The artist Dmitry Vrubel was born in the USSR, and in 2010 he left Russia for Berlin. On August 14 he died in Germany.
A sisterly kiss, just a Kiss and even a Kiss of death, – these are variants of the name of the same graffiti painting by Dmitry Vrubel, which he himself wrote on the Berlin Wall. A fragment of the Wall forms the basis of the open-air art gallery East Side Gallery in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district. And the picture of Vrubel here is the main artifact. The provocative masterpiece captured a passionate kiss between the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Leonid Brezhnev, and the leader of the GDR, Erich Honecker.
The artist created the first version of the graffiti in 1990 and signed it in Russian and German: “Mein Gott, hilf mir, diese tödliche Liebe zu überleben” or “Lord! Help me survive this mortal love! “Five artists were invited from the USSR to make the first exhibition of contemporary Soviet art in the GDR. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, there was only graffiti from the West. Vrubel became one of the pioneers from the East.
The “plot” was taken from a photo by Frankfurter Allgemeine correspondent Barbara Klemm.taken at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the GDR. 10 years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the then General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev and the General Secretary of the SED Central Committee Eric Honecker sealed the brotherly love between the USSR and the GDR long and strong. kiss The graffiti of a Soviet artist became one of the symbols of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In 2009, during the restoration of part of the Wall, now known as The East Side Gallery, one of the most striking paintings, has been removed. A serious discussion broke out about whether to restore it or not. Most artists do not want to repaint their paintings, fearing that the gallery will become like a Disneyland for tourists, and the funds allocated for restoration will flow into someone else’s pocket. However, Dmitry Vrubel came to Berlin again and within a few weeks re-created the Fraternal Kiss. Now it is in its old place, inside the city. And this is the iconic photo No. 25 on the Berlin Wall is probably the most famous photo motif in the German capital – except perhaps after the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag.
Vrubel – it’s about “blow the brain”
In 2010, Dmitry Vrubel with his wife, artist Victoria Timofeeva, and son moved from Russia to Germany. Recently they have been developing exhibitions using virtual reality technology and in 2018 they opened their 3D project to the general public – so that people in cities where there is no Louvre or Hermitage can also join the art. “Be in Berlin and show your work in Russia in virtual reality – it’s an amazing feeling,” admitted Dmitry Vrubel in an interview with DW. The artist has always managed to keep up with the times and use new technologies, because “a modern artist must be modern in everything thing.”
With the help of special computer programs, the creative tandem of Vrubel and Timofeeva created exhibition spaces and “hung” paintings in them. The lack of censorship, the ability to present art with political overtones, and the wide availability of 3D exhibitions are the main reasons why artists do their work in virtual reality. The exhibition is available on the platform Steam. With the help of virtual reality glasses, you can see about 100 life-size monumental paintings: the Tolstoevsky project, the Gospel project, the Artist’s Diary, as well as a reconstruction of an apartment exhibition of the period of the Soviet. The tour is “conducted” by the avatar of Dmitry Vrubel – a nimble man in a T-shirt, jumping into each picture and emotionally waving his arms. Dmitry Vrubel’s plans include the creation of the “Event Museum”, which should cover and understand important news from the point of view of art.
The artist dreams of becoming the largest art space in the world… Lubyanka! “The very first big exhibition of contemporary Russian art should be in Lubyanka – as in buildings”Stasi.” The Lubyanka should be the largest art squat in the world. But first, you need to take all these documents of the “Reich Chancellery” for archiving,” Dmitry Vrubel joked in an interview with DW.
How a Russian artist became a German pirate
To be closer to the problems of ordinary Germans, soon after moving to Berlin, Vrubel join the Pirate Party. Pirates have advocated the legalization of “piracy” on the Internet, soft drug policy, the introduction of voting for all residents of Germany (regardless of citizenship), and so on. “They are close to me in spirit, because they want to actively change society and solve problems that traditional parties do not think about because of their conservative thinking,” Vrubel commented on his decision then.
The artist considered the integration of Berlin through cultural intervention as his strong point. “Where the East Side Gallery stands, it used to be a wasteland. After the artists painted the wall, Berlin started to come together in this area. Now it’s a fashionable place,” said Vrubel. “The fact that people in so-called problem areas are not interested in contemporary art is the problem of contemporary art,” he said.
A dreamer-intellectual from a dissident environment
Dmitry Vrubel was born in 1960 in Moscow to a family of engineers and began to draw as a teenager. At the age of 20, he joined the Union of Artists, and a few years later he opened his own gallery, naming it after himself. In the 1970s and 80s, he, like many fellow artists who are now called conceptual artists, organized exhibitions in his apartment or in his studio. At that time, he created large format portraits. His, perhaps, the most provocative masterpiece on the Berlin Wall, the artist wrote at the age of 30.
“I want to live in Moscow the way I live in Berlin. Berlin – this is a perfect Moscow. But under the current government in Russia, it is very difficult to engage in the art of politics. And art outside the political context is not interesting to me,” admitted the artist.
Since 2010, Vrubel has lived permanently with his wife in Berlin, where they created an open workshop. The artist has had many solo and group exhibitions around the world. His works are exhibited in the most famous museums. Berlin became Vrubel’s second home, and “Brotherly Kiss” glorified the USSR-born artist all over the world. Many of those photographed today against the backdrop of Vrubel’s masterpiece may not know who these people are on a fragment of the Wall and why general secretaries are kissing. And young tourists will probably not remember the sad details of the socialist friendship, but they will not forget the short name: Vrubel.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.