Book entitled “Abstract Reproductive as Productive Art”

Book of essays

Mirna Rudan Lisak

ABSTRACT REPRODUCTIVE AS PRODUCTIVE ART: Chromatic fantasies of the composer Alexander Scriabin, painter Alexej Jawlensky and pianist Ivo Pogorelich

Abstract reproductive art is a novelty in art terminology: it is an artistic reproduction that renders the original work completely unrecognizable, despite being completely unchanged

About the book

Editor: A. Tunjić, publisher: Matica hrvatska Sisak. The book is available in the Zagreb City Libraries and the Library of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It is featured on the official website of Alexej Jawlensky Archiv S.A. (Switzerland) and the official website of the legendary pianist Ivo Pogorelich.

In the book

Collection of essays on culture and arts in which the author, on the example of the chromatic fantasies of the composer Alexander Scriabin, painter Alexej Jawlensky and pianist Ivo Pogorelich, answers to the question of whether and when reproductive art can be considered as productive art.

From the book

Two modern productive artists and a contemporary reproductive one—at first glance there do not seem to be any common characteristics in the work of the composer Alexander Scriabin, painter Alexej Jawlensky and pianist Ivo Pogorelich. However, when the chosen subject matter is approached in a multidisciplinary fashion, perception is no longer conditioned by a single absolute focus and all perspectives suddenly open up offering many possibilities where new relations and connections are not only the result of observation but of imagination as well. That’s the moment when the past, the present and the future intermingle and no obstacles stand in the way of synthesizing diverse epochs and branches of art undertaken to establish an analytical counterpoint among the three seemingly independent but nevertheless deeply connected essays, aiming to identify contemporary tendencies in art in order to find the answer to the question as to whether and when the reproductive art may be regarded as productive.

It is, in actuality, the reproductive art that acts as the link between the three apparently unrelated artists: Scriabin and Jawlensky lived and worked at the end of the 19th and in the early 20th century, and Pogorelich is our contemporary. To be more specific, Scriabin, the composer, was in fact a trained pianist, i.e. a reproductive artist, who invested all his energy into creating productive works of art, painter Jawlensky evolved his productive art, almost as a paradox, according to the concepts of reproductive art practice, and pianist Ivo Pogorelich never expressed a desire to leave the boundaries of reproductive art even though in his suggestive interpretations of original art works he strives to raise his performance to the heights of the productive art.

By pinpointing the connections between their artistic achievements it was possible to arrive at a synthesis of the modern productive and contemporary reproductive art practices instigating a dialogue between the two avenues of art—painting and music. By way of using innovative analogies it was possible to study the reproductive art from three independent perspectives, which I found necessary because I had observed that the writings of theoreticians and philosophers have so far primarily been focused on the productive and very little or not at all on the reproductive art. Even though a few authors have offered some discussion on the subject of the performing arts, the very limited extent of this writing gives the impression that the reproductive arts are regarded as less important and less valid form of art and are therefore not a topic deserving as thorough and comprehensive investigation as the productive art.

It is more an exception than a rule to find Theodor W. Adorno and Hans Sedlmayr touching in their theoretical and philosophical writings upon the problems of interpretation of art works. Equally untypical is Walter Benjamin writing about art in the era of technical reproduction, Boris Groys astutely noting that a copy can become an original, and Jean Baudrillard turning to the world of simulation and simulacrum. A rare example of a reproductive artist writing essays on reproductive art is the violinist Rudolf Kolisch whose manuscripts are stored in the Harvard University Library. Thus my intention in writing this collection of essays was to try to fill the vacancies in the relevant literature and to respond to some of the current controversies of opinion.

By Mirna Rudan Lisak, PhD

PhD from the Zagreb Arts Academy, Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture, Advisor at the Zagreb City Office for Culture, Fellow of the French Government, author of a book and numerous essays, gave a series of lectures on culture and arts, Honorary Member & Editor in Chief of the Croatian Society “Alexander Scriabin”

Music as the beginning and the end of my researches

During my childhood, I have always thought that once I grew up I would be a musician, but unfortunately (or luckily) life had a completely different path for me—I graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and I received my PhD from the Arts Academy (University of Zagreb). When I was accepted as a doctoral candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts, I thought “it is not music, but at least it is an academy,” and my proposed simultaneous research of the composer Alexander Scriabin and painter Alexej Jawlensky showed that interdisciplinary I wished to return to my first passion: music. My mentor, Prof. Igor Rončević, Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, told me that my research should be linked to the contemporary context as well, or otherwise I would not step into unexplored space nor create a new tread in the world knowledge. Thanks to that instruction, I introduced one more artist into my research, but not a productive artist like Scriabin and Jawlensky, but a reproductive one—the world-renowned pianist Ivo Pogorelich. I assumed that his art would help me transfer my research into contemporary highly reproductive era.

