During his last visit to the editorial office of The Day director and documentary filmmaker Vasyl Viter said that his students — sophomores of the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University had visited The Day’s photo exhibit. We were curious to find out how these young people, the future of Ukrainian cinema, evaluated the exhibit. After all, one should know his or her country in order to create quality movies about it. The Day’s photo exhibit is the Ukraine which is not shown today in either cinemas or on television. Thus a joint meeting of The Day with the students of the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University took place, resulting in the traditional exchange of thoughts about the country, time and the photo exhibit.
Anna Mutuzova: “It often happens that you come to a photo exhibit and see only glam there or simply nice pictures which have nothing special in them. But the pictures in the Ukrainian Home had a lot of meaning, atmosphere, some pictures had a lot of feelings, and some captured a moment in a very wonderful and symbolic way. It is very pleasant that such a quality exhibit is held in Ukraine. The photo of a winter snowy glade where a table and benches covered by a thick layer of snow stand (Ihor Davydenko, Winter Fairy Tale) stuck in my memory. And that snow had an open space, as if someone was sitting there for a long time, thinking of something. This was an especially vivid image of loneliness.”
Yurii Dzedzinsky: “The represented works are a mirror of our social problems. Perhaps, because of these problems, something in the picture could strike a personal cord, but at the same time one felt that these pictures depicted the truth. The exhibit is special because it gives one an opportunity to look deeper. It is extremely versatile — children’s visions of the country are shown together with works by professionals, there are photos by people who don’t necessarily know the canons and rules of photography, but feel the world and time around us, there are artistic photographs, and they are not redundant there. It is pleasant that a work by a student of our university Roman Khimei was accepted for the exhibit. I was especially impressed by the photo which was a continuation of the children’s story about a boy and a girl (Leniara Abibulaieva, A Story About a Story). The photo is so voluminous that it contains an entire story. It made one think — you were standing, thinking and immediately saw a movie to make.”
Serhii Horny: “I visited various photo exhibits before, but this was the first exhibit of this kind I happened to visit. These are not just pictures — they reflect extremely lifelike moments. The exhibit touches many burning topics — politics, old people who need help. For example, I remember a photo of an old woman holding her husband’s overcoat (Kostiantyn Bobryshchev, Memory); the photo of a man sitting on a bench with pelicans behind him (Mykola Tymchenko, Pelicans) is extremely interesting. He looks so right among those pelicans, like he belongs there.”
Arsenii Bortnyk: “A diverse multicultural country awaited me, one which has politics, but also social life. This is a country with many children. If foreigners visited The Day’s photo exhibit, they would see a colorful land. By the way, it is interesting that photos of politicians are mostly dark and black and white, while pictures with children are in color. Works depicting elderly people are associated with wisdom, though at the same time they make one understand how much attention and support our grandparents need.”
Daryna Peshko: “One can see the real Ukraine at The Day’s photo exhibit, the different opinions of different people on their state. I liked it very much that one can build a kind of frequency diagram from positive and negative emotions conveyed by the photos. An original kind of dramaturgy is felt in the represented works — sometimes cheerful, sometimes sad, and sometimes tragic. I especially liked the work Polissia Lady with Blackberries by Olena Lukashevych, and the photo from a village wedding, where a groom and a bride in wedding apparel drive cows, amused me (Valerii Shaihorodsky, Gift). This must be dowry.”
Andrii Kravchenko: “People need protection in our country, and this is seen in the works of the The Day’s photo exhibit. But at the same time the exhibit shows prospects, gives hope and impetus for people who are able and want to change something for the better. There were two special photos among the represented works: in one of them a boy is lying supine with arms outspread and staring into the sky (Oleksandr Klymenko, Golden Fleece), and in another — a father with a girl are modeling pots in clay (Hanna Rudenko, Everything Began with Clay). This is an image of those people with which one can build a sound and strong country so easily, reliably and nicely. I was especially impressed by the picture where an artist is painting angels (Oleksandr Kharvat, There will be a New Temple). When you look at this man surrounded by angels, one feels completeness and warmth. People who visited the exhibit interested me too. Visitors are also an integral part of the exhibit.”
Valeria Sochivets: “I remembered the exhibit as picturesque photos next to which one unwillingly smiles. But there were pictures that shocked by their social significance — for example, a photo of an old bedridden woman (Andrii Liubymov, Nursing Home). Looking at this picture, you cannot accept someone’s misfortune as something abstract. I wish there were more exhibits like this in Ukraine. It is interesting that there is a nomination ‘Children’s View of the World,’ since the children’s vision of their country is special and at the same time important. I saw a story behind each child’s photo — and that is impressive.”
Sofia Lavriv: “The exhibit is intense. There are very many different emotions which were cramped in these exhibit rooms. I liked the idea of the children’s photos. Children manage to find positive moments in life and they convey them with their works. Therefore children’s photos and the worldview they contain deserve special attention. At the same time, I have never been to an exhibit visited by such diverse and versatile people. There were so many interesting people, of all ages, that they gave a special coloring to the exhibit. I even imagined what an interesting movie one could make of visitors’ opinions and also get some samples of how the country thinks, as was done with the pictures.”