Ülo Sooster
Soviet and Estonian painter, graphic artist, one of the largest representatives of unofficial art.
Ülo Sooster (1924–1970). One of the most famous representatives of the Second Russian Avant-garde, the participant of the exhibition in the Manege, the organizer of the famous "Tuesdays" on Krasin Street, on which the alternative "underground" Moscow was meeting. Officially - a graphic artist, an illustrator of science fiction; "Unofficially" - the master of experimental painting, the first Russian surrealist, whose personal metaphysics was reflected in a peculiar style.
He was born in 1924 in the Pendi farm in Estonia. He was dedicated to drawing since childhood. During the Second World War, he was mobilized to the German army as a paramedic, deserted and returned to the farm. He managed to hide this fact from his biography and therefore managed to avoid arrest.
But after his graduation from the Tartu Art Institute, Sooster brutally paid for his desire to get acquainted with the world's avant-garde. In 1949, the artist along with several graduates was sent to the camp under 58th "anti-Soviet" article. It seems that the students announced their desire to go abroad for internships, for what they have been accused of anti-Soviet propaganda and escape planning. The sentence - ten years of imprisonment, of which Sooster served seven and was released in 1956. In Karaganda, the artist learned Russian. At the inter-camp exhibition "Our Achievements" he met his future wife, a beautiful Jewish woman - Lidia Serh, who was repressed for "espionage in favour of the United States." After their wedding and being able to find work in his native Estonia, the former "anti-Soviet" and his wife moved to Moscow, where their basement apartment became the centre of attraction of avant-garde artists. Among the friends of Sooster were Yuri Nolev-Sobolev, Ilya Kabakov (with whom they shared a workshop), Viktor Pivovarov, Ernst Neizvestny, Evgeny Bachurin, Michail Grobman and many others.
Sooster died in 1970, in his workshop. He was only 46 years old. His wife Lidia and son Tenno, who also became an artist, have emigrated to Israel in the early 90's.
AVC Charity Foundation is planning to produce a documentary film about Ülo Sooster. The film will be filmed in four countries: Russia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, and Israel. It will feature a journey through these locations by the artist's son Tenno. The documentary will be in Estonian and Russian languages with an approximate runtime of 120 minutes, written and directed by Lilia Vyugina.
The film will represent a travel in time and space, which is performed by the son of the artist Tenno: Estonia, Kazakhstan, Moscow and Israel.
The film will be filmed in Estonia (Pendi farm, Emmaste village) with interviews of 90-year-old fellow student Heldurf Viires, Sooster's cousin Liis Aaloe, stepsister Eha Vahtras, art historians from KUMU and Tartu Art Museum, and artists Leonard Lapin, Mare Vint, Haynes Valk. In Moscow, interviews with artists Boris Zhutovsky and Anatoly Brusilovsky will be conducted, filming at Sooster's former studio and apartment, and requesting Sooster's personal file from FSB archives. In Kazakhstan, attempts will be made to find traces of the camp where Sooster was imprisoned for seven years. In Israel, interviews with artist Michail Grobman and his wife Irina, and filming with Sooster's relatives. The documentary will use archival footage, including an interview with Evgeny Bachurin and photos from the family album.
On the father's grave