Rules of Life by Leonid Maadyr

Intertwisting the Roots of Europe and Asia

The rebellious twentieth century shuffled the fates of many nations and particular people. Such fate didn’t pass by the artist’s family too. Leonid’s grandfather Ivan Popov was born in the Dnepropetrovsk region. As a member of the Komsomol, he participated in the construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station. But neither an active citizenship, nor participation in a grand construction project helped Ivan to avoid the terrible consequences of the struggle of the Soviet government with its own people.

Leonid's grandfather Ivan Sergeevich and grandmother Tatyana Ivanovna Popovy.

Trying to escape from the Holodomor, in 1933 he went to Asia (at that time, there was the saying ‘Tashkent is a city of grain’). In this city, Ivan met his future wife, the same refugee from Voronezh as he was. The oldest of their five children was Valentina, the mother of Leonid Maadyr-ool. She met her husband, Tuvinian Maadyr, during her teaching practice in the town of Shagonar of the Tuva Republic. Leonid was also born there in 1961. From the Tuvan language, his surname is translated as “Boy-Hero”. Over time, the family moved to Kyrgyzstan, where Lenya spent his childhood.

Leonid Maadyr-ool. "Kyrgyzstan".

The First Pictures on the Wallpaper

Leonid’s parents were teachers: his mother taught Russian language and literature, his father taught Tuvan, and later worked in education management. Both had nothing to do with art, but Leonid became an artist, and his brother Valentin became a sculptor. The impetus for the fact that both sons tied their lives with the visual arts, became... the employment of parents at work and the absence of kindergarten.

When we were children, we often stayed at home alone. To occupy us with something, father and mother spread the cheapest paper wallpapers the entire length of the room long, gave us pencils, and we drew: I started from one end, my brother from the other. We met at the center just in time for dinner, and then my parents came back. We were so fascinated by the process of drawing that we even didn’t think about going somewhere out of the house or play pranks.

So our parents, without realizing it, gave us a strong impetus to understand our purpose in life.

Vladimir Nebozhenko. "Portrait of Leni Maadyr-ool". Marble. 1978

When Leonid decided to enroll in an art school, his parents were surprised by this choice, but they supported him. The mother, always a principled teacher, even agreed to make some compromises with her own conscience to help her son with admission.

I told my mother ‘We’ll try to enter with a friend, my classmate. Give him a “four” in the Russian language and literature. And for that, his father-artist will help me with the entrance exams at the school.’ Mom agreed, gave my friend a “four”, but I, of course, didn’t enter, because no one ever said a word for me. I was very angry and disappointed with that betrayal of my friend.

However, the young Leonid Maadyr had another dream, to enter the faculty of animation of VGIK (All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S.A.Gerasimov – transl.). Moreover, Leonid’s great-uncle on the paternal line, People’s Artist of the Tuva ASSR and People’s Artist of the RSFSR Maxim Munzuk taught in this legendary institution. He was just at the peak of fame after the main role in Akira Kurosawa’s film “Dersu Uzala”, and, of course, he could help a relative, if not with admission, then at least to settle in Moscow. But Leonid’s mother said that he had no right to use “blat” (protection of some person in power – transl.), and she did not let her son into the capital. She regrets this even now.

But the dream of becoming an artist still was meant to come true. Valentina Ivanovna, Leonid’s mom, recalled ‘Once, just when Leonid was finishing school, my sister Galina with her husband, the famous sculptor Vladimir Nebozhenko, arrived from Dnepropetrovsk to Kyrgyzstan. He always treated Lyonya well. Hearing that his nephew is dreaming of becoming an artist, he half-jokingly, half-seriously said ‘Draw something for me. Let’s see what kind of artist you are.’ Lyonya went to his room, and soon returned with a ready-made drawing. It was an image of a guitar — so precise, three-dimensional, as if it were alive; Volodya didn’t even immediately believe that this was not a blank, but a drawing just finished. Then he said that Lyonya would certainly go with him to Dnepropetrovsk, enter an art school.’

Leonid poses for Vladimir Nebazhenka. 1978.

