Review of the year in the Surikov State Art Institute
Best Russian Art School from within
About academism, courses, atmosphere and results
To write about the V.I. Surikov State Art Institute (in common “Surikovka”) I decided, at the moment when I first entered it’s building, in September 2018. Finally, a year later (🐌), I’m ready to make a full review about the institute, courses I visited, and my personal results and conclusions about it all.
Art is in the air
When I approached the institute, I noticed an ordinary grey Russian building, no different from hundreds of others in Moscow. I could not even imagine that I would open the door to Narnia. There was a strange sensation of teleportation from an ordinary Moscow street into an old abandoned castle …
Perhaps this feeling is connected with the monumental Winged Victory of Samothrace, which stands rignt at the entrance, surrounded by other sculptures, frescoes and paintings. And to all this beauty it is somehow romantically falling light, through small stained glass windows. The building, ordinary-looking outside, suddenly turns out to be a fairy tale inside.
The walls and stairs of the Surikovka are also hung with paintings, icons and frescoes of the students, and entire space is filled with sculptures, architectural models and fresh works.
The courtyard is also decorated with different sculptures.
The studios, where the classes themselves took place, are cosily cluttered with artistic tools.
Surprisingly, none of the famous museums I visited (except for the Vatican Museum) has yet conveyed this atmosphere to me. Probably, they are too renovated, clean, commercial… And in the shabby oily walls of the Surikovka, I found this elusive spirit of spontaneity and freedom, which is the engine of creativity.
Several times a year Russian universities hold open days for everyone. Art schools ask their students to hang the best works for visitors to see. If you will be in Russia, instead of museum you can visit one of the Russian art institutes during Open days (see the dates on websites). They will be much more atmospheric and authentic than any museum. And also absolutely free.
More photos at the end of the story.
My results
The V.I. Surikov State Art Institute hold higher, additional higher education, as well as one-year courses. Faculties are divided into painting, sculpture, graphics, architecture and theory of art. I attended annual courses of painting and drawing (Oct. — June). And the conclusions relate to these courses.
To study on those courses, it is not necessary to have any experience (art, courses, education, etc.). There are many groups, and before first lesson you are asked whether you have any experience in drawing, and based on your answer they determine you as a group from zero to an advanced level (the cost of the course is aprox. 200$/month). In our group, everyone had experience in drawing, one woman even had an education in graphics.
I spend every Saturday from 10 a.m. till late evening in the Surikovka. During this year, I tried various materials — pencil, coal, watercolour and finally oil. The first classes we began with pencil and watercolor an academic technic drawing geometric objects and folds of fabric.
Then, after three months I started to practice oil painting and began not only to draw objects but also choose topics of my still life compositions.
Once we even managed to go out to open air painting. It was amazing experience. I’ve realised how undervalued is drawing in the studio with all tools around and with facilities to eat, sit and wash the hands. On a contrary, when you go out to open air painting you need to take whole studio with you! In addition, you need to capture the painting as much as possible at once, because then to come to the same place and catch same angle, the light and objects are much more difficult than to do it under an electric lamp in the studio.
Conclusions about Art School in Russia
1// The result only depends on you
Despite the presence of a program, we were free to choose the materials, topics, objects, time for each work. The main goal of this course is to prepare adults for additional higher education in the Surikovka. However, many students attend courses without goal of further enrol. As a result, mentors do not put much pressure on students.
At the end of the course, no one will properly test the results of student and teacher work. Our exhibition of paintings took place in the institutes’ gym, where we put our works on the floor. Then the group of teachers came and asked us to wait behind closed doors for around 10 minutes. After that they called us and said some general words of congratulations. Unfortunately, we did not get from them any ratings or feedback about our personal results. However, I hope that students and teachers at higher education are tested much more strictly.
2// Academism
The V.I. Surikov State Art Institute follows the traditions of Russian school of painting. Big emphasis is placed on the technique of drawing. It was difficult to me, as a graphic designer to forget about the metaphor in the drawing and to write composition of objects without investing a special meaning in it.
Illustrative example was when my classmates took all the objects from our locker, and from leftovers I found some interesting things— vintage Soviet luggage and camera “Zenit” and plastic banana. A plot formed in my head — “Soviet tourist’s evening”. I had to beg my teacher to convince him to give me the go-ahead for this non-standard work for Surikovka. The whole class was laughing at my choice (without bad intent). Subsequently, some of them also wanted to write this still life, and for me it remained the most favourite work of mine.
Another example is that an artist who was born in the USSR and is living in the USA today — Ilya Kabakov. He graduated in the Surikovka, but is not included in the list of famous graduates of the institute. Perhaps it is due to his refusal of classical painting toward conceptualism. Ilya Kabakov receive awards of Oskar Kokoschka, Praemium Imperiale from Imperial family of Japan and also famous as the most expensive Russian artist of our time.
The V.I. Surikov State Art Institute still teach according to the classical ancient Roman canons of beauty — parts of the body of David, Venus, a bust of Aphrodite, a bowl of fruits and bottles, still favourite subjects of all still lifes.
However, I am really grateful that due to strive to follow a traditional school of drawing, I managed to understand a stroke, shade, light, color and a little bit of composition; mastered coal, watercolor and oil.
About the Surikovka
The Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov is an old university whose roots began in Russian Empire. In the USSR it was united with Stroganov School to establish Vkhutemas — Higher Art and Technical Studios, in which the world stars of painting and design, such as Wassily Kandinsky, El Lissitzky, Alexander Rodchenko and other brilliant artists taught.
In 1948, the institute was named after Vasily Surikov, a Russian realistic history painter, whose works described significant events of Russian history. Unfortunately, I could not find any story about the choice of the name of the institute.
Nowadays, the V.I. Surikov State Art Institute is one of the four institutions of the Russian Academy of Arts. The main goal of this organisation is to preserve and develop the traditions of the Russian academic school. Thus, education in Surikovka strictly follows the classical system of the Russian school of painting.
Plenty of foreigners come to study this Russian academic school of painting in the Surikovka. The V.I. Surikov State Art Institute divides the first place in rating among the art schools of Russia together with the Repin Art Institute in St. Petersburg.
And finally, when you leave the institute, the building is no longer seems to be so ordinary. You start to notice sculptures, busts and paintings in windows of the institute as if only you see this building while others around are not able to notice it.
