Rush Hour

I am fascinated by Vladimir Mayakovski (1893-1930), the artist, who belonged to the experimental Russian avant-garde. He occupied himself with a series of propagandist texts for the new society under the communistic government. His multi-layered work reflects the various images of his ‘I’, varying from hero and rebellious writer, to hesitant and misunderstood person living under the censorship of the party.
The work ‘Rush Hour contains a rake wrapped with newspapers leaning against a portrait of Mayakovski, printed on canvas. the lower part of the portrait is obscured by a covering layer of black paint, so that his face is only partially visible.
Exactly on the dividing line where Mayakovski’s eyes are situated, the rake’s teeth perforate his face in twelve places. The newspapers and the sinister wound form a symbolic sign that the artist was blind to certain developments. The partly covered portrait refers to his split personality and to the hidden layers of his soul. Even without specific knowledge concerning the life of Mayakovski it is immediately tangible that his humanity is being questioned; his place in society and his relationship to his fellow humans.