ALLA HORSKA MOSAIC IN DONETSK TO BE SAVED
11/15/2002 | Майдан-ІНФОРМ
McDonald's Ukraine and Firm YUG will save and construct the famous mosaic "Women Bird" in the central lobby of their new building in Donetsk
Alla Horska was a young, brave, talented Ukrainian artist who was a fighter for the human rights of persecuted intellectuals and a leader among younger artists in the 1960's.
ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS)
Kyiv, Ukraine
November 14, 2002
KYIV, UKRAINE......The very large, unique monumental mosaic, "Women Bird," designed and constructed by Alla Horska, H. Synytsia, and Victor Zaretsky in 1956 in the jewelry store "Rubin" in Donetsk, Ukraine will be saved and not destroyed as originally reported in a UNIAN news article on October 17, 2002.
The UNIAN article quoted a letter from Lyudmyla Ohneva, director of the Donetsk oblast Union of Ukrainian Women, that stated the new private owners of the building where the Alla Horska mosaic was located in Donetsk had announced their intention to destroy the historic mosaic as part of a reconstruction of the area to build a new McDonald's restaurant.
The Donetsk oblast Union of Ukrainian Women and the Donetsk oblast National Union of Artists of Ukraine demanded in their letter to Yuri Bohutsky, Ukraine's Minister of Culture, that the national interests be defended by preserving the unique monument of Ukrainian monumental art.
A spokesman for McDonald's Ukraine has confirmed to ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS) that neither McDonald's nor the owners of the property in Donetsk, Firm YUG, ever had any intention to harm or destroy the mosaic. McDonald's said they and their partner have been working closely together from the beginning to protect the mosaic and to incorporate the mosaic into their new building.
McDonald's Ukraine stated, "From the very beginning of the premises' reconstruction McDonald's requested that the mosaic be saved.
McDonald's had a firm commitment and agreement with the owners. The "YUG" company has sent to the Donetsk regional administration an official letter confirming that the mosaic will be kept safe."
The spokesman for McDonald's said, "We understand the contribution of Alla Horska to Ukrainian culture and place a high value on the artwork.
The mosaic will be put in the central lobby of the restaurant and be open for everyone to see. Considering the art and historic value of the mosaic the board of directors of our company has officially asked our partners to stop all construction works in the area of the mosaic's location and not to take any steps for the mosaic's removal without permission from the Department of Culture of the Donetsk regional administration."
McDonald's further stated, "Since this mosaic has never been registered by the state authorities as 'memorable artwork' we are working toward the possibility to include the mosaic into the state's registration list and to put a sign near it stating that this mosaic is officially registered, at its new location in the same reconstructed premises. We will provide assistance to the department of culture in Donetsk and we are right now discussing the kind of technology needed for the moving of the 10 ton mosaic."
Alla Horska, a young, brave, talented Ukrainian women artist was a graduate of the Kyiv Art Institute. She was born on September 18, 1929 and was murdered on November 28, 1970, near Kyiv under mysterious circumstances. The crime remains officially unsolved.
She was a monumentalist painter and was married to another famous Ukrainian painter, Victor Zaretsky. They had one son.
Alla was a founder and active member of the Club of Creative Youth (1962) in Kyiv, which played an important role in the cultural movement of the 1960's. She designed the stage sets for M. Kulish's Otak zahynuv Huska (Thus Huska Died,) whose premier at the Lviv Ukrainian Drama Theater was banned.
In 1964 she collaborated with H. Sevruk and L. Semykina on a stained-glass panel designed by P. Zalyvakha for Kyiv University.
The panel portrayed Taras Shevchenko as protecting an allegoric woman (Ukraine) and holding in his hand a book with the following quotation from his poem: "I will glorify those insignificant, mute serfs, and will place my word to guard them."
The authorities ordered the stained glass window destroyed because of the artwork's ideological inconsistency and its modern artistic approach. Horska was expelled from the Union of Artists of the Ukrainian SSR.
She continued to defy the authorities by protesting against their repressive measures. Alla Horska was active as an artist as a fighter for the human rights of persecuted intellectuals and as a leader among younger artists.
There are many who feel her murder was ordered by the authorities.
A very large crowd of mourners were at her funeral held in Kyiv on December 7, 1970.
One writer said, "To her friends Alla remained a symbol of the Ukrainian women who does not walk down life's journey along paths smoothed down by half-truths: a woman whose sole goal is absolute Truth, Love and Beauty...." "Horska fathomed the tragic fate of the Ukrainian woman and found means to reflect this in her art."
Horsk'a main works are monumental internal and external paintings and mosaic decorating schools, museums, restaurants, done in collaboration with other artists. (end)
=============================================
Information about Alla Horska's life can be found at:
http://www.artukraine.com/commcrimes/allap2.htm
A color photograph of the monumental mosaic "Women Bird" can be found at: http://www.artukraine.com/commcrimes/allap6.htm
==============================================
ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS)
Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C.
