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Alexander Kosolapov is one of founders of sots art and probably one of the most classical representative of them. It can be said that sots art is a flesh from flesh of world view of this artist because until today he presents a lot in the forms actual today.
It started with studying at the Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry trained as “Artist monumentalist” in 1960s. As to his occupation Kosolapov had to glorify heroes of revolution and socialist labour. However, in general, Stroganov University was one of the less ideological institutions because they prepare different type of “decorators” and designers. Many of nonconformist artists had decorative orders as a side work and considered that as a “slopwork” with absence of real “selling” of ideology. “Decorators” community were “the sensible spot” of the system and once such a group of artists formed a style known as Sots art. They started exactly from bored to death stamps of soviet propaganda ethics - agitation placards, slogans, images and socialist realistic art - but they turn it upside down someway in their art.
The presented painting of Kosolapov “Genetics”, 1983 refers to saying “Genetics is imperialistic whore”, that was really popular among Soviet intellectuals. There was a legend that impudent phrase belongs to academic Trofim Lysenko while contribution he denounce categorically and proclaimed “reactionary-idealistic Morganism-Mendelism” as antiscience - in favour of Michurin agrobiology. But in fact this phrase belongs to satiric writer Alexander Khazin and first time appeared in his play “Magicials live next to us” (1964). In his painting Alexander Kosolapov literally visualize devaluate phrase by depicting naked acrobat “girl” looking in microscope and governmental department at the background. Making a parody of aesthetic of order propaganda painting Kosolapov decorates the painting with life affirming symbols: bird on the green branch, piles of books, pioneers who are visible between the legs and red flags of course with the clear blue sky as a background. V
