What's interesting about recent St Petersburg art is the renewed influence of Ancient Greece and the Renaissance, resulting in a modern art which transcends the boundaries of time.
This idea springs to mind at the Marble Palace's latest exhibition, "The Golden Ass."
On display are costumes by fashion designer Konstantin Goncharov intended for the heroes in the ancient book "Golden Ass" by Apuleius. There are also photos by a group of artists which serve as modern illustrations to the book.
The exhibition themes come from Denis Egelsky and Andrei Medvedev. They wanted to illustrate the book, which hadn't had any visual images since ancient times. They were also attracted by the story.
Human passions turn the young Lucius into an ass. In this guise he travels through Northern Greece, suffering constant humiliation. In order to return to human form, Lucius must become a priest. Lucius symbolizes the human soul, which can be at home only in the heavens.
Playing the roles of ancient heroes and gods, models were done out like party animals and kick-boxers. The impressive image of the ass was created by Vasily Shepelin. The photos themselves combine images from different cultures. The backdrops are ancient Greek temples and Poussin paintings, realized via computer graphics. In one photo an aircraft appears in the ancient sky; in another, a motorbike from the 1930s. The heroes are shod in Doc Martens. The juxtaposition of modern elements with an ancient background suggests that the wanderings of man and his soul never end, and are not dependent on any particular era. The Doc Martens don't look like a 1990s symbol in the photos, but rather like the perfect boots for a time-wanderer.
The same can be said about the Goncharov costumes. Although they have a Russian feeling, they seem almost perfect for trendy ancients. The search of the St Petersburg heroes of antiquity for the soul seems erotic. Said Project Curator Ekaterina Andreyeva, "The most important idea of neoacademism is the indivisibility of love in heaven from love on earth. In neoacademism, as in ancient art, the body becomes spiritual, and the soul erotic."
Andreyeva believes "The Golden Ass" project is a product of its time, a time of crisis which calls for a few aesthetes to create an idealistic self-portraiture which will ennoble man and life itself.
According to Arkady Ippolitov, a project consultant, "The Golden Ass" is set in St Petersburg because of "the strong desire to escape the polar darkness of the St Petersburg winter, and go somewhere, anywhere, to Greece, Italy, at least to the Crimea for two weeks. This has always inspired Petersburg classicism."
The main criticism is that "The Golden Ass" is too beautiful. Andrew Logan, English sculptor and fashion designer said, "I have to live in England with serious conceptual stuff. Neoacademism is more human. Conceptionalism is dead in a way and neoacademism is definitely alive."
The exhibition, on display in St Petersburg until July 17, is to tour Europe.