TRAVEL TUESDAY #136 - KIEV, UKRAINE

“A friendly word is better than a heavy cake.” – Ukrainian Proverb 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Kiev (Ukrainian: Київ) is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper. The population in July 2015 was 2,887,974 (though higher estimated numbers have been cited in the press), making Kiev the 7th most populous city in Europe. Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and world-famous historical landmarks. The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport, including the Kiev Metro.

The city’s name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary founders. During its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial centre as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kiev was a tributary of the Khazars, until seized by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of the Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state.

Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours; first the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, followed by Poland and Russia. The city prospered again during the Russian Empire’s Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. In 1917, after the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence from the Russian Empire, Kiev became its capital.

From 1921 onwards Kiev was a city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was proclaimed by the Red Army, and, from 1934, Kiev was its capital. During World War II, the city again suffered significant damage, but quickly recovered in the post-war years, remaining the third largest city of the Soviet Union. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence in 1991, Kiev remained the capital of Ukraine and experienced a steady migration influx of ethnic Ukrainians from other regions of the country.

During the country’s transformation to a market economy and electoral democracy, Kiev has continued to be Ukraine’s largest and richest city. Kiev’s armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science and technology. But new sectors of the economy such as services and finance facilitated Kiev’s growth in salaries and investment, as well as providing continuous funding for the development of housing and urban infrastructure. Kiev emerged as the most pro-Western region of Ukraine where parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

ART SUNDAY - ARKHIP KUINDZHI

“A picture is a poem without words.” – Horace   

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi (or Kuinji; Russian: Архи́п Ива́нович Куи́нджи; Ukrainian: Архи́п Іва́нович Куї́нджі; January 27, 1842(?) – July 24, 1910) was a Russian landscape painter of Greek descent. 

Arkhip Kuindzhi was born in January 1842 (1841?) in Mariupol (nowadays Ukraine). His Christian name is a Russian and Ukrainian rendering of the Greek, Ἄρχιππος, (Archippos, from ἄρχων (archon) “master” and ἱππος (hippos) “horse”, i.e. “master of horses”; cf. Colossians 4:17;) and his surname came from his grandfather’s vocational nickname meaning “goldsmith” in Tatar (cf. Turkish, kuyumcu).

He grew up in a poor family; his father was a Greek shoemaker, Ivan Khristoforovich Kuindzhi (sometimes spelt Emendzhi). Arkhip was six years old when he lost his parents, so he was forced to make a living working at a church building site, grazing domestic animals, and working at the corn merchant’s shop. He received the rudiments of an education from a Greek friend of the family who was a teacher and then went to the local school. In 1855, at age 13–14, Kuindzhi visited Feodosia to study art under Ivan Aivazovsky, however, he was engaged merely with mixing paints and instead studied with Adolf Fessler, Aivazovsky’s student.

A 1903 encyclopaedic article stated: “Although Kuindzhi cannot be called a student of Aivazovsky, the latter had without doubt some influence on him in the first period of his activity; from whom he borrowed much in the manner of painting.” English art historian John E. Bowlt wrote that “…the elemental sense of light and form associated with Aivazovsky’s sunsets, storms, and surging oceans permanently influenced the young Kuindzhi.” 

During the five years from 1860 to 1865, Kuindzhi worked as a retoucher in the photography studio of Simeon Isakovich in Taganrog. He tried to open his own photography studio, but without success. After that Kuindzhi left Taganrog for Saint Petersburg. He studied painting mainly independently and at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (from 1868; a full member since 1893). He was co-partner of travelling art exhibitions (Peredvizhniki), a group of Russian realist artists who in protest to academic restrictions formed an artists’ cooperative which evolved into the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki) in 1870.

In 1872 the artist left the academy and worked as a freelancer. The painting “On the Valaam Island” was the first artwork which Pavel Tretyakov acquired for his art gallery. In 1873 Kuindzhi exhibited his painting “The Snow”, which received the bronze medal at the International Art Exhibition in London in 1874. In the middle of the 1870s he created a number of paintings in which the landscape motif was designed for concrete social associations in the spirit of Peredvizhniki (“Forgotten Village”, 1874; “Chumatski Path”, 1875; both – in the Tretyakov Gallery).

