Ukrainian’s art in time of war Part I

Russian atrocities against Ukrainian culture and art heritage
.
Can art survive amidst bombings and death? How do artists cope with a world where there is barely time between air raid bombings to create? How does a culture protect its priceless art treasures when no place is safe? How does your culture survive when the invaders not only rip your art from you but destroy cultural heritage objects? Tanks and missiles are useless when the enemy is out to kill the very soul of your country. These are the questions I have been asking since the war in Ukraine began almost a year ago.
.
At first I looked at things from my perspective as an artist. I used images to create digital pieces expressing my feelings about this war and what was happening to the Ukrainians.  In the early days not much was being written about what was happening to Ukrainian’s art treasures. Articles focused on the soldiers fighting, Zelensky giving speeches, children dead by missile attack. A few news articles mentioned how Ukraine was also fighting to protect its statues and hide away works of art in museum cellars. But over time, the “atrocities” against art and culture became so severe that it had to be reported.
.
I cried when I read the most recent New York Times article about Russia looting museums and libraries. Russian forces have taken tens of thousands of pieces, including avant-garde oil paintings and Scythian gold items. Experts say it is the biggest art heist since the Nazis in World War II, and is intended to strip Ukraine of its cultural heritage As Russians Steal Ukraine’s Art, They Attack Its Identity, Too Cried because the barbarians didn’t just loot, they destroyed priceless artifacts in the process. Ironically, Russia is trying to justify this war by saying they want to get rid of the Ukrainian Nazis. Well, it was in WWII that the Nazis did exactly what the Russians are doing now. So…who is a Nazi??? “International art experts say the plundering may be the single biggest collective art heist since the Nazis pillaged Europe in World War II…Ukrainian officials say that Russian forces have robbed or damaged more than 30 museums”. The Ukrainians accuse the Russians of breaking international treaties that outlaw art looting, such as the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Created in the wake of World War II, the treaty calls for signatories to “prohibit, prevent and, if necessary, put a stop to any form of theft” of cultural property. Both Ukraine and Russia signed it.
.
The saddest part of the article were the photographs of the destruction of the interiors of the museums and some of the shattered ancient artifacts. So that is what is happening to the physical art. What about the artists who live in Ukraine?
I’ll cover that in my next posting.