How to Draw a Cube and not to Get into a Madhouse

Leonid Maadyr-ool entered the Dnepropetrovsk Art School on the first attempt, in 1977. But studying there, which once seemed him a complete creative freedom, turned out to be difficult monotonous work.

During study you almost have no time for the creativity. It is an endless drawing of the same things. For example, a banal cube. At the school, during three months I was puzzled about why it turns out to be either elongated or bloated in my drawings.

Although at first all students are skeptical about the task of drawing a cube and asking for something “more serious”, in fact it’s much more serious: if you can’t draw exactly that cube or the box that is on the table, then later when the artist draws a portrait from nature, he will depict a completely different face...

In the art school, many students gave up schooling just because of this. It’s hard to draw cubes and boxes for a few months in a row, and so that nothing worked. I’m not even speaking about “aerobatics” - to draw an ordinary chair. I remember, at the end of the first year, when we had suffered for a year, drawing boxes, cubes, cylinders and cups (I didn’t want not only to draw, but even to live), the teacher put a chair in front of us and gave the task to draw it. It was something... The real twisting of the brain. It seems to me I do everything right, and the stool turns out to be too high, then low, then curve, then skew. Only later, with experience, a sense of perspective appeared...

Then, there were new difficulties, when I had to draw people from nature. Out of ten of my classmates, six at different times (while studying or later) turned to psychiatrists for help. I survived probably only because I could switch in time: go to the cinema, go out with the girls, drink beer...

I still believe that any business should be done without fanaticism. Those six of my friends wanted to outdo Rembrandt. They could draw for eight hours without even getting up from their places. One of my friends, Misha (he later committed suicide), was so eager for perfection that he painted almost all the time. He copied everything to the smallest detail. If he saw a microscopic chip on a plaster figure, he drew this chip. I could draw for two hours and go for a walk. As a result, I got higher marks. The artist should be super careless, and even, preferably, with laziness. It’s because excessive diligence can only lead to stupidity. You just need to understand in time how to do your job as efficiently as possible with the least amount of time and effort.

Leonid Maadyr-ool. Portrait of a fellow student Ivan Kulik.

Although Leonid graduated from the school successfully, he did not succeed in continuing his studies at the university. First, he failed to enter the art institute in Kiev, then twice - to the Kharkov Art and Industry Institute. The most annoying thing he lacked only two points. Then someone advised Leonid to join the army; this promised certain advantages when enetring. Such an argument seemed convincing.

‘I dreamed of only one thing: that the plane would broken down’

Leonid was very self-confident when he came to the military enlistment office. Only long time after he asked what type of troops he would get into. It turned out to be airborne. At that moment, the artist realized that he would not be able to “sit out” at the club, as he had planned. But events unfolded more interesting. Leonid got into the 242nd training center for training junior specialists of the airborne troops, famous for its drill.

They put a parachute on me and said ‘Forget about your pencils and brushes’. It is difficult to convey these feelings when the hatch opens... I dreamed of only one thing: that the plane would broken down and gone for an emergency landing. But every time I had to jump. Because when there are 20 of the same young guys in the back, it doesn’t matter that you are an artist, you feel fine... You are a man, the rest doesn’t matter. I don’t remember the first two jumps. The hatch opens - and a coma! Then I got used to it a bit.

Two years of service were held in a tense rhythm. At the beginning of the service, all I could see was the Lithuanian landscapes through the gas mask and the heels of a comrade who had jumped in front of me. Later, becoming a sergeant, I got the opportunity to freely exit the unit. I began to walk around the village and saw such a beautiful area... No matter how difficult it is, I don’t regret this experience. Perhaps, if I hadn’t passed through the army, I would have drawn differently, somehow sweetly.

Get the Right to Creation

In the Kharkov Art and Industrial Institute there was the so-called “rabfak” (the faculty of workers. It was the informal name for the preparatory departments of higher educational institutions that were created in the 1970-1980s and targeted on the working and rural youth – transl.), zero course. Successfully completing it, the student is automatically credited to the first course.

After the army, Leonid went to pass the entrance exams in his uniform, he didn’t even change his clothes.

