vintage) crashes into a pile of sand at the end of the movie, I watch the movie for what seems like quite a long time, and suddenly I'm in a taxi again and the car is still wheeling over that pole. So it's only been a moment..."
In other words, the eyewitness not only observed the slowing down of external Time (this effect is also called "slow motion cinema"), but also saw the "old cinema", i.e. she observed the old (“post-revolutionary”, as she put it) car only at critical moments for herself. This strange car was not seen before the accident, and it disappeared from the highway after the accident, being present like a vision, in fact, only for a moment ... and those few minutes while the "movie was on." Perhaps Andreeva simultaneously saw what would happen to her taxi, and what happened to the old car on the same road many years or decades ago. So what is it, perhaps, a clairvoyant phenomenon, a warning from the Future, a memory of the Past? Or, being in an extremely stressful situation, the organism of M. Andreeva (the organisms of her and her fellow travelers) managed to speed up the internal (slow down the external) Time to such an extent, i.е. to bend Space-Time around oneself, which made it possible to observe the Past through a hole-curvature (about whether this is possible, of course, there will be a separate discussion) ...
- How did you become a collector of art in general and Chelyabinsk art in particular?
In the late 1980s, I was in London for the first time, visiting my sister. All the houses of her friends that we visited were hung with beautiful old and modern paintings, sculptures, and other artifacts. I liked it very much. London's galleries and antique markets were hypnotic. At the same time, my sister gave me two sketches of the fabrics of the famous Natalia Goncharova. He returned to Russia “sick” with this topic. Then the perestroika artistic "movement" just began in the city: new exhibitions, new artists, guests from Ufa, Sverdlovsk. At the same time, some free money appeared. All these three vectors merged into one - I began to make the first purchases.
- Precisely local artists?
Yes, mostly Chelyabinsk and Ufa residents - Pakhomov, Nazarov, Lebedev from Ufa, our Viktor Chernilevsky and Alexander Danilov. Bought spontaneously. Being an amateur both in the understanding of art and in collecting, he was very often mistaken. However, some of those purchases are still the pride of my collection. In 1990, I left for Israel, but I visited Chelyabinsk regularly and constantly acquired something, also spontaneously. By this time, I was collecting mainly the Russian "second avant-garde" and everything connected with the famous book "Alice in Wonderland". Over the past twenty years, my Alisina collection has become the best in the country and, I think, in continental Europe too.
Valentin Kachalov Afanasievskoe. 1967.
Canvas, oil. 90 x 54.5.
- Was it not a task to collect the works of the South Urals?
Did not have. Each time I could not and did not want to miss the acquisition of a really strong work, and it was a local or metropolitan artist's business one hundred and tenth. In addition, it was clear that the art of Soviet modernism was leaving the horizon. The paintings simply physically disappeared, the time was difficult, and especially for the artists: they did not know what to do with the works, they destroyed, recorded, threw away their own paintings, sold them for pennies to completely random people, changed styles, abandoned the usual directions, and so on. A couple of years ago, I began to analyze the “Chelyabinsk pantry” (which is more than two hundred works) and realized that there are several dozen extra-class items, in fact, a ready-made exposition of the history of Chelyabinsk art of the 20th century.
- Did you understand that this art is local and not everyone can be interested?
I understood well. Moreover, many of my Moscow friends from the professional environment - collectors, gallery owners, art critics - were skeptical about this idea and dissuaded. But when the catalog came out, everyone said in unison, “This is cool! It’s modern and lively, you hit the spot!” Works, many of the works that will be at the exhibition, are already being asked for other projects - both regional and metropolitan.
- Why did you attach such importance to the catalog?
A serious catalog is a comprehension and explanation of a concept, a historical and scientific document. In addition to the works themselves, the catalog contains a dialogue about why it is still necessary to collect regional art, which we are conducting with a wonderful writer and art critic, Dmitry Bavilsky from Chelyabinsk. But the main thing is not this, but the archive and memoir section, where I collected the memories of the key characters of the local art scene of the 1950-1980s - artists, their relatives, art historians. The result was an unprecedented historical and cultural cut of the life of the city: how the artists lived, what they painted about, what relations they had with the state and among themselves, how much they were involved in the world artistic process ... The book contains a lot of exclusive archival documents and photographs .
