Alexander Burganov: a New Code of Time and Space

Abstract

Summary: The article is devoted to the analysis of the work of Alexander Burganov, an outstanding contemporary sculptor and graphic artist. The study of the categories of Space and Time on the example of his works is the main theme of the article. The author believes that Time and Space in Burganov’s work are unique categories and correspond to reality least of all; the author gives examples of specific works and convinces that Burganov has modeled a bright, recognizable, unique personal code with the help of sculptures, graphic works, texts, installations, and artistic gestures. Today, this is especially noticeable as the culture of the 21st century has sharpened and almost brought to a logical conclusion the awareness of artistic being, formed in the second half of the 20th century, and is now on the verge of new creative realities leading to conceptual discoveries in art. The author believes that the artist keenly captures the invisible waves emitted by the developing cultures and subcultures of the 21st century, in which a body devoid of naturalistic sensuality is coldly and symbolically akin to antique statues. The author pays great attention to the analysis of new materials in Burganov’s creative work, believing that the 21st century has brought great changes not only to the form but also to the substance of the bodies of statues and sculptural compositions. Marble is replaced with plastic, bronze coexists with gypsum, metal meshes surround voids and follow the movements of the wind. Paper on an iron frame is a rightful hero of this “Olympus”. It should be noted that there is no place for imitation. New material dictates its conditions for shaping and participates in the interpretation of a new image.Analyzing the contemporary space of culture, the author states that the experiences of European crises have brought into art restraint and minimalism, democracy and the idea of some kind of universal permissiveness in creating and judging art. However, the predominance of mass culture, which received a completely new face and opportunity owing to the virtual space spilled over reality, was the main marker of the culture of the early 21st century. Today, a mixture of styles and cultures, a combination of incongruous is a new reality introduced into our lives by virtual culture. The author emphasizes that it was this invisible space that Alexander Burganov could feel and has reflected in his work. This has made his works relevant and understandable to a new generation which almost does not feel the classics. The author concludes that Alexander Burganov’s work has become a kind of bridge connecting the worlds of classics and modernity, high and grassroots culture, myths and reality.