Masha Drawing
Percival Blanco
I love body positivity. My characters are strong and confident in their body. I have been attracted to drawing gender-nonspecific characters, however my strengths are in drawing the feminine form, so I have a ways to go in learning how to achieve that.
Yes! I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. During my time at the University of Minnesota Duluth, my main focus was on photography. I would spend countless hours in the darkroom! I also loved being a part of the behind-the-scenes theater crew, my favorite was costume construction. I still enjoy putting together a good costume or cosplay and I do face painting at fundraisers and events like Duluth All Souls Night.
My name is Alexander Ivanov, also known by my stage name, Chacha. I am the lead singer of a Russian punk band called NAIVE (НАИВ). Recently, during a concert in Moscow, I shared the story of Masha Moskaleva, a sixth-grade girl from the town of Efremov. Masha was removed from her family for drawing an anti-war picture in her school art class!
Miraculously, the April 15, 2023 concert at the 1930 Moscow club remained on schedule. I understood that this might be my last show in Moscow, and perhaps even in Russia. Because of this, I wanted to say something important, something that would have real meaning and specifically help those who are in trouble!
This is the last frontier that separates us, the Russian people, from an irreparable moral decline. It is a line we must not cross, where we must stumble, stop, and admit that we want to remain people of goodwill!
And her father, Alexei Moskalev (the man who was her only family), was sentenced to 2 years in prison on a controversial charge. Before his sentencing hearing, he escaped from house arrest (which aggravated his case), crossed the border with Belarus (which aggravated his case), where he was eventually detained and sent back to Moscow. Now, in addition to the previous sentence, Alexei Moskalev faces more serious charges!
Friends, it seems to me that this is our crucial chance to stand in solidarity with this family and see justice delivered. Perhaps this could become our first collective stepping stone to long-desired peace! Our support for Masha will be evidence that we can unite and find compassion in our hearts! For starters, at least in such an egregious case!
Let's say you were given the job of drawing the Met, and not just the front of the Museum or its busy steps on Fifth Avenue, but the inside as well. Now, imagine that you were going to draw your own versions of the paintings, sculptures, furniture, tapestries, costumes, and even the jewelry that you found inside. Sounds like a big project, right? Well, there's one person who knows exactly how it feels to take on that challenge.
John Kerschbaum, an illustrator who lives in New York City, dedicated not hours, days, or months, but several years to drawing the art, spaces, and people he saw at the Met. When he was done, he had drawn a map of the Met that featured hundreds of galleries and thousands of works of art. Thanks to John, now you can visit the Museum anytime you want by exploring the map on your computer or mobile device. I recently sat down with John to talk about the project.
John Kerschbaum: I've always liked to draw, and I drew a lot growing up. Over time, I got fairly proficient at it. When I graduated from high school and needed to choose a course of study for college [John studied Illustration at Parsons School of Design in New York City!] and a career path, it seemed reasonable to turn an enjoyable preoccupation into an occupation. It's a far more difficult profession than I expected, but I'm still drawing, and I still enjoy it.
John Kerschbaum: It's by far the biggest, most challenging project I have ever worked on. I walked through the Museum countless times while taking notes. I took thousands of pictures, and drew hundreds of sketches. I researched each section and department of the Museum one by one, and then added that section to the poster.
One of the biggest challenges was keeping up with the Museum itself. Every time I visited, it was different than my previous visit. Paintings would be replaced or relocated in order to display another treasure from the Museum's collection. Overnight, sculptures would move from one place to another. Even the walls and doors appeared to move and change. It was weird; it was like the building was alive.
John Kerschbaum: I have many favorite pieces, too many to name here, but when I visit, I almost always visit Oceania, and I like the Carroll and Milton Petrie European Sculpture Court. I also like to sketch Perseus every time I visit, but unless I'm going to see a specific exhibition, I usually take a quick look around the Museum and seek out the emptiest gallery. It doesn't matter which one, and it's almost always a different one each time, so, eventually, I got to see everything.
The empty galleries are quieter, which I prefer, because I feel less rushed when I want to stand and linger in front of a piece to really take some time to look at it. There's no need to worry about being in someone's way or blocking someone else's view. No matter how many times I might end up in the same uncrowded gallery, I never fail to find something new or something that I missed the last time I visited. If the gallery I'm in starts to fill up, I look around for a lull somewhere else and linger there for a while.