Vasily Dyakov Male portrait. 1964.
Paper, pencil. 28.8 x 20.3.
- Most of the Chelyabinsk residents do not even suspect the existence of these very art heroes.
Chelyabinsk has been and remains a difficult city for visual art. This diagnosis was put a long time ago and I heard different explanations. Some of the versions are listed in the catalog.
What to do and how to treat this situation? There is no choice - we must not despair, but work. One project, the second... books, exhibitions. Need to work. It is important for Chelyabinsk to get out of the state of constant self-defense. Communicating with different people, one gets the impression that, on the one hand, we consider ourselves unrecognized or little recognized geniuses, but on the other hand, we are afraid of the rest of the world. As if someone would come and take away all our masterpieces, take away the birthright for research, for curating, for exhibitions. In fact, all these are ordinary provincial complexes. We have to come out and say: “Come here, guys! We are cool! We had and still have wonderful artists - Konstantin Fokin, Pavel Khodaev, Alexander Danilov, and others! But, of course, statements alone are not enough; at the same time, serious cultural and institutional work is needed...
Do you think we will be taken seriously?
It is important that we take ourselves seriously, and not as a "bathhouse with spiders." We need to act systematically, smartly and courageously, and, most importantly, together. There is enough money in Chelyabinsk. I communicate with many local businessmen, they are interested in art, they understand the value of culture. Possessing a mature self-awareness, this capital is able to finance serious artistic activity. He needs to be attracted. In order not to visit museums in Monaco, but to create events here, in their homeland. This is a job that requires patience, thoughtfulness of projects, perseverance, charisma.
Ivan Kuchma Old blowtorch. 1975.
Canvas, oil. 72.5 x 69.5.
- How has the art market changed over the past 10-15 years?
In my opinion, the Russian art market, which was formed in 1990-2000, is not a very healthy phenomenon. When a mass of people with big money appeared in the country, not knowing the ford, everyone wanted to "plunge into art." As Karl Marx said, in my opinion: first, the capitalist satisfies the needs for real estate - he builds a castle, then - in sex: he changes his old wife for two new ones, and then he wants to be done beautifully. The waters of the art business have become so murky that some people are still choking on faecal drains, not knowing how to cleanse themselves. Absolutely abnormal prices, a huge number of amateurs, a whole industry of fakes and conclusions about the authenticity of works. True, during the crisis of 2008, people's eyes began to open, it was revealed how much "garbage" floats on the Russian art market. Today, buyers have become cautious and discriminating. Comrades and acquaintances constantly pull me with requests for advice before buying something. No one believes official documents or stories anymore. The process of recovery of the art market is underway.
- Chelyabinsk is distinguishable on the art map of the country?
- With great difficulty... This applies to the Soviet period, and the decade of the 90s, and contemporary art. At the same time, there are talents, events have happened and are happening, but all this, with inept positioning, is covered with mud and goes into the swamp almost untold, undescribed, and, in fact, lost to history. It would seem that the current possibilities of the Internet are inexhaustible, but even in this field everything looks somehow dull...
- The problem is the lack of PR for local artists?
It's not about PR. In self-awareness and rough work to create a context. Tomorrow we can come to the New York Museum of Modern Art and invite them to exhibit any of the Chelyabinsk classics. Let's assume that the quality of Dyakov's or Rusakov's works will suit the American curators. But they will ask us: “Show catalogues, articles, reports? And in a foreign language? How is there nothing? That is, you did nothing at home, but you came to us. Sorry". Setting the bar at six meters, jumping without a pole and flying down in the expectation that they will shower us with gold is stupid, it doesn’t happen like that. Need to get ready. And work.
Nikolay Rusakov. Bant Mataram. Long live free India! 1926.
thick, oil. 150 x 104.