Routes of the JINR Scientists' House

A day of vivid impressions

An unusual trip of the JINR Scientists' House took place on 12 February.

Initially, we were going to Moscow for the exhibition "Konstantin Korovin and his circle. Moscow - Paris". But in the Solzhenitsy House of Russian Abroad that hosted the exhibition, several such events were hold simultaneously. In addition, one can walk around the floors of this architecturally interesting building, on the walls of which mini-exhibitions of photographs are displayed and thematic collections of books and magazines are exposed in glass showcases.

Konstantin Korovin's exhibition presents paintings, drawings, sketches for stage performances, archival documents, letters, newspaper publications and a documentary about the artist is shown on the screen. The artworks of his friends Nesterov, Serov, Vinogradov and students of Gerasimov, Ioganson, Falk and Goncharova present an idea of the art of those years, a creative friendship in which Chekhov, Chaliapin, Stanislavsky were involved. The paintings show Russian villages, the Crimea, Paris, Marseille...

The participants of the trip could then visit several other exhibitions on the site, according to their preferences. For instance, "The Happiness of Russian lace abroad" is a small exhibition that unites textile products, works of artists and craftsmen, videos - stories about the history and peculiarities of modern lacemaking with tracery and lightness. In the 1920s, the first wave of emigration gave birth to the style "? la ruse" in Europe, bringing the art of embroidery and lacemaking to Western fashion. In addition to the ancient lightest and finest products, the artworks "Magic lace of graphene", "Lace neural network" seemed unusual.

Poster of Alexander Talanov's unpreserved comedy "A screw from another machine" (1926). Promoting subscription to state loan bonds. The clerk Ksenophon Perechnitsa (Pyotr Repnin), thinking that he had won 100 thousand rubles on the bond, spent the money on all kinds of pleasures, but then he found out that he had won only 100 rubles.

Another exhibition "Cinema is a mirror of the era. Soviet film poster in the history of the Russian Abroad" is noteworthy both in terms of the material presented and the organization of the exhibition. Copies of Soviet film posters of the 1920s-1930s are accompanied by a description of the film and alongside these posters there are quotations from publications - reviews that caused films to be shown in the ?migr? press abroad. There is also a "cinema" in the hall similar to that of those years. In the "hire" there is an hour and a half-long video made up of excerpts from films of that era.

70 original artworks by 28 well-known representatives of the Russian Abroad could be seen at the exhibition "China in the artworks of Russian Abroad artists. The first half of the 20th century". Researchers count more than 300 prominent artists of Russia in China that have been engaged in painting, graphic arts, sculpture, decoration of churches, scenography, art photography and many others.

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The second point of our journey is the Ostroukhov House in Trubniki that is part of the Dahl State Museum of the History of Russian Literature. The exhibition "The adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Russia" has opened here. It is unusual in that it is dedicated to a fictional character. Therefore, of course, not personal items are presented here, but interior and household items of the famous detective's era, as well as devices and appliances that could hypothetically be used by "the world's most perfect brain". It's amazing how Conan Doyle's hero has gained such enduring popularity. Translations, reprinted books, stage performances, respectively, sketches for them by famous artists, films (and more than a hundred of them have been made!) really create a special world worthy of a museum in any country. Taking into account Sherlock's curiosity, herbaria of poisonous plants, stuffed snakes, old photographs of London, items related to the plots of stories, for example, six Napoleons (the idea of hiding jewels in identical objects was picked up by Ilf and Petrov when they wrote "The 12 Chairs") were added to the unique exhibits. The visit to Sherlock ends with the recreated study of Conan Doyle, where the guide relates the biography of the writer, his fate and that his favorite character was not a detective at all, but Professor Challenger from The Lost World...

All in all, after such a "cult trip", the conviction is confirmed that a closer look of an artist or writer, creation of an image, a talented performance are eternal values that are not subject to circumstances and geographical boundaries.

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Other people's travel reports can be boring, for you want to participate more than listen and look at photos. And the purpose of this publication is not to share the impression or advise you to visit these museums. I would like to point something else - that one needs to have a talent for organizing such a trip. On the one hand, to ensure strict adherence to the original plans, on the other hand, to give an opportunity to visit exhibitions of interest or to take an hour walk in the centre of Moscow. Besides, the trip organizer Tatyana Sorokina-Zenko talks about the upcoming event on the bus, advises what to look out for - this is what guides that are themselves interested in culture do. It's always pleasant and useful. As a result, such trips become relaxation for the soul, joy to the heart, food for the mind: accurate organization, an inquisitive and intelligent company, reliable Vladimir Alekseenko driving and a lot of interesting things from the world of literature, history, art, science, architecture of different countries and peoples!

Galina MYALKOVSKAYA,
author's photo