Mitki in Finland

Who are the Mitki?

The Mitki from St Petersburg are a group of artists who, in addition to art, are united by a bright and direct view on life. Russian every-day life, the history of the country and the artists’ home town are often-found subjects in the art of the Mitki; always spiced with good humour.

The group was formed in Leningrad in the early 1980s. Dmitry Shagin, whose nickname is Mitya or Mitka, has been the leader of the group from the beginning. He runs the Mitki Gallery in St Petersburg at the address Ulitsa Marata 36-38, floor three and a half. The group has been named after the nickname of Shagin: in Russian Mitki is the plural of the name Mitka.

The group started off in difficult conditions. The Mitki earned their living as furnacemen for apartment blocks after being educated as artists. They practised their art under ground as at that time their art was in opposition to the official line of the Soviet Union and was considered damaging. During the years attitudes toward the group changed and today there is a lot of espec towards the Mitki in St Petersburg and Russia.

The Mitki principle is: “The Mitki don’t want to beat anyone and that is how they conquer the whole world.” They don’t declare a shared artistic message, but are brought together by the Mitki spirit. This means depicting the Russian soul with an easy spirit, the respect of creativity, humour and freedom.

There is art on display by the Mitki artists Konstantin Batynkov, Svetlana Bodelina, Andrei Filippov, Tatjana Filippova, Vasili Golubev, Larissa Golubeva, Aleksandr Gorjajev, Vladimir Jashke, Ia Kirillova, Andrei Kuznetsov, Joanna (Shagina) Martianova, Aleksei Mitin, Nikolai Polisski, Dmitri Shagin, Tatjana Shagina, Vladimir Shinkarjov, Sholom Shvarts, Ivan Sotnikov, Viktor Tihomirov, Vladimir Tihomirov, Irina Vasiljeva, Rikhard Vasmi and Natalia Zhilina.

The Themes of the Exhibition:

The Teachers of the Mitki The parents of Dmitry Shagin, Vladimir Shagin and Natalia Zhilina, were artists. Together with their colleagues they are respected and admired by the Mitki. Vladimir Shagin and Natalia Zhilina were part of the Arefyev’s Circle. Other members included among others Alexandr Arefyev, Rikhard Vasmi, Sholom Shvarts. At the end of the 1940s the group started searching for new, open ways of expression and founded the base for Leningrad’s under-ground art. This happened at a time when the Soviet Union tried to set boundaries for making art. The Mitki too had to face the objection of the official line. The unconditional devotion to art has also encouraged the Mitki to follow their hearts.

Sailor shirt The exterior trademark of the Mitki is a blue-and-white-striped sailor shirt. This shirt is also part of the uniform of Russian soldiers, but for the Mitki it is before all a symbol of freedom and of their love for the sea. Sailors belong to the street scene of St Petersburg and have always delighted the citizens in their striped shirts. The Mitki use the shirt daily and blue and white stripes can also be seen on the characters in Mitki paintings. The Mitki do not flaunt with clothes.

Alcohol The Mitki drank a lot the first years they worked together. During the 1980s heavy drinking was a part of their life, and it almost ended some lives. Finally a choice had to be made between sobriety or death. Finally some of the Mitki found help in the United States from Alcolohics Anonymous.

Many of the members of the group have stopped drinking and, in addition, have devoted themselves to helping Russian alcoholics. The Mitki have taken the idea of AA to Russia and founded a treatment centre for alcoholics at a village called Peräkylä in Russia. Alcohol is part of the every-day life of many Russians and is visible also in the art of Mitki.

St Petersburg The love of their home town is evident in the art of the Mitki. The history of St Petersburg, its historic and mythical characters appear in many of the works. Several paintings have recognisable landscape from St Petersburg. The canals of the city in particular are recurring motifs in the landscapes. The presence of water and the unique light of the city offer the artists endlessly things to depict.

Archetypes Archetypes is a series of 44 paintings produced by the Mitki. The group started preparing a joint exhibition in 1996 in honour of the approaching turn of the Millennium was approaching. Role models for the Mitki were the “Wanderers” (“Peredvizhniki”) who were active in Russia around the turn of the 19th century. This group of artists wanted to bring art to the people, including those outside the major cities. The Wanderers depicted vernacular subjects by trying to present beauty in the everyday lives of ordinary people. After breaking free of the traditions of academic art, they managed to introduce art to a completely new audience.

The Mitki decided to make all the paintings horizontal and the same size. In that way, it would be practical to package them, and they would look good both in small exhibition rooms and large parade halls. The exhibition was first shown in St Petersburg and Moscow, and then travelled to many different places all over Russia. A total of 17 Mitka artists contributed to the series.

The name of the series is a reference to C.G. Jung's Theory of Archetypes which holds that all people share a collective subconscious. According to Jung, manifestations of archetypes include myths and legends. In the series, the express aim of the Mitki was to depict for everybody common and easily comprehensible things instead of personal and “incomprehensible” subjects. They tried to achieve close contact with mythology, as, in the words of Vladimir Shinkarjov, “the disappearance of mythology signifies the spiritual shipwreck of the human soul”. The Mitki wanted to distance themselves from the competitive spirit, neuroticism and hardness of today. Archetypes combines optimistic and human tales of heroes and Russian myths in a Russian setting.

The Exhibition was seen on Nov 1, 2007 – Feb 3, 2008 at the Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova Museum in Turku. It will be seen at the Hyvinkää Art Museum on May, 16 – August 31, and at the South-Karelia Art Museum in Lappeenranta on Sep 14 – Nov 16.