It is not necessary to point out that my proposal at the Academy of Fine Arts was considered “a little weird,” but I explained that the visual-art section of my research was applicable to all branches of art in general, thus also to Pogorelich’s pianism, which suited my thesis precisely because his interpretations are unusually rich in musical tone colours. Finally, my artwork (which was an inevitable final part of my research and a prerequisite for receiving a PhD from the Arts Academy) was allowed to have a foothold in anything, thus it was not unusual that my multidisciplinary virtual light installation was indeed a synthesis of all researched artists, as many as five selected branches of art (music, painting, literature, architecture and dance), theory and philosophy of art, which all I successfully linked to science as well.

I have always loved playing the piano, so it was a special experience to promote my first book at the Zagreb Academy of Music

Chromatic fantasies in the new building of the Zagreb Academy of Music

In the period from 2012 to 2014, I have already published my researches at a higher literary level in the award-winning journal for literature, culture and science Riječi (Words). But at one point I realized that I needed to unite my texts, because despite being readable independently, there was an unbroken connection between them, leading the reader to the conclusion of the whole research. As I was taught the writing style by Mr. Andrija Tunjić, the Editor of the journal Riječi and Croatian renowned theater critic at Vijenac (also the author of a series of books), I asked him kindly to be the Editor of my first book.

In my book I finally managed to achieve a satisfactory literary expression by my own criteria, adding some new insights and connections between various branches of art and previously unrelated art works and their authors. The main theme were chromatic fantasies of Scriabin, Jawlensky and Pogorelich, and the researched three artists helped me to show that the reproductive artist just like the productive one is capable of achieving abstract expression. Following this idea, it was wonderful to organize the book promotion in the new building of the Zagreb Academy of Music, which has a rainbow-coloured installation on its roof—it is the same colour spectrum I used to “overpaint” the black and white piano keys on the cover of my book. This design showed that Scriabin’s light organ was the leitmotif of all of my researches, while the silhouette of the piano provided a refuge for the very long subtitle of my book.

speakers provided original interpretations of the same work

My book is entitled Abstract Reproductive as Productive Art: Chromatic Fantasies of the Composer Alexander Scriabin, Painter Alexej Jawlensky and Pianist Ivo Pogorelich, and with it I wanted to show that reproductive artists, just like productive artists, can render the original work unrecognizable, despite being obliged to respect the written work in its entirety. Once artists begin to dissolve the original work, they have endless shades of musical tones at their disposal, and precisely this aspect was followed by Prof. Ljubomir Gašparović while playing Scriabin’s composition Feuillet d’Album, Op. 58, at the beginning and the end of the promotion. He managed to show that the same composition could be played to such an extent differently that the listener would almost not be able to recognize that the same piece was performed.

In addition to Scriabin’s music, Robert Selimović composed electronic music for this occasion, and we listened to it while entering the hall and as an accompaniment to my video-work entitled Music Iconostasis of the Painter Alexej Jawlensky. The audience was greeted by the publisher representative Mrs. Đurđica Vuković, and the Editor Andrija Tunjić was the first to speak about my book, while remembering my beginnings. Prof. Zlatko Kauzlarić Atač was the book reviewer and he followed (he was also the current Director of the Postgraduate Studies at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts and the President of my Doctoral Dissertation Evaluation and Defense Committee) and Prof. Gašparović was the last to present my book—it is worth mentioning that his speech was as interesting as his playing the piano. After all presenters, I could hardly wait for a moment to say something as well, because I finally found myself in the favorite situation when like reproductive artist I could interpret my own work. Prof. Atač’s speech was later published in the journal Riječi, while the news of the promotion was conveyed by the magazine Vijenac.

