The Mosaic trilogy “Path of Knowledge”, Created by Graduates, Adorned The Space of INRTU
Graduates of the Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting and Design named after V.G. Smagin Anastasia Pavlyuchenko, Anna Toropova, and Galina Ovsyankina defended their diploma projects with “excellent” grades. The authors decorated the third floor of the “K” building with a mosaic trilogy “Path of Knowledge”, which symbolizes the beginning, development, and formation of personality in student life. The supervisors of the diploma projects were the head of the department Dmitry Dorokhin and associate professor Grigory Sverdlov.
The rector of INRTU, Mikhail Korniakov, welcomed the teachers, graduates, and guests of the open defense of diploma projects.
“The Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting and Design is celebrating its 30th anniversary. We continue the traditions laid down by the founder of the department, People’s Artist Vitaly Georgievich Smagin. Thanks to the unique artistic works of students and teachers, the university buildings become art spaces. Creative experiments delight the INRU students and guests of the university, allowing graduates to leave a mark in the history of their alma mater,” noted Mikhail Korniakov.
Dmitry Dorokhin conducted a tour for the guests with a description of the new artistic components in the corridor connecting the “A” building and the university’s conference hall.
“The works adorn and enrich the university space, turning the building into a true museum of monumental and decorative art. We are faced with a complex and large-scale task that requires not only talent and artistic flair but also deep knowledge in the field of composition and understanding of the specifics of working with artistic materials.
The ensemble presented this year symbolizes the “Path of Knowledge” that every student goes through. The meaningful content of these works reflects the main stages of the educational process. The images are conveyed through the symbolism of color and emotional contrast of warm and cold passages,” emphasized Dmitry Dorokhin.
In the decoration of the “warm” passage symbolizing professional growth, bright and energetic colors predominate - yellow, orange, and red. They fill the space with light and aspirations for achievements. The “cold” passage shows the spiritual development of a person. More calm and deep colors - purple, blue, and white - are used in the decoration. They create an atmosphere of reflection, self-awareness, and completion of the journey. These shades symbolize spiritual development, tranquility, and intellectual perception.
“Path of Knowledge. Beginning” was created by Galina Ovsyankina, “development” was shown by Anastasia Pavlyuchenko, and the final stage of student life from ceramic tiles was assembled by Anna Toropova.
"When choosing the space, we conducted an architectural analysis of the student club, library and building "K" and presented our sketches to the Rector. The third floor between the School of Power Engineering and the Conference Hall turned out to be the most successful for the mosaic trilogy. Working on a large object, we made friends with the 4th year students and were able, having rethought the experience of teachers and graduates of previous years, to realise a large-scale project that became a message to the younger students," said Anna Toropova.
Members of the State Examination Commission - associate professors Natalia Dovnich, Larisa Malkina, and the commission’s secretary, associate professor Nadezhda Malysheva, positively evaluated the works of the graduates. The mastery of mosaic art and the ability to create aesthetic compositions were highly appreciated by corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts, director of the Irkutsk Regional Art Museum named after V.P. Sukachev Natalia Sysoeva.
The chairman of the State Examination Commission, chief architect of LLC “Perspective +” Alexander Kartopoltsev, noted that monumental artists are moving from individual creativity to collective creativity. Working in a team, young people become more attentive to studying the architectural features of the decorated spaces.
“I have been working in the State Examination Commission for 17 years, since the time when the department was headed by the outstanding colorist Vitaly Georgievich Smagin. Students initially sought to emphasize their individuality, then worked in pairs, and only then came to the conclusion that a group project receives more detailed elaboration.
The successes of the polytechnicians are evident, they are ready to create sketches on tablets and implement them in material beyond the university, on city objects. For example, they can decorate houses of the 135 series in the Sunny microdistrict near the monument to Marshal Georgy Zhukov and at the stele “Irkutsk - the city of labor valor” on the Baikal Ring. I suggest that students and future graduates develop projects for consideration at the urban planning section of the Irkutsk mayor’s office, of which I am an expert,” said Alexander Kartopoltsev.
More information about the Department of Monumental and Decorative Painting and Design named after V.G. Smagin can be found in the VK group.