In his mature period Kuindzhy aspired to capture the most expressive illuminative aspect of the natural condition. He applied composite receptions (high horizon, etc.), creating panoramic views. Using light effects and intense colours shown in main tones, he depicted the illusion of naturalistic lighting effects (“Evening in Ukraine”, 1876; “Birch Grove”, 1879; “After a Thunderstorm”, 1879; all three are in the Tretyakov Gallery; “Night on the Dniepr”, 1880 in the Russian Museum, St.Petersburg).

His later works are remarkable for their decorative effects of colour building. Kuindzhi lectured at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (Professor since 1892; professor-head of landscape workshop since 1894; but was fired in 1897 for support of students’ protests). Among his students were artists such as Arkady Rylov, Nicholas Roerich, Konstantin Bogaevsky, and others. Kuindzhi initiated creation of the Society of Artists (1909; later – the Society was named after A.I. Kuindzhi).

The painting above is his “Morning on the Dniepr” and shows his mastery of light and space, with a deceptively simple composition and a reduction of detail in the background that makes it seem quite modern, although most his landscapes would be described as “realistic”.

ART SUNDAY - ALEXANDER BOGOMAZOV

“I think cubism has not fully been developed. It is treated like a style, pigeonholed and that’s it.” - David Hockney 

Alexander Bogomazov or Oleksandr Bohomazov (Russian: Александр Константинович Богомазов, Ukrainian: Олександр Костянтинович Богомазов; born April 7, 1880 in Yampol, Russian Empire – died on June 3, 1930 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) was a Ukrainian painter, known artist and modern art theoretician of the Russian Avant-garde (historically the term “Russian Avant-garde” refers to the art of all countries which were parts of Russia/USSR in the beginning of 20th century). In 1914, Alexander wrote his treatise “The Art of Painting and the Elements”. In it he analysed the interaction between Object, Artist, Picture, and Spectator and sets the theoretical foundation of modern art. During his artistic life Alexander Bogomazov mastered several art styles. The most known are Cubo-Futurism (1913–1917) and Spectralism (1920–1930).

Alexander Bogomazov was born in Yampol, Kharkov Governorate, as a second child to Konstantin Bogomazov. His mother Anisia abandoned the family shorty after his baptism. His ethnic background was Russian, yet Alexander spent virtually all his life in Kiev. From 1896 to 1902, Aleksander Bogomazov attended the Institute for Agriculture in Kherson. From 1902 to 1905, he attended the Kiev Art School (KKHU), at the same time he had close contact with Alexander Archipenko and Aleksandra Ekster.

In 1905, he participated in political demonstrations and strikes. In the same year he was expelled from the Kiev Art School. In 1906, he studied in the studio of S. Swiatoslavskiy. Bogomazov had an exhibition in Kiev, together with Archipenko. That year he moved to Moscow and became the student of Fyodor Rerberg and Konstantin Yuon. In 1907, he returned to Kiev. After 1907, he had regular exhibitions in Kiev, including the Association of Russian Artists and the Moscow Society of Independent Artists. In 1908, he participated in the exhibition with the group of artists Zveno (“The Link”) in Kiev together with David Burliuk, Wladimir Burliuk, Aleksandra Ekster and others.

In 1911, he journeyed to Finland. From 1912 to 1915, he taught at a school for the deaf and mute in Kiev. From 1913 to 1914, he studied the works of the Italian Futurists. At this time he developed art theories, and published his essay The Art of Painting and the Elements. In 1914, he organized the exhibition Kiltse (“The Ring”) in Kiev, together with Aleksandra Ekster, Eugène Konopatzky among others. In 1915, Bogomazov moved to the Caucasus, where he worked as a teacher and painter. In 1919, he taught at the First State Studio for Paintings and Decorative art in Kiev. From 1919 to 1920, he was the Head of the Department for Art Education in the Ukrainian Commissariat for Visual Art. At the same time he was the co-founder of the Ukrainian Agitprop Movement, and created designs for the Agitprom movement.

From 1922 to 1930, he taught at the Kiev Art Academy (KKHI) together with Vadim Meller, Vladimir Tatlin, Victor Palmov. In 1927, he was a founding member of the Association of the Revolutionary Masters of Ukraine (ARMU), together with D.Burliuk, V.Meller, V.Palmov, V. Yermilov and others. In the same year, he participated in the All-Ukrainian Exhibition Ten years October (Kharkov, Kiev, Odessa), together with Tatlin, Meller, Palmov, Epshtein among others. Alexander Bogomazov died on June 3, 1930 in Kiev.

The painting above is his “Sharpening Saws” of 1927.