Years of work and effort were needed for the book to be published—I was thrilled how many people came to hear about my researches

Before the beginning Prof. Gašparović plays Scriabin’s composition Feuillet d’album

After the representative of the publisher Đurđica Vuković welcomed the audience, the editor Andrija Tunjić was the first to speak about my work

Prof. Zlatko Kauzlarić Atač was the reviewer of my book, and his speech was published by the journal Words (the second reviewer was Prof. Bogdan Gagić)

I compare Pogorelich’s music interpretations with Picasso’s painting

Prof. Gašparović read my book with interest and gave a very interesting speech

As I have always wanted to be a reproductive artist, it was a pleasure to present my work

Prof. Gašparović plays the same Scriabin’s composition in a completely different manner, so it was announced that the music would be the same

Hanging out with family, colleagues and friends—thank you all for coming!

I was surprised how many people wanted my dedication—I didn’t expect it because it was my first book

Acknowledgments to the people and institutions that supported me, and I dedicated the book to my mother, Tatjana Valić Rudan, who was a concert pianist

There is no real joy without family and friends—my book in the hand of Robert Selimović, author of the premiered electronic music

In the audience family, colleagues, friends and art lovers

It amazed me how many people came to the promotion because I was aware that this was my first book, hoping that the hall would be at least comfortably filled. So I could not believe it when I saw that there were not enough chairs and that a part of the audience would be standing! I had a wonderful time with my family and friends, but also my professors and colleagues; even one Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts expressed interest in my book by joining us. I thank everyone for coming, I have never felt so much good energy in my entire professional life!

“A poster designed for the promotion once again reminded me that in life nothing can be done on your own—I am immensely grateful to my editor and publisher, as well as to the presenters of my book; the sponsor of the promotional material was LASER-PLUS Ltd., and the first person who bought the book was great Ivo Pogorelich”

“A poster designed for the promotion once again reminded me that in life nothing can be done on your own—I am immensely grateful to my editor and publisher, as well as to the presenters of my book; the sponsor of the promotional material was LASER-PLUS Ltd., and the first person who bought the book was great Ivo Pogorelich”

In the audience family, colleagues, friends and art lovers

It amazed me how many people came to the promotion because I was aware that this was my first book, hoping that the hall would be at least comfortably filled. So I could not believe it when I saw that there were not enough chairs and that a part of the audience would be standing! I had a wonderful time with my family and friends, but also my professors and colleagues; even one Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts expressed interest in my book by joining us. I thank everyone for coming, I have never felt so much good energy in my entire professional life!

{

On Abstraction

Abstraction is a longing
for infinity and perfection.

– Mirna Rudan Lisak

On interpretations

Original interpretations can create
a completely new work of art from
an existing one.

– Mirna Rudan Lisak

On tones and colours

In painting nuance is the tone of the colour, while in music the opposite is true—nuance is the colour of the tone.

– Mirna Rudan Lisak

On the end of art

The final end of Western art is
an echo of itself in the reproduction
of its own production.

– Mirna Rudan Lisak

{

With her book, Mirna Rudan Lisak raises a number of questions about the relationship between productive and reproductive art. In addition, she gives excellent examples that turn everything upside down, without actually breaking the order. The reader necessarily asks himself the eternal question: the chicken or the egg?

– PROF. ZLATKO KAUZLARIĆ ATAČ, REVIEWER

Thanks to Mirna Rudan Lisak for writing an article for Telegram.hr on our great artist, the recently deceased professor Bogdan Gagić. Take your time to read it, it is worth it.

– CROATIAN COMPOSERS’ SOCIETY

I am glad that someone in Croatia also explores the complicated and difficult to understand connections between color and sound. Thus I think that the exhibition of Josef and Anni Albers in the year when we mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of Bauhaus is the ideal framework for Mirna Rudan Lisak’s lecture.

– SNJEŽANA PINTARIĆ, PHD, THE DIRECTOR OF THE
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART ZAGREB

You may also like our other publications…

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Our Society promotes the art of the great Russian composer and pianist Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin.

All Scriabin’s admirers can contribute to popularization of his art and the work of our Society—just fill the application form and send it to our email!