The words are built of lanky linear planks unfolding at angles: Ls, Ws, Ts, etc. Strait-narrow, animated, trembling, the exposed surface of paper is enlivened by the frenetic sea of graphite that surrounds it.
These drawings, made between 2019 and 2022, tease and squeeze meaning from phrases like OTHERS TEARS WATER / CALAMITY KEEPS ME YOUNG / HOME SICK SICK HOME / ALWAYS BLAME OTHERS FOR EMPTINESS YOURS. Some are installed outside, where they billow and crinkle in the wind and will speak if you stand before them.
In April 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an anti-war drawing by Maria Moskalyova (better known as Masha, a hypocorism of her given name), a sixth-grader in the Russian town of Yefremov, led to the political persecution of the girl and her single father Aleksey Moskalyov. The father was charged with discrediting the Russian military, and the girl was separated from her father and sent to a local child care community. On 28 March 2023, a Russian court sentenced Aleksey to two years in prison.[1] This is the first time in the Russian Federation that a court, after imprisoning a parent for political reasons, left the child without a guardian.[1]
The next day, Masha and her father Aleksey Vladimirovich Moskalyov (born in 1968)[7] were taken to the police station, where an administrative report was drawn up about the "discrediting" of the army, but the offense was not the child's drawing, but Aleksey Moskalyov's message on social networks Odnoklassniki, which he allegedly wrote.[6][8] Later, FSB officers arrived at the school and tried to persuade the girl to activism in favor of the Russian invasion.[6]
On December 30, 2022, the Moskalyovs' apartment was searched, during which property and all cash were seized, and Aleksey himself was detained and interrogated by the FSB. Five police cars, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and fire engines were on duty at Moskalyovs' house.[9] During the interrogation, Aleksey was beaten, and also, according to him, he was demanded to confess to working for third parties. After interrogation, a criminal case was opened against Aleksey, and Masha was sent to a local child care community.[6][8][9][10]
On March 1, 2023, Aleksey was detained, and on March 2, he was sent under house arrest in the case of repeated "discrediting" of the army. Both Aleksey himself and human rights organizations were unable to contact Masha.[6][9][11]
On March 27, the Yefremov interdistrict court, which was represented by judge Anton Vladyslavovich Malikov, considered the case in one day, and the next day sentenced Aleksey Moskalyov to two years in prison with a ban on using the Internet for 3 years and confiscation of his personal computer for the benefit of the state.[1][12] The prosecutor in this court was Oleg Tymakov.[12] In addition, the court decided to transfer Aleksey's daughter to the care of social services.[1] According to municipal deputy Olga Podolskaya, a pro-war crowd was summoned to the court, and Moskalyov's support group was not allowed to enter the court.[13] Aleksey himself escaped from house arrest and did not attend the announcement of the sentence.[1]
On March 29, 2023, Masha wrote to his father from the shelter: "I love you very much, and know that you are not to blame for anything, I am always there for you, and everything you do is right. I'm begging you, just don't give up. Believe, hope and love. One day we will sit down at the table and remember all of this. I love you, I hope not, I know that you will not give up, you are strong, we are strong, we can do it, and I will pray for you and for us, dad".[14] On the other hand, the girl wrote: "Love you, you are a hero. My hero".[15]
On March 30, Aleksey Moskalyov was detained in Minsk.[16] On April 1, Russian human rights activists from the organizations "Memorial" and "OVD-Info" asked the Council of Europe and the European Commission to help prevent the extradition of Aleksey Moskalyov to Russia.[17] On April 4, Aleksey Moskalyov was found in the detention center in Zhodzina, Belarus.[18] On April 12 he was extradited to Russia with his further location unknown.[19]
Despite the fact that the persecution began with the anti-war drawing of Masha Moskalyova, the first administrative protocol in April 2022 for "discrediting" the Russian army was drawn up due to a message on the Odnoklassniki social network, which, according to the law enforcement authorities, was written by Aleksey Moskalyov.[8] On March 28, 2023, Aleksey was sentenced to prison in a criminal case for repeatedly "discrediting" the army.[9]
c80f0f1006