MUSIC SATURDAY - BORTNIANSKY

“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.” - Søren Kierkegaard 

Dmytro Stepanovych Bortniansky (Ukrainian: Дмитрiй Степанович Бортнянський) or Dmitry Stepanovych Bortniansky (Russian: Дмитрий Степанович Бортнянский; 28 October 1751–10 October [O.S. 28 September] 1825) was a Russian composer and conductor of Ukrainian origin. Bortniansky is best known today for his liturgical works and his prolific contributions to the genre of choral concertos. He was one of the “Golden Three” of his era, along with Artem Vedel and Maksym Berezovsky. Bortniansky composed in many different musical styles, including choral compositions in French, Italian, Latin, German and Church Slavonic.

Bortniansky was born on 28 October 1751 in the city of Glukhov (in present-day Ukraine), then a part of the autonomous Cossack Hetmanate within the Russian Empire, into the family of Stefan Skurat (or Shkurat), a Lemko-Rusyn Orthodox religious refugee from the village of Bortne in the Malopolska region (he was entered in the Cossack register at Glukhov in 1755). At the age of seven, Dmytro’s prodigious talent at the local church choir afforded him the opportunity to go the capital of the empire and sing with the Imperial Chapel Choir in St. Petersburg. There he studied music and composition under the director of the Imperial Chapel Choir, the Italian master Baldassare Galuppi. When Galuppi left for Italy in 1769, he took the boy with him. In Italy, Bortniansky gained considerable success composing operas: ‘Creonte’ (1776) and ‘Alcide’ (1778) in Venice, and ‘Quinto Fabio’ (1779) at Modena. He also composed sacred works in Latin and German, both a cappella and with orchestral accompaniment (including an Ave Maria for two voices and orchestra).

Bortniansky returned to the Saint Petersburg Court Capella in 1779 and flourished creatively. He composed at least four more operas (all in French, with libretti by Franz-Hermann Lafermière): ‘Le Faucon’ (1786), ‘La fête du seigneur’ (1786), ‘Don Carlos’ (1786), and ‘Le fils-rival’ ou ‘La moderne Stratonice’ (1787). Bortniansky wrote a number of instrumental works at this time, including piano sonatas and a piano quintet with harp, and a cycle of French songs. He also composed liturgical music for the Orthodox Church, combining the Eastern and Western European styles of sacred music, incorporating the polyphony he learned in Italy; some works were polychoral, using a style descended from the Venetian polychoral technique of the Gabrielis.

 After a while, Bortniansky's genius proved too great to ignore, and in 1796 he was appointed Director of the Imperial Chapel Choir, the first director not to have been imported from outside of the Russian Empire. With such a great instrument at his disposal, he produced scores upon scores of compositions, including over 100 religious works, sacred concertos (35 for four-part mixed choir, 10 for double choruses), cantatas, and hymns. Dmytro Bortniansky died in St. Petersburg on 10 October 1825, and was interred at the Smolensky Cemetery in St. Petersburg. His remains were transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in the 20th century.

In 1882, Tchaikovsky edited the liturgical works of Bortniansky, which were published in ten volumes. While Bortniansky wrote operas and instrumental compositions, it is his sacred choral works that are performed most often today. This vast body of work remains central not only to understanding 18th-century Orthodox sacred music, but also served as inspiration to his fellow Ukrainian composers in the 19th century. The tune he wrote for the Latin hymn ‘Tantum Ergo’ eventually became known in Slavic lands as Коль славен (Kol slaven), in which form it is still sung as a church hymn today.

The tune was also popular with freemasons. It travelled to English-speaking countries and came to be known by the names Russia, St. Petersburg or Wells. In Germany, the song was paired with a text by Gerhard Tersteegen, and became a well-known chorale and traditional part of the military ceremony Großer Zapfenstreich (the Grand Tattoo), the highest ceremonial act of the German army, rendered as an honour for distinguished persons on special occasions. Prior to the October revolution in 1917, the tune was played by the Moscow Kremlin carillon every day at midday. James Blish, who novelized many episodes of the original series of Star Trek, noted in one story, Whom Gods Destroy, that Bortniansky’s ‘Ich bete an die Macht der Liebe’ was the theme “to which all Starfleet Academy classes marched to their graduation.” Bortniansky also composed “The Angel Greeted the Gracious One” (hymn to the Mother of God used at Pascha) as a trio used by many Orthodox churches in the Easter season.