Travelogue: Conference in Moscow (2)

Travelogue: Conference in Moscow (Part 2)

By Mirna Rudan Lisak, PhD

PhD from the Zagreb Arts Academy, Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture, Advisor at the Zagreb City Office for Culture, Fellow of the French Government, author of a book and numerous essays, gave a series of lectures on culture and arts, Honorary Member & Editor in Chief of the Croatian Society “Alexander Scriabin”

Trip to Moscow to attend a conference organized to mark the 100th anniversary of establishment of the Scriabin Museum

It is a New Year’s Eve and it is the last moment to say goodbye—can it be done better than by remembering the highlights of 2018? Of course, for me it was the participation in a conference organized to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Memorial Museum of Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, the famous Russian composer and pianist. Since I devoted to his mystic chord the entire first chapter of my book Abstract Reproductive as Productive Art: Chromatic fantasies of the Composer Alexander Scriabin, Painter Alexej Jawlensky and Pianist Ivo Pogorelich, the Scriabin Museum invited me to Moscow to present the results of my work, and to listen to what other artists and researchers have to say about Scriabin’s art. The title of the chapter is Alexander Scriabin’s Mystic Chord as a Marionette of Heinrich von Kleist, because in mystic chord I discerned a figure in motion that comes to life the moment Scriabin, like a puppeteer, from the center of his spiritual creation manages the world of sounds.

Walking around Moscow at night is a wonderful experience due to an unusual warmth radiated by this often freezing city

Vers la flamme like the flaming form of the Saint Basil’s Cathedral

After visiting Moscow, it seems to me that the mobility of the mystic chord, besides in the urban structure of this city, may even more likely have its origin in the blazing form of the Saint Basil’s Cathedral. Thus the decision to project fire during my elaboration of Scriabin’s compositions Vers la flamme (Toward the Flame) and Prometheus: The Poem of Fire in this context also proved to be appropriate—obviously neither Stravinsky was far from the same idea when he composed his world known masterpiece Firebird. It seems to me that in this picturesque church many Russian artists have found a spiritual drive for their artistic concepts, and as it is located at the very origin of Moscow, I cannot escape the impression that precisely this church is the eternal hearth of all Russians, having the power to thaw even the coldest hearts during the endless winter nights. However, I noticed the greatest interest of the audience when I presented the last picture—Sir James Fraser’s spiral illusion, and only now I realize that long before my trip to Moscow, by choosing this pictorial example, I had anticipated my future experience of the rhythm, harmony and melody of the city in which numerous Russian artists had been creating their greatest works (read more in Part 1 of this travelogue).

new acquaintances and friendships

Let’s get back to the conference—it was wonderful to exchange ideas with museum staff and professors from the Moscow and St. Petersburg Conservatories. On top of that, the place in the conference schedule reserved for my lecture was indeed a great honour: on the second day, the first lecture was given by Mo. Atanas Kurtev—Fellow of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Arts and world known pianist who teaches at numerous francophone European Conservatories, after his lecture I was the one to present my work on mystic chord, and then the podium was reserved for Mr. Alexander Serafimovich Scriabin, PhD—Scriabin’s descendant and the President of the Scriabin Fund in Moscow and the Honorary President of the UK based Scriabin Association. As I do not speak Russian, I prepared my lecture in English and sent the text to the Scriabin Museum, and colleague Areg Mekhakyan, who—in addition to preparing an extremely interesting lecture on the connection between Scriabin’s music and Eastern philosophy—was kind to translate it into Russian in order to be able to simultaneously read part by part during my presentation. This is why everyone expected me to speak English, not knowing that as expression of respect and gratitude I prepared the first few sentences in fluent Russian (I practiced proper accents for a week). I will never forget the spontaneous smile of the audience as a reaction to that surprise. Everyone was very friendly during the conference: Mr. Vladimir Popkov, the Head of the Scientific Research Department, made sure that everything develops smoothly from the first invitation letter until departure from Moscow, and one of the most fascinating people I had a chance to meet was Mrs. Valentina Vassilyevna Rubtsova, the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Music.

