By Christine Snyder
This week’s featured Ukrainian artist is Oleg Tistol, a contemporary artist born in Ukraine in 1960. While first observing Oleg’s art, I was reminded of Andy Warhol’s art. To me, the pop art feel is definitely present, and after reading about Oleg’s career, I realized that this may have been intentional. The hard edges, bright colors, and repeated images often found in American pop art can be seen in Oleg’s work, and like Warhol, Oleg explores subjects such as tradition, consumerism, and propaganda. His work explores a theme common to each of the Ukrainian artists we’ve featured, which is the preservation of Ukrainian culture. Moreover, Oleg’s work focuses on acknowledging Ukraine’s difficult past and its search for an identity as a nation. His concepts include stereotypes, media, and money. After reading more and more, I’m amazed at the breadth of conceptualism in his body of work. Seeing images reminiscent of Andy Warhol created outside of the United States is a great reminder to appreciate all of the things the world has to offer, especially when our hectic society and constant stream of breaking news can push us towards ethnocentrism. I found that learning about Oleg Tistol is a great education on post-Soviet history, which is so important considering today’s current events. I’m reminded of how important art education is, because art history is world history. Please enjoy Oleg’s work and use this as an opportunity for you to further explore Ukraine, its history, and its culture.