 Here are some of his Choral Concertos (Sacred Concertos No. 24-29), with the Russian State Symphonic Cappella conducted by Valeri Polyansky, recorded in the Dormition Cathedral of Smolensk and St Sophia’s Cathedral, Polotsk 1989-90.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” - John F. Kennedy

I must say that current events lately have put me in rather pessimistic mood. The continuing bizarre events and announcements from North Korea regarding bombing the White House with a nuclear bomb, the continuing problems in Iraq and the declaration of a Caliphate, the situation in Syria, with decapitations and hundreds of dead daily, the unrelenting and mounting open warfare and increasing instability in Israel between Palestinians and the Jews, the Ukrainian civil war, etc, etc…

No wonder that my poor addled brain gave up trying to come up with some explanation for all this. Some attempt at looking at the past, divining the future and seeing why all this is happening in the here and now, proved fruitless. Like Helen Keller, “I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace.”  A poem was all I could come up with...

Explanation

It’s all because:

There is no grain of truth

From which to grind the flour of concord,

No meal of happiness from which to bake a loaf of peace.

The water’s brackish so the thirst of knowledge won’t be quenched,

The mind athirst shall drink of bile, vinegar and blood,

The soul will sour, the heart will parch.

There is no freedom

From which to mould our dreams,

No images of hope to take delight in.

The food of love is lacking, for the birds are long now silent,

The music of the singing blood hushed long ago.

Spleen is with bitterness replete, brain rots,

And only teeth and nails still function faultlessly,

Ready to slash and bite ideals,

Poised to shred beliefs and gouge out seeds of dreams.

MUSIC SATURDAY - REQUIEM FOR MH17

“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.” - Ernest Hemingway

The world is reeling from the senseless loss of Malaysia Airlines MH17, the second such tragedy to hit the airline in the last few months. The circumstances behind this latest tragedy are reprehensible. Warfare hits the most innocent the hardest and this is a case in point. The Ukrainian crisis is fanned by politicians pro- or contra-Russian who wish to come into power and reap personal benefits. I am sure the Ukrainian people would not mind who is in power if they were assured of a decent life that affords them the necessities to live a content and dignified existence.

Each passenger on the doomed flight has a personal story to tell that mirrors that of innocent civilians in Ukraine that have lost their lives in the savage internecine warfare. Hundreds of dreams, hopes, aspirations; thousands of young lives cut short, stories of unrealised potential. Stories of experience and talent lost, families destroyed, relationships wrecked, so many fine minds destroyed, so much waste…

As we try and cope with the tragic deaths of crew and passengers of flight MH17, we also remember the innocent Ukrainian civilians lost in the power struggles that wreak havoc in the troubled land of Ukraine. Here is a musical offering to remember them by and to wish them to rest in peace: Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem”, op. 48, with André Cluytens, Orchestre De La Société Des Concerts Du Conservatoire, Victoria De Los Angeles, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

ART SUNDAY - PYSANKY

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” -
Pope John Paul II

Happy Easter to those of you celebrating this holiday on this Sunday!

The day has been a glorious one here in Melbourne and many people have been out celebrating, on vacation as well as in churches. We are in a strange season this time of the year – traces of summer with heat and bright sunlight during the day, but cool nights and even a little dew in the morning.

Easter has been traditionally a spring and fertility holiday that was syncretised with the resurrection of Christ when Chrsitiniaty overtook the pagan religions of Europe. Eggs are associated with springtime because the rooster is considered the herald of the sun and because egg production increases in springtime. Thus, from ancient time decorated eggs were believed to help the cycle of the seasons and to bring on spring and the new growth of animals and crops; the potential to bring fertility was enhanced by the symbols.

Ukrainian decorated eggs or pysanky, are world famous for the richness of the designs and colours. The designs drawn on the egg include ears of wheat, grapes, rakes, cross-hatchings symbolizing the plowed field, pictures of chicks, rams and other farm animals, and, of course, pictures of the sun. Decorated eggs were buried in fields to transfer their fecundity productiveness to the earth and in houses to protect the home. Archaeological excavations of these buried eggs tell us how ancient pysanky are. When Christianity came to Ukraine, pysanky acquired a Christian meaning. They became Easter eggs. Old symbols were reinterpreted in the Christian context. Thus, representations of the sun, the four-spoked solar wheel, for example, came to represent the cross. New symbols were added and pictures of churches were drawn on eggs, as were the first letters of the words “Christ is risen”.