Everything is ready for the beginning of the conference

A. Kurtev, N. Kurtev and A. S. Scriabin—Scriabin’s Descendant

Maestro Kurtev and me during the break

Areg Mekhakyan and me taking care of the last details

I present my book below the picture of my favorite composer

Talking about Scriabin’s longing for cosmic perfection

Architecture as dialectical opposite to Scriabin’s dynamic structures

Discussing the analogy of mystic chord
and Kleist’s marionette

Analogy between the body in motion and flame

Spiral illusion by Sir James Fraser showing analogy between the end and the beginning

Plaster cast of Scriabin’s hands in the multimedia section of the museum

The multimedia space of the museum

Before departure one more walk along Arbat Street

Real life stories are often like fairy-tales

Every story that resembles a fairy-tale always has an unexpected epilogue, so this one is no different: when I returned to Zagreb, colleagues from the Scriabin Museum contacted me to inform me that on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Museum they would like to publish my entire essay on mystic chord in Russian! Since translating into a foreign language is the greatest dream of all authors, I immediately started working as 80 pages urgently needed to be translated into English so that the Museum would have enough time to translate it into Russian and publish it next year. The indication that the New Year could be as good as the past one is the best possible ending of 2018, so in Scriabin’s spirit I wish you to fulfill all of your chromatic fantasies and all the best in 2019!

“Translation into a foreign language is every author’s dream.”

“Translation into a foreign language is every author’s dream.”

Real life stories are often like fairy-tales

Every story that resembles a fairy-tale always has an unexpected epilogue, so this one is no different: when I returned to Zagreb, colleagues from the Scriabin Museum contacted me to inform me that on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Museum they would like to publish my entire essay on mystic chord in Russian! Since translating into a foreign language is the greatest dream of all authors, I immediately started working as 80 pages urgently needed to be translated into English so that the Museum would have enough time to translate it into Russian and publish it next year. The indication that the New Year could be as good as the past one is the best possible ending of 2018, so in Scriabin’s spirit I wish you to fulfill all of your chromatic fantasies and all the best in 2019!

You may also like our other publications…

Join us!

Our Society promotes the art of the great Russian composer and pianist Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin.

All Scriabin’s admirers can contribute to popularization of his art and the work of our Society—just fill the application form and send it to our email!

Travelogue: Conference in Moscow (1)

Travelogue: Conference in Moscow (Part 1)

Red Square, Moscow (photo: © Mirna Rudan Lisak)

By Mirna Rudan Lisak, PhD

PhD from the Zagreb Arts Academy, Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture, Advisor at the Zagreb City Office for Culture, Fellow of the French Government, author of a book and numerous essays, gave a series of lectures on culture and arts, Honorary Member & Editor in Chief of the Croatian Society “Alexander Scriabin”

Trip to Moscow to attend a conference organized to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Scriabin Museum

It is October and I am finally in Moscow, a city that I have always wanted to visit because this is where my favorite composer Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin lived and worked (Moscow, January 6, 1872—Moscow, April 27, 1915). His apartment is located right next to Arbat Street, which has been described in numerous Russian literary works, and since Bulgakov in his mystical novel The Master and Margarita even evoked a flight over it, I decided that the chosen hotel would have to be in it, or at least in the closest possible neighborhood (I still hoped that, unlike the poet Homeless and editor Berlioz, I would avoid a sudden encounter with the devil). Realizing that the hotel I liked was located in the Composer’s Street, there was no longer any doubt where to stay, and the Google Maps showed that Scriabin’s and Pushkin’s museums were only a two or three minute walk away.

The famous Arbat Street in which the main protagonists of numerous Russian literary works spent unforgettable moments

Synesthesia-based interdisciplinarity

The building where Scriabin lived is completely transformed into his Memorial Museum. On the ground floor there is a hall for chamber concerts, exhibitions, lectures, etc., while on the first floor one can enjoy the original preserved Scriabin’s apartment and his Bechstein piano, which later played numerous famous pianists (Sofronitsky, Neuhaus, Horowitz, Van Cliburn, Pletnev, etc.). The adjacent building has also recently been refurbished in order to create a bigger concert hall (it is necessary to pass the courtyard to get there), and it is worth mentioning that the hall is enriched with light effects, reminding us that Scriabin was a visionary far ahead of his of time, laying the foundations of the modern light-show. It is commonly believed that Scriabin, influenced by synaesthesia—a phenomenon characterised by the interaction of the senses, became aware that each musical tonality corresponds to a certain colour. Following this idea, in his famous composition Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, he composed a section for light organ in order to translate musical harmonies into color structures.  (more on the matter in my book Abstract Reproductive as Productive Art). Consequently, his colour system, grounded in Newton’s optics, is in harmony with the circle of quints (a five tone span), which is demonstrated on a light device from the early 20th century (picture with colorful light bulbs).