In the very first stage, it was necessary to go through a creative competition - to paint a still life in watercolor. I got the maximum score for it and, to be honest, I was surprised because during two years of service I never held a brush in my hands.

The golden rule of Maadyr, to be able to switch and rest on time, worked at the institute too. But at the same time, the artist took his studies very seriously.

Academic education helps in the works. The artist must understand what the golden section, proportions, dynamics are... Undoubtedly, Dürer was a great artist and graphic artist, but above all he was a great mathematician. In art, too, there are clear mathematical laws that cannot be ignored. Not without a reason, in Japan, the entire education system is built on the fact that children in elementary grades are primarily taught to draw.

They believe: if you know the Pythagorean theorem, then you won’t go further than Pythagoras, and if you can draw - you can reach heights in any sphere. It is a pity that we have no one particularly engaged in this. At my school, drawing was taught by a labor teacher - you can only imagine at what level...

Today I study a lot with students. I am convinced that, knowing how to draw, the doctor will be the best doctor, the builder will be the best builder, the joiner will be the best joiner. This skill reveals the essence of things. Without it, a person in many areas will only be a semi-professional. I do not even mention the architecture! Why almost all the Soviet and modern architecture is just a horror? That’s because our architects from their childhood weren’t instilled a sense of beauty. So we are witnessing bulky boxes with windows embedded in them in violation of any harmony in our cities. It is easier for people who live in such cities to commit a crime, because there is no sense of harmony and beauty either outside or inside.

Leonid Maadyr-ool. Portrait of a fellow student Nicholas Dzvonyka, who is now called the Ukrainian Bruegel.

‘Women are rarely able not to interfere…’

Leonid Maadyr-ool met his first love when he was 22. For almost seven years, their incomprehensible relationship lasted: he went mad with love, she remained cold, and then completely disappeared from his life. Later, Leonid married his group mate and with her moved to her hometown of Belaya Tserkov. In 1990, Leonid’s daughter, Alina, was born, whom he so dreamed of.

They fall apart with his first wife. Then there were two more civil marriages (he was not in a hurry to legitimize relations, because, in his opinion, the most important thing in the family is the ability to live in harmony, and no stamps in the passport will teach this).

Living as a family is a great art, and not everyone is can master it.

I have a picture “Wedding in the Rain”. There are only two happy faces on it, and the others - parents, relatives of the newlyweds - are dark, angry. They even have square pupils. And the umbrellas they hold are in the form of bats. The ceremony is accompanied by a brass band, funeral one. There are destroyed houses around them. I was criticized for this picture, they say, how could you depict the wedding in this way? I answered, look, they all already think about how they will divide the property.

As for my personal family life, the fact I don’t have a steady income has always been the biggest problem. And the courage of a woman is to be able not to interfere. And they don’t always can do it...

Leonid Maadyr-ool with a daughter.

Half Buddhist, Half Orthodox

This is how Leonid Maadyr-ool describes his religious convictions, and he does not see anything unusual in this. His father is Buddhist, mother is Christian. Two worldviews have always coexisted in him inseparably and absolutely not in conflict with each other.

The planet is the same, the thoughts are the same, the laws are the same - I don’t feel much difference between religions. I accepted Christianity at the age of 29 consciously: firstly, because I really love Orthodoxy, and secondly, because it gave me the right to paint churches.

Leonid Maadyr-ool painted the Cathedral of Boris and Gleb in Borispol, as well as the Church of St. Joseph the Handicapped in the village of Zhitniye Gory, painted the icon of the Virgin “Three Hands” for the Church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene in Belaya Tserkov. He took the Pskov and Novgorod paintings as a basis, since he considers them to be the strongest and wisest schools of the fine arts.

Borisoglebskaya Church in Borispol.

At the same time, Leonid Maadyr-ool took from Buddhism the ability to remain calm and easily relate to everything that happens. Buddhism avoids haste, so the artist from his childhood learned a simple rule: before the age of 40, people accumulate experience and knowledge, and after 40 begin to use them. That is why many Buddhists live up to 90-100 years - they have enough resources for this. Proceeding from this philosophy, Maadyr-ool believes that his main creative achievements are still ahead, because he began to use his resource not so long ago.

