In times where politics can feel like it is spiralling out of our hands, many turn to art as both a relief and a way to connect with those suffering elsewhere. Art of all kinds provides expression as well as connection to culture and the self. By taking the experiences of a moment and projecting it through time, you can engage with other people doing the same, creating familiarity despite gaps in time and location. So what happens when war threatens art and even culture?
Leonid Marushchak is a trained historian from Ukraine and a lover of art. When he realised one of the main obstacles hindering the salvage of art from museums in cities under attack was paperwork, he was outraged. Working with a small team, including Marushchak’s brother-in-law, they took it upon themselves to rescue as much Ukrainian art they could. Marushchak himself reported he drove 60,000km in his wife’s, Bilas, Mini Countryman van. From pottery, to taxidermy, to even world war 2 meddles, Marushchak has made time and space for it all, bringing supplies into war torn areas, and taking art out.
One of his earlier evacuation efforts from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was the archive of Viktor Zaretsky and Alla Horska, an important artist couple in the 20th century. In the 1960s Horska used her art re-express suppressed Ukrainian national symbols in her modernist drawings. At one point when Marushchak learned that a group of soldiers had hidden art from invaders looting churches, he had the soldiers lead his team, without GPS, to the site. There they found a trove of paintings, some dating back to the 17th century. The team then made their own way back, and thankfully reached their check point safely.
… when Marushchak learned that a group of soldiers had hidden art from invaders looting churches, he had the soldiers lead his team, without GPS, to the site.
But why does Marushchak’s rescue efforts matter? The violence against Ukraine is founded on the idea of not just an attacking a place, but a people, a culture. Putin has made it clear he believes Ukraine an extension of Russia without unique existence. As of July this year according to the UNN there is 1,086 known cultural heritage sites and over 2000 cultural infrastructure facilities that have fallen casualty to this war. Marushchak even stated the need to hide where these items are now stored in a coded journal, or else if found, his saved art would likely be plundered or destroyed. It is not uncommon throughout time for important parts of culture to be destroyed and completely lost in war, an upsetting pattern currently being repeated.
The violence against Ukraine is founded on the idea of not just an attacking a place, but a people, a culture.
Whilst devastation in Ukraine may continue to rage, Leonid Marushchak prevails in his efforts to help preserve the cultures Russia seeks to destroy, while providing aid to each individual he can. It is important not to give up hope and keep creating and appreciating the art we are privileged to partake in, and the stories art is able to tell.