Moscow as a huge Fibonacci spiral

This trip once again confirmed that it is highly desirable to travel to the city where an artist lived and worked. Just like in Prague, where it becomes clear that Kafka’s The Metamorphosis could not have been written anywhere else, in Moscow it becomes clear that Scriabin’s flexible melody structures, rich in chromatics and thus challenging for the performer’s memory, may have its origins in the urban structure of his city. It was really difficult to develop a sense of space, i.e. to determine the north and the south; in fact in Moscow it is almost impossible to orient at first. Therefore, if I had to describe Moscow in one word, it would be the word “maelstrom.” The moment you immerse in the spirit and essence of this city, you feel that—not even knowing how—you have suddenly found yourself in a huge Fibonacci spiral, and in that particular moment the only thing you can do is to close circle by circle step by step, in the rhythm of Shostakovich’s Waltz No. 2., until you reach the very point of its origin, where at once you get overwhelmed with the shine of the flaming and picturesque beauty of Saint Basil’s Cathedral. It must be that Ivan the Terrible was not so terrible after all, leaving such a fabulous building behind, but the moment you reluctantly decide to leave, you realize that Shostakovich’s elegant waltz has turned into Khachaturian’s fateful three-fourths tact, and in this masked acceleration, to me it is still not clear how after Red Square I found myself in front of the Bolshoi Theater, because I was sure it was on the opposite side. 

Entrance to the Memorial Museum of A. N. Scriabin

The hall on the ground floor of the Scriabin Museum

Staircase leading to Scriabin’s first floor apartment

Scriabin’s famous Bechstein

Scriabin’s colour system taking as base the Optics of Isaac Newton and circle of quints

This is how it looks when the light bulbs are on

On the left side of the closet is a small cabinet with a tail coat and white gloves

Another Scriabin’s piano and his picture above

Living room

Plaster cast of Scriabin’s hands

Scriabin’s bedroom

The courtyard leading to the concert hall

Climbing to the gallery

Concert Hall—gallery view

Concert hall under the glow of light effects

Walk to Red Square—on the left the statue of General Zhukov

The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed peers out the opposite side of Red Square

In front of Saint Basil’s Cathedral

The Red Square dimensions are perfect for claustrophobic people

The fairy-tale interior of St. Basil’s Cathedral

At the top of the dome a spiral analogy with the urban structure of Moscow

A little more of the fairy-tale interior of the cathedral

View from the first floor of the cathedral

Impressive building of the Bolshoi Theater

Giselle on the repertoire

View from the Bolshoi Theater towards Red Square

Transience of fame

The story is already too long for today, and the goal was not to document every single detail of the trip (much less in the chronological order), but to convey a breath of atmosphere and inspire someone else to travel to Moscow and get acquainted with the character and work of artist known for an unusual destiny, because just a few were so famous like Scribin during their lifetimes, and so quickly forgotten after death.

“This trip once again confirmed that it is highly desirable to travel to the city where researched artist lived and worked.”

“This trip once again confirmed that it is highly desirable to travel to the city where researched artist lived and worked.”

Transience of fame

The story is already too long for today, and the goal was not to document every single detail of the trip (much less in the chronological order), but to convey a breath of atmosphere and inspire someone else to travel to Moscow and get acquainted with the character and work of artist known for an unusual destiny, because just a few were so famous like Scribin during their lifetimes, and so quickly forgotten after death.

You may also like our other publications…

Join us!

Our Society promotes the art of the great Russian composer and pianist Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin.

All Scriabin’s admirers can contribute to popularization of his art and the work of our Society—just fill the application form and send it to our email!

Program of the Croatian Society “Alexander Scriabin” is supported by the City of Zagreb

Multidisciplinary Virtual Installation

MULTIDISCIPLINARY VIRTUAL INSTALLATION

By Mirna Rudan Lisak, PhD

PhD from the Zagreb Arts Academy, Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture, Advisor at the Zagreb City Office for Culture, Fellow of the French Government, author of a book and numerous essays, gave a series of lectures on culture and arts, Honorary Member & Editor in Chief of the Croatian Society “Alexander Scriabin”