In addition, the Buddhist ideological foundations help to preserve common sense and health.

All diseases are from nerves. I’m never nervous, so I had to use only brilliant green (green liquid on alcohol to lubricate the skin for therapeutic purposes – transl) from all the medicines.

Bring up a calm in yourself, that’s what you need.

Freud wrote that people invented industry and other activities only to distract themselves from thoughts of death. But the best way to not think about it is art. Creativity for me is the main medicine that helps to keep calm and health.

Where to Look for the Beauty?

Leonid’s childhood passed in the environment, as he himself says, of “absolute beauty”. The hypnotic poetry of thousands of shades of the Issyk-Kul lake, the cold majesty of the “heavenly mountains” of Tien-Shan ...

After the army, in order to have rest from the drill and monotony, Leonid Maadyr-ool went to gain creative impressions in his native land. And in order to strengthen these impressions, he decided to make an ascent to some serious apex - yesterday’s paratrooper felt ashamed that he grew up surrounded by mountains, and climbed only to “two thousand” and “three thousand”.

The young man had as gambling partner as he is, a professional photographer and amateur mountaineer Ivan Ilyich Yevtushenko with a mountain nickname Grandfather. Together they climbed the Crown, one of the most beautiful and most dangerous peaks of the Kyrgyz Tien Shan. With a light look at things peculiar to him, Leonid Maadyr-ool very simply agreed to this adventure.

Crown is considered a difficult peak. For the conquest of the last of its five peaks climbers receive the title of master of sports. Grandfather and I (who were 60 years old at the time) decided not to take the traditional route, but direct one. I didn’t even understand what we were doing. It later turned out that groups of at least five people, with professional equipment, go to this apex. And there were two of us, in rubber boots... These boots are still kept in the museum of the Mountaineering camp Ala-Archa. Nine hours we were going to the foot, another five we were climbing up. So for 14 hours we conquered this mountain with a height of 4860 meters. When we went down to the camp, the climbers greeted us with ovations. They said ‘It’s only Kyrgyz who can rise this way’. And we laughed, because my partner is Jewish, and I am Tuvan. I brought a lot of impressions after that ascent, which were later reflected in the paintings. I didn’t see more beautiful landscapes than in Kyrgyzstan.

At one time, the artist painted a whole series of paintings dedicated to Kyrgyz subjects. However, since the 1990s, the city of Belaya Tserkov has burst into his creative world. For nearly three decades, he painted it so much, as, probably, did not paint any of the artists living in this city from birth.

It is important for an artist not to look for any special beauty on purpose, but to live the one that surrounds him. Even in ordinary streets, I see beauty that others often overlook.

Leonid Maadyr-ool. City Berdychiv.

Creativity with Obstacles

The city, which became a native for Leonid Maadyr-ool, willingly accepts his competitive paintings in its funds.

But there is practically no place to work. I live all the time in rented apartments. Put the cloth on the floor, crouched beside it, the wife is already shouting ‘Take it away, there’s no place to step on’. I take it away, and the next day I think if I want to paint at all, to get it all out again from under the sofa... Living conditions are one of the main factors for creativity. If before you draw something, you still need to remember in which corner the paints are hidden - with high probability, you don’t want to start working. Now I have an eight square meter workshop where we huddle with my student. But these are not the conditions in which it’s possible to work normally; it’s difficult to go without pushing each other.

But one of the main skills for an artist, says Maadyr-ool, should be the ability to find inspiration within himself.

You need to overcome the feeling of injustice, which is the permanent companion of the artist in Ukraine, and just love people, landscapes. It’s enough for me to look at the silhouettes of the poplars against the background of clouds to feel happy. In this state, there is always inspiration. As for the difficulties, the artist shouldn’t have greenhouse conditions. He must live a normal life. In order to truly admire the beautiful, you need to know the reverse side, all the abomination and filth. The greater the amplitude of emotions, the brighter I will be as an artist.