April 9, 1925
Born in Sverdlovsk Ernst Unknown — artist and sculptor.
The vertical is God. The horizontal is life. At the intersection are myself, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and Kafka.
He became interested in sculpture in his youth and studied at an art school for gifted children. After the war began, he added an extra year to his age and was enrolled in a machine gun school.
He participated in combat from October 1943, commanding a paratrooper platoon. He was seriously wounded while storming enemy trenches: a bullet knocked out three ribs, damaged intervertebral discs, and ruptured a lung. He survived clinical death and was posthumously nominated for a medal. He awoke in a basement where the dead were stored.
He walked on crutches for three years and developed a stutter. But this didn't stop him from enrolling in the Academy of Arts and then transferring to Moscow State University. He gained fame while still a student: his thesis was purchased by the Russian Museum.
At that time he began to conflict with the system.
Disagreements arose primarily among front-line soldiers. Their experiences and experiences didn't fit the smooth outlines of socialist realism. We fell outside the accepted norm; we needed different means of expression.
He created sculptures that stood in stark contrast to Soviet canons. In 1962, he participated in an avant-garde exhibition at the Manege, which Khrushchev sacked. The General Secretary declared that he considered his works "scribbles." Following this, Neizvestny was expelled from the Union of Artists. To earn a living, he worked as a foundryman and mason in a factory.
In 1974, at the request of Khrushchev’s relatives, he made a tombstone for his grave.
The sculptor was openly followed by KGB officers. He was also attacked in the street and had his fingers broken.
I've been subjected to all forms of bullying and accused of all sorts of sins. There's hardly a single thing I haven't been accused of.
In 1976, he left the Soviet Union. He lived, worked, and taught in the United States. In the 90s, he frequently visited Russia, creating memorials to the victims of the repressions. The Orpheus statuette awarded to TEFI winners was also based on his designs.
He died on August 9, 2016, in New York, after a long illness.
