Andrey Chikachev is one of the most successfull fine artists in the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia. He’s prominent for his paintings depicting the daily life in Yakutian villages and portraiting expressive people.

He was born in 1967. A member of the Russian Union of Artists. Graduated from Yakutsk Fine Arts College (1988), Pr. S. Litvinov’s workshop at the Far Eastern Arts Institute (1994). Exhibited his works within Russia and partly abroad.

In other words, enjoy Andrey Chikachev’s art works. Pictures were taken by Ajar Varlamov during yesterday’s personal exhibit grand opening.

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A couple days ago ‘again:)’, I was talking about languages of indigenous minority-nationalities of the North, Siberia and the Far East in ‘the House of North’ with the most well-known representatives of their mother tongue.

I was blown away by the wide variety of languages used day-by-day in one place for a week. It looks like the event (with extension like ‘culture’) is becoming more important for many people that need to start to learn their language deeply and broadly. Large amounts of native speakers from Yakutia — one big aim — to popularize the culture itself.

It’s huge.

In ‘the house of the north’ where I’ve met so many nations, have heard so many sounds and have seen so beautuful people from Siberia. All people that were singing, dancing, talking and it happened on a completely different dialects but one big fact really united them — the word ‘small’.

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Of course, there’s one more important ingredient: the culture itself behaves amazingly. That is, when two or more languages are sounds around you used in all its minutes details, they bring your mind into the wonderful instance that it is actually — language. Read the rest of this entry…

Lyubov Borisova, founder of AL LOOK STUDIO production studio (company profile on MadeInYakutia.com), sent me a message saying they made a new short movie. It’s called «Mow, Scythe.» A story about two young Sakha boys, who mow grass in the countryside with their grandfather. Two boys go through a conflict and, thanks to god, there is a wise old man, who resolved the uneasy situation.

The movie is set near Churapcha village in the central part of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia’s East-North Siberia. Short in the course of the so-called mowing period. It is in the 2nd half of the summer when villages prepare hays for feeding cattles in the wintertime.

The above video with English subtitles. The link to the Russian version.

Actors are not professional. They are ordinary villages.

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Olonkho is the Sakha people’s major cultural heritage, that was later proclaimed by UNESCO as the world’s oral & intangible masterpiece. It is a heroic epic tale that might narrated by up to 20,000 verses. It is told by a Olonkho singer or story-teller.

In the previous post «Olonkho, Sakha heroic epos, in Timofei Stepanov’s painting The Upper World«, I wrote that the famous Yakutian artist, Timofei Stepanov, appeared to be the first, who depicted the Sakha heroic epic «Olonkho» in the series of paintings.

See Olonkho-related posts

I noted, «Timofei Stepanov was named as a Olonkho story-teller in fine arts. Indeed, one painting is like one big tale with many small stories.» After, I offered to see my iPhone photographs of fragments of one art piece called «The Upper World.» In the end, I promised to continue the topic.

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Yuri Sleptsov, a Siberian artist based in Yakutsk, Russia

Hereby I present Yuri Sleptsov‘s art works. His drawings are done on a plastic board with the use of a scalpel. Such a technique is called scratchboard or scraperboard (grattazh, in Russian). Learn more about it on Wiki.

Yuri prefers to use the plastic, as it provides the sharp contrast between white lines and the black inked background. This technique is used very rarely. The drawing might be created in the course of several weeks, months or even year. A hard work. One little mistake might spoil the whole art piece.

Yuri Sleptsov started drawing in the scraperboard style in 1991. Since that, he participated in many various exhibits and was awarded for originality and fine technique.

He didn’t graduate any arts schools. Yuri used to be an economist, retailor, auditor. Currently, he is devoted to ethnographic researches. Does a lot to keep Eveni children’s summer nomad camp in Momsky region, North-East Yakutia.

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Shaman image. 1992-1993. Oil painting. 118 x 93.

Alexander Khodulov was a Yakutian artist, who lived from 1962 till 2003. His preferred genres were portrait, landscape scenery, still life, etc.

He was born in Yakutsk. In the family of the outstanding USSR national artist Dmitry F. Khodulov. Graduated Children Art School, Yakutsk Art College (1981), the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow (1987). A member of the Sakha Republic Artist Union since 1993.

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So awesome! I’ve heard about this animated cartoon a long time ago and today I was lucky to get the video from Yakutia Music & Folklore Museum (Yakutsk, Russia).

Olonkho is the Sakha (Yakut) heroic epos. In 2005, it was declared by UNESCO International Competition Jury as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of the humanity.

What is it about? Watch the animated cartoon and get an idea. The story is based on the «Nyurgun Bootur the Swift» olonkho story. Though it is in Japanese, but images says more than thousands of words.

All about Olonkho on my other site.

Created by Alexei & Afanassiy Ushnitskies’s studio «Sulus Games» (www.sulusgames.ru).

Olga Monastyreva is a contemperary Yakutia-born artist, who lives currently with her beloved in Belguim. In the town of De Haan, they’ve got the fine art gallery «Artepol» (www.artepol.be). Btw, the gallery is depicted in her penultimate painting.

See how fascinating her paintings are. Inspired by Russia’s Siberian republic of Yakutia, her far-away cold wintery homeland. Olga spent her childhood in the town of Khandyga located on the Aldan River in the eastern part of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia.

Once Olga described her canvases as Dreams. They look that way, indeed!

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The current post is sequal to the previous one, «Olonkho, Sakha Heroic Epos, In Timofei Stepanov’s Painting The Upper World.» This time we post images of crafts and attributes of the Sakha (Yakut) people’s past daily life.

Yes, photographs were taken in The National Fine Arts Museum of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia in Yakutsk, Siberia / Russia.

In the following images you’ll see crockeries for horse milk, female horse saddles, talisman-like crafted calendars, female clothes, belts, other national clothes and… mammoth tusk crafts.

Each picture shows that the Sakha people is the nation that cultivates and breeds horses.

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Love visiting National Fine Arts Museum of Republic of Sakha-Yakutia (www.sakhamuseum.ru) in Yakutsk, Russia. Many paintings, sculptures, installatons.

Hereby, I am eager to show parts of one painting done by the well-known Yakut artist, Timofei Stepanov. Read the rest of this entry…