Pysanka comes from the word "to write" - pysaty. Making Easter Eggs in Ukraine dates back to thousands of years. Many Slavic groups paint eggs with their own interpretations. The writing of Easter eggs was suppressed by the Soviets in the past century and many beautifully decorated eggs were destroyed in museum. Throughout Ukraine the pysanka has enjoyed a resurgence as with other customs. Every region decorates eggs in their own distinctive style and meaning.

Another form of the pysanky which is also very common at Easter time are the krashanky. It comes from the verb - krasyty - to color, to dye. The eggs are dyed a one single color. Years ago Ukrainians used various varieties of plant material to color the eggs. A very popular method even now is to save onions skins for any months and then boil them in water. The eggs are dropped in later, boiled and turn out various shades of brown.

Symbols of Easter Eggs can be grouped into 6 main categories which are: 1) solar symbols, 2) bezkonechnyk - never ending lines, 3) plant symbols, 4) animal symbols, 5) geometric symbols and 6) Christian symbols. When Ukrainians accepted Christianity in 988 AD, the eight-pointed star, the then sign of a sungod, became a symbol of Christ. Dots depict stars in the heavens, and also recall Mary's tears when a legend tells, Pilate refused her plea for mercy. Deer and other animals of the Carpathian Mountains signify prosperity. Waves and ribbons circling an egg, without beginning or end suggest eternity. Originally pysanky symbolized the release of the earth from the shackles of winter and the coming of spring with its promise of new hope, new life, health and prosperity. Folklore has it that a decorated egg can avert any evil, bring good crops, and help a young maiden to win the man of her desire. After the advent of Christianity, the decorated eggs took the new symbols of the Resurrection with its promise of a better world.

Colours also have a symbolic meaning. Some examples: Yellow - is the symbol of light and purity. It speaks of youth, happiness, the harvest, hospitality, love and benevolence. It is the colour consecrated to the light deities and is the Christian symbol of recognition and reward. Red - the magical colour of folklore is considered a positive colour signifying action, fire, charity, spiritual awakening. It also glorifies the sun and the joy of life and love. In Christian symbolism, it denotes the divine love and passion of Christ. As seen in spring renewals, green symbolizes the breaking of shackles, freedom from bondage. It is the color of fertility, freshness, health and hope. In the Christian context, it represents bountifulness, hope and the victory of life over death. It is the color of Christmas, Easter and Epiphany. Blue carries with it wishes for good health, blue skies or the life-giving air.

Pysanky are magic symbols of life. The egg itself is magic in that it resembles an inert object, and yet contains the potential for a new life, of food for those already living. When they become pysanky, eggs are become more magical in that they are dyed. This is done using a technique similar to batik: Colours are protected with beeswax from subsequent dyes, rather than painted on. As an egg is worked, colour after colour disappears under the dark wax, to be magically revealed at the end when the wax is removed.

Many folk tales have been told about the origins of Ukrainian Easter Eggs. These stories may vary 
somewhat from one to another, but all show the importance Ukrainians placed on their pysanky. A legend that is 1,000 years old tells of a young woman who was on her way home 
one morning from the market in town with a basket of eggs and a jug of fresh water. When she 
was traveling the home to her home, she met a stranger sitting on a rock. Thinking He must 
be tired, she offered Him a drink of her water and was startled to see there were wounds on 
His hands. The stranger said nothing but accepted her offer and then continued on His way. 
When the woman arrived at her home, she uncovered her basket and discovered her eggs 
were transformed into pysanky. The stranger was Jesus Christ - and that morning was the first Easter.

Another story tells of a poor peddlar who was on his way to market to sell his basket of eggs when
 he came upon a crowd who was mocking and jeering a man carrying a heavy cross. The peddlar ran 
to help the man carry the cross for a while. When the peddlar returned to his basket of eggs by the
roadside, he found that they had been transformed into beautiful pysanky. The peddlar was 
Simon the Cyrenian, the man carrying the heavy cross was Christ.

A legend sometimes told is of one year long ago when birds who were traveling south 
were surprised by a sudden sharp freeze. The poor creatures fell to the ground, too frozen to fly. The generous Ukrainian peasants took the birds into their homes and nursed
 them until spring when they could fly away on their own. In gratitude for the kindness shown, 
the birds returned with decorated eggs for the peasants who saved their lives. And so, it is said, ever since then, eggs are decorated in beautiful pysanky every spring.