ArtUkraine@starpower.net
http://www.ArtUkraine.com
Alla Horska was a young, brave, talented Ukrainian artist who was a fighter for the human rights of persecuted intellectuals and a leader among younger artists in the 1960's.
ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS)
Kyiv, Ukraine
November 14, 2002
KYIV, UKRAINE......The very large, unique monumental mosaic, "Women Bird," designed and constructed by Alla Horska, H. Synytsia, and Victor Zaretsky in 1956 in the jewelry store "Rubin" in Donetsk, Ukraine will be saved and not destroyed as originally reported in a UNIAN news article on October 17, 2002.
The UNIAN article quoted a letter from Lyudmyla Ohneva, director of the Donetsk oblast Union of Ukrainian Women, that stated the new private owners of the building where the Alla Horska mosaic was located in Donetsk had announced their intention to destroy the historic mosaic as part of a reconstruction of the area to build a new McDonald's restaurant.
The Donetsk oblast Union of Ukrainian Women and the Donetsk oblast National Union of Artists of Ukraine demanded in their letter to Yuri Bohutsky, Ukraine's Minister of Culture, that the national interests be defended by preserving the unique monument of Ukrainian monumental art.
A spokesman for McDonald's Ukraine has confirmed to ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS) that neither McDonald's nor the owners of the property in Donetsk, Firm YUG, ever had any intention to harm or destroy the mosaic. McDonald's said they and their partner have been working closely together from the beginning to protect the mosaic and to incorporate the mosaic into their new building.
McDonald's Ukraine stated, "From the very beginning of the premises' reconstruction McDonald's requested that the mosaic be saved.
McDonald's had a firm commitment and agreement with the owners. The "YUG" company has sent to the Donetsk regional administration an official letter confirming that the mosaic will be kept safe."
The spokesman for McDonald's said, "We understand the contribution of Alla Horska to Ukrainian culture and place a high value on the artwork.
The mosaic will be put in the central lobby of the restaurant and be open for everyone to see. Considering the art and historic value of the mosaic the board of directors of our company has officially asked our partners to stop all construction works in the area of the mosaic's location and not to take any steps for the mosaic's removal without permission from the Department of Culture of the Donetsk regional administration."
McDonald's further stated, "Since this mosaic has never been registered by the state authorities as 'memorable artwork' we are working toward the possibility to include the mosaic into the state's registration list and to put a sign near it stating that this mosaic is officially registered, at its new location in the same reconstructed premises. We will provide assistance to the department of culture in Donetsk and we are right now discussing the kind of technology needed for the moving of the 10 ton mosaic."
Alla Horska, a young, brave, talented Ukrainian women artist was a graduate of the Kyiv Art Institute. She was born on September 18, 1929 and was murdered on November 28, 1970, near Kyiv under mysterious circumstances. The crime remains officially unsolved.
She was a monumentalist painter and was married to another famous Ukrainian painter, Victor Zaretsky. They had one son.
Alla was a founder and active member of the Club of Creative Youth (1962) in Kyiv, which played an important role in the cultural movement of the 1960's. She designed the stage sets for M. Kulish's Otak zahynuv Huska (Thus Huska Died,) whose premier at the Lviv Ukrainian Drama Theater was banned.
In 1964 she collaborated with H. Sevruk and L. Semykina on a stained-glass panel designed by P. Zalyvakha for Kyiv University.
The panel portrayed Taras Shevchenko as protecting an allegoric woman (Ukraine) and holding in his hand a book with the following quotation from his poem: "I will glorify those insignificant, mute serfs, and will place my word to guard them."
The authorities ordered the stained glass window destroyed because of the artwork's ideological inconsistency and its modern artistic approach. Horska was expelled from the Union of Artists of the Ukrainian SSR.
She continued to defy the authorities by protesting against their repressive measures. Alla Horska was active as an artist as a fighter for the human rights of persecuted intellectuals and as a leader among younger artists.
There are many who feel her murder was ordered by the authorities.
A very large crowd of mourners were at her funeral held in Kyiv on December 7, 1970.
One writer said, "To her friends Alla remained a symbol of the Ukrainian women who does not walk down life's journey along paths smoothed down by half-truths: a woman whose sole goal is absolute Truth, Love and Beauty...." "Horska fathomed the tragic fate of the Ukrainian woman and found means to reflect this in her art."
Horsk'a main works are monumental internal and external paintings and mosaic decorating schools, museums, restaurants, done in collaboration with other artists. (end)
=============================================
Information about Alla Horska's life can be found at:
http://www.artukraine.com/commcrimes/allap2.htm
A color photograph of the monumental mosaic "Women Bird" can be found at: http://www.artukraine.com/commcrimes/allap6.htm
==============================================
ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS)
Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C.
ArtUkraine@starpower.net
http://www.ArtUkraine.com