“Listen what the bird is singing about”
Zura Kalanda began to paint about 30 years ago as a self-taught artist. Not much later (in 1969) he took his degree at the Academy of Fine Arts. Characteristically of that type of situation, at the time he was experimenting with the paint he used. Among other things, he worked with the sgraffito technique, which means applying several layers of oil paint of different colours on a canvas, and then working them over with brushes, so that the more or less deep digging into the paint yields a figurative result.
The idea is for the colours and their blends to vibrate, as can be seen in Persian carpets. Do to its location, this applied form of art is deeper integrated in the culture in Georgia. However, the attachment of the paint to the canvas, and the drying process presented themselves as technical problems. For this, too, Kalanda found a solution. He blended the first layer of paint he applied with fish-glue and the yoke of eggs and thus enhanced the attachment of the paint to the canvas, which is of prime importance, if one works with such a thick layer of paint. Subsequently the paint was further mixed with glycerine and spirit, in order to give it more “body”, besides, these substances speed up the process of drying.
Apart from the use of oil paint, the use of crayon on paper offered Kalanda the opportunity to try out the colours in all their shades and to improve on his mastery of blending them. Next works from oil paint on paper appeared, in which he made use of the technique of offsetting the paint from one sheet on the other. The well-known shapes of the Rohrschach-test yield similar effects in monochrome colour. Max Ernst himself introduced this technique in his art and gave it its own proper place. This very process, applied by Zura Kalanda from about 1985 onwards, allowed him to lay the foundation for the introduction of subject matter connected with dreams, stories, myths and sagas, as the technique provided him with the refined structures on which he could base the fairy-tale atmosphere he was looking for. From there, he proceeded to apply artistic techniques in order to escape from superficiality and transform the whole of his creation into a full-fledged picture. Zura Kalanda was never content with just a flashy technique without deeper meaning or inner tension.
His curiosity and love of experiment later also resulted in black-and-white pictures, made with the scraper-board technique, in which he endeavours to transpose cadence and rhythm of the letters in the Georgian alphabet to images of the kind evoked by poetry. In this way Kalanda produced a number of pictures with subject taken from Georgian myths, epics and legends, as well as from other oriental literatures. The titles refer to well-known stories, such as “The bird Paskundgi”, “Lady from the lake”, “Amordzali”, “Golden Elephant”, “Bull in the night”, “Once upon a time” (nos 1-2-3).
Zura Kalanda is also an academically trained linguist; in 1974 he took his doctorate in the humanities in Tblisi. He has done his share of research and published articles and books on, for example, the history of child literature in Georgia in 1926-’27. He also published monographs on some Georgian poets. Another subjects is biblical studies: Kalanda has written a 900 page dictionary of biblical terms.
Besides all these activities, he also writes poems. At first his topics were based on human nature in general. Later on, he added to that the digestion of experiences of nature, and nowadays his poetry is often concerned with underlying messages or critically inspired double meaning. One line from one of his poems, which could be taken for an aphorism as well:
“A world without love is like a planet without a sun”.
The invocation of images through symbolic language and allegories increasingly urged him to use these images metaphorically and to give them concrete forms in his artistic expression. During the same period a figurative series of works came into existence, the titles of some of which will be given by way of illustration:
– Religious topics: “Behind the stars”, “Killing drake”, “Praying people”, “The road to the top”.
– Experience of nature: “Feather beauty”, “Mystery of nature”, “Movement of the sky”, “Bird”, “Pig”.
– Georgian landscapes: “Evening in Kakheti”, “Streets of Tblisi” (several variants), “Streets in Vera” (a suburb of Tblisi), “Mount Tetra”.
The very diverse topics treated by Zura Kalanda in his paintings speak eloquently about the way he looks at things, and about his strong historical consciousness. His deep humanist feeling, his sensibility and his curiosity emanate from the way in which he depicts his experiences.
Nature, his current situation, Holland, politics, fine arts and philosophy constitute the wide range of his interests and his broad vision of the world, from which he draws when composing his pictures. His intelligent approach of his reality transcends literal meaning. The pictures with a philosophical undertone are especially intriguing. To mention a few titles: “The rose and the knife”, “Split personality”, “Watching”, “Sitting on the bench in the park”, “Living in fire”, “Dangerous night”, “Hesitation”, “The end”. The pictures “The piano player” and “Muse” exemplify the new valour with which Kalanda confronts the future; to quote St. Paul: Try out everything and retain what is good. Here we witness how the painter Kalanda no longer awkwardly wrestles with paint as a substance, but is fully in control of it. The artistic effects stand less ostentatiously on their own, but contribute to the content of the picture as a whole. In other words: form and meaning join forces, the expression of meaning and technique supplement one another.
Kalanda nevertheless remains faithful to his elaborate figurative language, which has been strongly influenced by the rich Georgian culture, in which tradition is of paramount importance. That being the case, it is astonishing to see that in a relatively short span of time the artist adapted to his situation in Holland and to the Dutch way of life. But although Western subject matter is fluently integrated into his pictures, Kalanda continues to express himself in an oriental spirit. As a whole, the process of assimilation, which now dominates his life and work, as a whole brings tension with it, but also leads to exciting pictures. Playfulness has reasserted itself. Without inhibitions, he draws on new sources of inspiration. His new works, originating from an urgent and powerful motivation to paint, have the potential of making their own contribution to Dutch art. They also help to shape the ideal of a multi-cultural and multi-racial society, which has always been so characteristic of the Netherlands.
The number of works made by Zura Kalanda since he arrived in the Netherlands in 1994 exceeds 200. This impressive series of paintings and drawings gives evidence of his personal urge to express himself, and to survive. The political developments in Georgia are central to this. His stay in the Netherlands is a direct consequence of his critical and valiant attitude of mind. Political systems which do not respect intellectual freedom get rid of these kinds of people as fast as possible.
At this point dreams, visions and recollections find their shape. They serve as visual holds for a new personal orientation. Here, fear of losing his identity is real. That is why Kalanda exploits his artistic activity to create a more solid foundation for the frail existence, to create more life and space. New allegories come into being, derived from the realm of narrative art. Eloquently expressed content is transformed into the language of images. In one of Zura’s poems, entitled “What is the value of your tears?” he comes up with the dilemma he faces when, in a metaphorical sense, he is confronted with the modern Cain.
The problem of integration has been referred to before. Zura Kalanda is a citizen of the world, who, with the strength of his mind and the artistic manifestation which naturally derive from it, would get firm ground under his feet anywhere he goes. He has abandoned the heavy topics in his art courageously; his life so far has been dominated too strongly by them. In his own words, he was absorbed by them, was carried away by them like a ball. The Free Muse, fortunately, is in charge once more. It suffices to look at pictures such as “Spring” and “The piano player” to understand this. Playfulness has indeed reasserted itself. A new wind is blowing, fresh air for birds. Fortunately, the bird Paskundgi has appeared in the sky to put Zura “Auf Flugeln des Gesanges”.