Anton and Pavel Yakushevs. WAR UNDER LEAVES Automatic translate

"War is an event contrary to the human mind and all human nature."
Lev Tolstoy

The theme of war, like the theme of love, is eternal. And the forms of its comprehension and embodiment are endless.

In the works of metal artists Anton and Pavel Yakushev, the image of war is both a retrospection that refers to the great battles of the past and an introspection that accurately captures the present moment. The destruction of the consciousness of modern man is manifested here in the very concept of central images: war is the inhumanization of man at all levels. The images here are ambiguous, and the meanings are diametrically opposite. Each work reveals the polar facets of meanings: the apotheosis of evil, death, and, on the contrary, the tragedy of humanity mutilated by war, which is already seen beyond the limits of real life. Legless and armless soldiers move towards impossible, impossible goals, to unborn children. These wanderers with teapots and knapsacks at the ready are doomed to eternal freedom. The metaphor of the present here is the image of a shot time, which, unlike the soft spreading time of Dali, is rude and material. And a special style of small forms, different from monumental art, creates a strong emotional tension: a disturbing association with the children’s play of tin soldiers, which our sick generation may play.

The idea of ​​the “War under the Leaves” project began to arise from the authors during expeditions to the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War. In these campaigns there was an atmosphere of involvement in those distant events. Terrible finds - the remains of the victims from both the Soviet and German sides, excited the mind. Thoughts and feelings that arose prompted creativity. The authors embodied their plan for several years, creating images of soldiers who were forever lost in the twilight of the battlefield. Until the last of them is found, the war continues…

Anton and Pavel Yakushevs are artists from Kolomna near Moscow. The brothers have been engaged in metal sculpture for many years, but each of them has their own creative preferences. Anton is fond of art graphics and puppet animation, Paul is interested in street art and writing stories.

Anton and Pavel, while still students of the art and graphic faculty of the Kolomna Pedagogical Institute, began artistic work with metal, using various techniques and conducting creative experiments. On their account dozens of thematic projects and exhibitions, both joint and individual. And they are extremely diverse: “A heavy illustration” (metal paintings, illustrations for V. Erofeev’s poem “Moscow – Petushki”); a monument to the Kolomensky Water Carrier, which has become a city landmark and is included in travel guides; equipment for Kolomensky pastila, made according to old drawings.

But the leitmotif, which can be traced in all the art projects of Anton and Paul, is humanism, love and compassion for man. The authors create separate worlds for their heroes: dreams, sky-high cities, otherworldly reality… In these worlds there is hope for the realization of the impracticable. And the eternal companion of copyright projects - the image of an angel - is a witness to this.

Anton and Pavel Yakushevs are artists from Kolomna, Moscow Region.

Anton Yakushev (b. 1985) is engaged in metal sculpture.

Pavel Yakushev (born in 1990) is primarily involved in street art (graffiti, metal sculpture).

2010 - Exhibition "Steampunk" (Anton Yakushev), Kolomna, C / C "House of Ozerov";

2011 - Exhibition "Ironville" (Anton Yakushev), Kolomna, C / C "League";

2012 - The monument to the Water Carrier in Kolomna was unveiled;

2013 - Exhibition "Heavy Illustration" (Anton and Pavel Yakushevs), Kolomna, Museum-Residence "Artkommunalka";

2013 - Moscow, Zverev Center for Contemporary Art;

2014 - The Angel Post project (Anton and Pavel Yakushevs), Kolomna, the embankment of the Moscow River, was implemented.