Synthesis of Scriabin, Jawlensky and Pogorelich in a virtual installation

In my doctoral research, which I conducted at the Zagreb Arts Academy from October 2010 to June 2013, the analysis of artistic achievements of the composer Alexander Scriabin, painter Alexej Jawlensky and pianist Ivo Pogorelich was an introduction to my practical work. I was aiming to synthesize knowledge gained from five branches of art (painting , music, literature, architecture and dance), but also from art theory and philosophy, as well as from science. The transfer of knowledge led me to a better understanding of art and numerous artistic practices and helped me build the concept of my own artwork as the final dialectical synthesis and the completion of my research. Thus, in the abstract virtual space a multidisciplinary light installation was created—it was designed for Pogorelich’s performance of Scriabin’s piano pieces, with a simultaneous projection of Jawlensky’s painting series entitled Abstract Heads.

Multidisciplinary virtual light installation designed during my doctoral studies at the Zagreb Arts Academy

Meeting of painting and music at THE common platform

I studied these previously unrelated artists (Scriabin, Jawlensky and Pogorelich) and their work together hoping to arrive at the common platform where I think painting and music meet. Thus my installation purports to show the productive aspects in reproductive art and is built as a counterpoint of independent ideas interacting in a common thought structure. It is set up on Lake Lugano, which is not a mere coincidence when we know that all three artists began showing a growing interest in abstraction in Switzerland. Furthermore, my 3D multimedia projection sets up Scriabin’s serialism in music in space, and the pictorial serialism of Jawlensky is presented so as to show how it occupies time. Simultaneously, I achieve a sense of simulated motion through a system of lasers responding to Pogorelich’s changing body gravity. The lasers are my interpretation of Scriabin’s colour system, taking as base the quint circle and Isaac Newton’s optics. As this project will not in actuality be played out so that real people could in reality assume their assigned roles, as a multidisciplinary author I am responsible for the entire creative input. The visual content and computer projection are accompanied by my own performance of Scriabin’s composition for the piano Feuillet d’album, Op. 58. Originally, however, the installation was designed for Pogorelich’s performance of Scriabin’s piano pieces.

Screening at the International Experimental Video-Art Festival

After the screening at the Zagreb Arts Academy, I did not want my video-work to end up in an archive room, so I was thrilled when International ArtExpo in collaboration with MECA (Mediterráneo Centro Artístico) selected my installation to be presented during the International Experimental Video-Art Festival Pixels of Identities, which was to be held in October 2014 in the Museum of the City of Almeria in Spain. The Museum won two awards in 2004 (PAD and ARCO), and in 2005 the museum building was a finalist in the Fostering Arts and Design (FAD) Awards. Also, in 2008 it won an honorary prize in the European Museum of the Year competition (organized by the European Museum Forum), and as a public institution founded in 1934, it celebrated its 80th birthday in 2014. During the anniversary celebration my light installation was projected.

Award-winning Museo de Almería (Spain)

Fascinating architectural design of the museum interior

An oval-like construction of the installation whose sections synthesize dialectical ellipticity and perfect circle

From the basic idea I build my conceptual project

5

Discarding excess parts creates the basic form of the installation

Transparent construction of the light installation

Installation floating on the Lake Lugano

 Installation under the influence of light effects

I bring the schematic representation of the pianist into the installation’s centre of gravity—after adding music my video is finished

ITSLIQUID interviewed two authors

When I thought there was nothing more to be done to make the story of my light installation the one with a beautiful ending, shortly before the closure of the festival I was approached by the festival partner ITSLIQUID (International Platform for Contemporary Art, Architecture and Design). I was asked for an interview so that wider audience would be informed of my recent work, which their expert team rated as highly interesting.

“In my installation, Abstract Heads blend into one another to show that serial painting takes on a temporal dimension in addition to the spatial one, despite Vassily Kandinsky’s claim that painting, unlike music, is not provided with this possibility.”

“In my installation, Abstract Heads blend into one another to show that serial painting takes on a temporal dimension in addition to the spatial one, despite Vassily Kandinsky’s claim that painting, unlike music, is not provided with this possibility.”

ITSLIQUID interviewed two artists

When I thought there was nothing more to be done to make the story of my light installation the one with a beautiful ending, shortly before the closure of the festival I was approached by the festival partner ITSLIQUID (International Platform for Contemporary Art, Architecture and Design). I was asked for an interview so that wider audience would be informed of my recent work, which their expert team rated as highly interesting.

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